There are two different kinds of racing games for players to enjoy in the current age of gaming. There are the simulators that allow you to play with realistic representations of famous cars as you go around professional courses or city streets. The complete opposite to these are the weapon filled, character driven racing games that can put you in many situations than just a standard race from A to B. These games over the years have brought joy to us that enjoy racing with a little more character or maybe with just a lot of weapons. But one of the first adult entrants into the genre turned heads and was one of the main causes of the ESRB system we know today. This iconic name returns in 2016 and now the question is if it can stand up against modern day titles. Let’s see if in this review Carmageddon: Max Damage truly delivers on the bloodshed and violence that it is known for.
REVIEW
Carmageddon: Max Damage Review
,
With no story attached to the game at all, you are simply thrown into it with a career mode to undertake. In thesingle player experience players will be able to take on different objectives in order to acquire points which are used to unlock the next level. These objectives can vary from having to murder X amount of pedestrians, complete laps around the level or eradicate your competitors. These missions can feel enjoyable for the first few undertakings, but their repetitive nature starts to make the game turn stale very quickly. Your reward for unlocking new areas comes in the form of new cars or upgrades that you can equip in the garage, which sadly leads into another problem.
In order to upgrade your vehicle of choice you need to leave the game mode you are currently on and return to the main menu in order to apply it. This is a complete removal from immersion and can be bothersome when you want to do quick changes before the next mission. The unlockables themselves are misleading as they fail to tell you what they do and which cars can equip them. You can end up winning an augment for one of the games cars and never use it under the grounds that you never use that specific vehicle. There is also no incentive to try different cars apart from slight stat differences that seem to be more aesthetic than anything else. It is a simple matter of choosing which car grabs your attention and heading out into the field to cause some mayhem.
Speaking of the cars, their designs for the most part are great representations of the originals. Seeing them revived in a new 3D environment is a great burst of nostalgia for fans of the classic Carmageddon back in 1997. But their looks are hindered by the games art style which is an unpleasent mess. The cars stand out on very basic and drab looking environments with pickups looking like items out of Borderlands or equivalent titles that use a cel-shaded look. The power ups looking like this actually stand to the games benefit as you are then enticed to drive over them and claim the weaponry or bonuses that lie within. But this strange combination makes Carmageddon look like a remaster version of a PS2 or original Xbox title. It doesn’t stand out as much as you would want it to and it does not leave you breathless when you see explosions, bursts of blood or collisions.
The cars in game all feel like they have had their tires battered in banana juice as they slide around with every turn you make. Even with upgrades, their wild control around both tight and loose corners make things incredibly difficult. Especially if you are hunting down someone or desperately changing direction to the next check point. Weapons can come in many different forms from straight forward shunts, throwing cars straight into the air and setting pedestrians ablaze. These can feel great to pull off, especially if you are able to rip apart your opposing vehicles piece by piece. The bad of this however comes from some of them lacking use against the AI. One weapon for example strips the metal off of your opponents cars making them more vulnerable to attacks, sounds good on paper doesn’t it. But in game you need to be right next to your opponent and keep it held down in order for it to successfully strip their car to bits. This results in you taking time out to needlessly strip a car when you can just ram straight into it or use a better weapon that does direct damage. You will find your favourites and use them constantly whilst others will just sit on your weapons bar begging to be used. All of this accumulates to create a game that doesn’t quite know what it wants to do. Does it want to be like a more brutal Mario Kart or is it satisfied with being a lack lustre Twisted Metal?
If you want to know what Carmageddon: Max Damage feels like, it is as if Duke Nukem Forever came out and did nothing to try and hit the modern day market. At least when that game released it tried to hit home with update graphics, enemies and Duke one liners. With Carmageddon however there is no such sign of trying to improve or stand out. It’s happy with being that little niche title that you play every couple of hours on those off days and it is such a shame to see. You have all these wild and crazy characters with their just as nuts looking car designs just there as window dressing rather than actual characters. It’s great to see Max return but you don’t get the chance to attach to him like you do Sweet Tooth in Twisted Metal. That game had a story line which helped you link to the characters and drive the narrative of the whole world. With nothing like that in this game Carmageddon: Max Damage simply falls flat and leaves you wanting more from the overall experience after playing it for two hours straight.
With such a lacking game overall it is a sign that maybe Carmageddon shouldn’t have come back after all this time. With more direction on the art style and combat as well as implementing a story with the games characters, Carmageddon Max Damage could have become a little gem to own for your console.
3
