If you are tired of the same old clean racing style type games such as Need
For Speed Underground and Project Gotham Racing maybe this will be the game you
are looking forward too. Something a little different but yet still has a racing
element to it. In Test Drive: Eve Of Destruction you won't be racing with a
brand new shiny Enzo Ferrari or a new Porsche, instead you will be racing in an
old dirty junker from twenty to thirty years ago. The reason for this is because
of the dirty racing style of the game. You will even receive points based on how
many times you can crash into an opponents car while still racing the race. The
different events and courses in the game add to the insaneness of the races. For
example most courses have large ramps and are designed for collisions to happen.
In one of the events you will be in a normal race except there are two sets of
cars going to opposite directions.
The full version of Test Drive Eve Of Destruction is expected to have twenty
five different events. Each event has its own objectives. Many events are just
traditional races but with a twist that usually evolves car crashes. There are
also a number of events that are totally different then a normal race such as
the Demo Derby where the last care standing wins
From what we have seen the Demo Derby will probably be one of the best
events in the game. The object of the game is to be the last car running out of
all the rest. However if you just go plowing into everyone head on your engine
will blow and you will be out of the game. Because of this the wise thing to do
would be to hit it in reverse and then smack into your opponents. The only
problem with that is the other cars know this as well so they will be flying
toward you in reverse.
Another even that we where able to play in this hands on demo was called
Figure 8 Jump. This is played just as a normal race only the track is shaped
like an eight and there is a jump located in the center. On the first lap the
jump is quite fun to go over but when you have cars that start to fall behind is
when the real fun starts. When the cars get more spread out over the first lap
the cars will be going over the jump in different directions at different times.
This is an excellent opportunity for mid-air collision. Although getting into a
mid-air collision can hurt your placement in the race it is fun to get into and
watch your car flip around in slow motion mode.
The third event we where able to play was called Jump Race. In this
event there was not really much to do as there are in all the others. It is a
normal race on a track with a series of events. One neat thing about these jumps
is that if you are racing side by side to someone it is possible to land on top
of them when you both fly over the jump, which is always interesting.
The last even that was included in the demo we where able to play was called
Suicide Surprise. Like Jump Race this event is just like a normal race
only with a small twist. The course is a short oval track and there are two sets
of cars going in opposite directions. There may only be a few collisions in the
race but because both cars are traveling in opposite directions the damage will
be catastrophic.
Aside from these four events we have seen in the demo there will be 21 other
events in the final version of the game. A few of these events include Soccer,
Trailer Race, and the Gauntlet. Also in the final release version of the game
there will be up to 30 drivable vehicles including everything from a school bus
to a hearse.
The graphics and physics of the game are just below par from what we have
seen in the demo version of this game. The graphics are that extremely detailed
and can't compare to anything like Project Gotham but there are quite a few
unique effects in the game. One neat thing about the game is if you happen to
veer off of the track you will end up running into some bales of hay which will
slow your car down. The hay reacts very realistically and you can actually drag
it through the rest of the race if you wanted to. The cars a pretty well done as
well, especially the animations on the crashes. If you happen to have a mid-air
collision time will actually stop and the camera will pan around the mid-air
collision to show you the damage. At first I thought this was pretty cool but
then started to get a little annoying over and over again. However don't take
our word on the quality of the graphics just as of yet, wait until we review the
game until you make your final decision as it is possible (but not likely) for
the game to have improved greatly over the time the demo version was released.
Although this game does not look like it is going to be the next big thing in
racing games it will defiantly be worth a spin in your Xbox a few times. The
gameplay is really fun and will have you laughing a few times. If you are tired
of all the street racing games with top end cars and just feel like starting up
an old junker and crashing into something big this is the game for you.
Stay tuned to Xbox Core.com for more news and information on this game.
