Destruction Derby Raw review (PlayStation)

Just because the game includes features from past releases, don't get the impression that Destruction Derby Raw is a total rehash. It's not. The game actually has a number of excellent new gameplay features. Developer Studio 33 has tweaked the collision system to better allow for side-impact collisions and chain reactions, and while the game still doesn't account for rooftop landings or driver's-side impacts, the amount of damage your car incurs from head-on crashes has at least been diminished. As such, you still need to work hard to earn those collision points, but now you at least have the time to do so. The new collision system, coupled with a plethora of new crashes and flips, makes the task of destroying opponents both enjoyable and exciting, as you're no longer plowing through groups of cars without reward. In Destruction Derby Raw, you'll get enough chain-reaction points to make your head spin. Rounding out the new additions, a much needed hand brake makes its debut, giving the game the precise control it has been lacking for so many years. Now, when that pesky Colorado is on your tail, you can just do a doughnut and take him out.

While Destruction Derby Raw's gameplay is a clear-cut mixture of old and new, its visual prowess manifests itself as a subtle set of improvements. Tracks are a pleasant combination of wide and narrow twists and turns, with plenty of optional shortcuts, jumps, and pitfalls. Background detail is the highest it has ever been in a Destruction Derby game, with the number of skyscrapers, pipes, and roadside foliage providing an added degree of realism and tension. As far as frame rate goes, the game seems to move faster than Destruction Derby 2, although at a cost of increased texture graininess. There's hardly any texture warping or slowdown, though, which makes the game much easier to see than its predecessors. While the game places the majority of its visual emphasis on environmental detail and frame rate, an adequate array of simple particle effects, explosions, and car decals also contribute to Destruction Derby Raw's visual experience.

Even more subtly than its graphical enhancements, Destruction Derby Raw's audio isn't much different from or better than that of Destruction Derby 2. The music, a decent blend of techno, house, and rock, puts most other racing games to shame. The game's effects, on the other hand, run the gamut from the pleasing sound of bent metal to the laughable rendition of a dangling muffler on pavement. At times, the game sounds like aluminum cans placed under a microphone, but the strong array of explosion effects and bass thumping beats lessens the silliness somewhat. Destruction Derby Raw's audio offerings pretty much sum up the game itself: a subtle series of fixes and adjustments to an already solid game. Better control over collisions would have been nice, but the greater track selection and sheer number of additional multiplayer options more than makes up for such an omission.