Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Smash Cars

Written by Brian Vienneau on March 10, 2003

First Impressions: Is this a Destruction Derby, or just another day on the American highway? Discuss.

Smash Cars is a new take on an old genre and from the looks of things it's going to be one hell of a ride. The game has 5 RC vehicles to choose from, each of which handle differently from one another and have their own top speed. You will be able to choose between a monster truck, off-road truck, tournament car, Stormbringer Centurion, and a custom created car. Each vehicle also has 4 different selectable skins, which means you won't have to see the same styled car over and over again.

The game will have you racing across various types of terrain from all over the globe; you will find yourself racing over 13 different levels located in such places as Mexico, Russia, Caribbean, Arizona, and Hawaii among many other places. It's obvious that Creat Studios has put a good amount of time and work into each of the levels, adding shortcuts and obstacles that are sure to make for some intense racing. When playing you will encounter everything ranging from people, animals, cars and a variety of other real-world obstacles. Each level will include visual effects such as waves on the beach, engine smoke from vehicles, dust, and splashing water.

One of the more enjoyable things about the track design is that the developer has given the player freedom to drive anywhere within the level, this means you don't have to stay on track. Because of this you will often find yourself going off course to perform stunts and other amusing activities. Which leads me to the next part of this preview, the stunts. Creat Studios has included a trick system into the game, though it's not the most advanced trick system around, it still allows for some fun gameplay. The trick system will score you on the different ways you flip and spin your vehicle across the course, with help from the boost and jump function you should be able to take the lead and at the same time score some trick points. Creat has not commented on whether or not the trick points will help you progress through the game, but chances are they will help in some way.

Smash Cars is going to include 7 different modes, though details on all the different modes are still sketchy, expect a Championship mode to be included. The Championship mode will have you racing through the game to unlock new content such as vehicles and tracks. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that another one of those modes will be dedicated to stunts, but this has yet to be confirmed by Creat Studios. We can also expect to see a multiplayer mode, which will have you race against a friend on a splint screen. We are going to need to wait for the games release before we know what the other 5 modes will require from racers. Hopefully they will supply us with a nice variety of modes each different from one another.