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The Dominator reviews

Carmageddon Logo
Carmageddon Head

for IBM PC

Distributed by
SCi Limited

Carmageddon 3Dfx Pic
  • Price: £29.99
  • System Requirements :
    • CD-ROM IBM PC and Compatibles
    • Windows 95 or MSDOS 6.2 and above. Windows 95 version requires DirectX 3a drivers or above
    • Intel Pentium Processor P75 and above
    • 8Mb RAM (16Mb for Windows 95 and Multiplayer Network Game)
    • Multiplayer Network game requires IPX network
    • Hard Disk Space: Install 20Mb, 51Mb or 264Mb version
    • VGA & SVGA Graphics support (1Mb Graphic card required)
    • Soundblaster & 100% Compatible soundcards
    • Supported Peripherals : Mouse, Joysticks, Steering Wheels (Thrustmaster, Mad Catz and Performa)
    • Quad-speed CD-ROM drive with MSCDEX 2.25 and above
  • Carmageddon is a racing car game with one rule - there are no rules! You can do what you want, where you want, and when you want, making this one of those rare racing games where you can break free from the usual constraints of a set course and go looking for power-up, or mowing down extra pedestrians to give you extra time! While there are 36 set race courses split over a few environments, you can go visiting other parts of that environment which you would normally only visit on the other set courses.

    You can play the game normally though, going through the check-points and winning the race, but you'll soon notice that your opponents aren't as interested in doing this, and would sooner see you plummeting to your death off the top of a high building (again!) than crossing the finish line.

    In fact, you may as well say to yourself that "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" and mash them into a pulp by smashing into their backsides and leaving them for dead, as the alternative way to winning is to bump off all five other contestants...and it's a lot more satisfying. As long as you do all this before the timer reaches zero, then you'll have no problems. Take note though, as you do NOT get extra time for crossing the checkpoints, but instead for mowing down pedestrians! If you find the idea of mowing down digitised people as vile and disgusting as an equal-rights campaigned, then take the easy way out - go at top speed smashing into a few signposts and street lights instead. Why? Well, at least one of them is sure to catch a member of the public on the rebound! Such a thing is very satisfying to watch in an action replay!

    As you progress through the game you'll amass credits, which after each game can be traded in for extras to soup-up your engine, armour or stronger items to attach to your car so you can do more damage to those of the others! Also, you start at the rank of 99, but as you go through the 36 races available, you'll eventually climb to the ranking of No.1...if you survive, that is. Each of the races has it's own description, my favourite being the last one which involves the slaughtering of many BSE-infected cows, and as such, It's Curtains for Beef!. And the name of that level? Beef Curtains of course!

    As your car's stature improves, you'll find that some cars are rather special, because when totalled, they are removed from the race, repaired automatically, and are then available for you to drive during the next race and all subsequent races. When playing, I acquired a yellow Armoured Vehicle, and once in that I turned my nose up at anything else as this smashes through the opponents with ease.

    Of course you can't just go smashing into everything and expect no recourse as your car will become damaged. A status screen in the corner shows the state of your car's systems, and as they become more damaged, they begin to fail or malfunction altogether. You can repair some of the damage to your car during a race though by pressing the repair button (initially set as Backspace), or repairing all of it by double-clicking on the button.

    If you get stuck upside down and don't want to wait for someone to smash into you to put you back on your wheels, pressing Recover (initially set as Insert) will, for a price, right your position.


    Installing the Game

    Carmageddon Pic Installation is simple and can be done both in DOS and from within Windows 95. Done through DOS, you can then choose to have the program automatically select your soundcard type, or select it manually. In Windows 95, not only will it automatically select and configure your soundcard, but you are also provided with DirectX drivers version 3a which are required, although also available on the internet now are the drivers for version 5.0.

    If you're stuck between choosing a medium or full installation, the full one only benefits you if you have a CD-ROM drive slower than quad-speed as the only bonus you get out of it is to copy the FMV sequences onto the hard-drive. As most PC's these days come equipped with quad-speed or better, a medium installation should suffice.

    Main Menu

    The main menu appears after the introduction movie, which like any cut-scene can be interrupted by hitting any key or clicking the mouse, and includes options to start a new single-player game, a new network game (this version in 16Mb only), or the chance to load in a previously-saved game. You can also save your position, although if you do this during a race, it will only save the position at the start of a race, so you can only save the game inbetween races and after completing the current race.

    The sound options control the music and effects, and there are a large number of graphics options for customising the complexity of the graphics to enable those with slower PCs to gain some speed. You can also select one of four preset keyboard controls setups, or alter them to fit your own preference. Alternatively, if you have a steering wheel (bought from a computer games shop and not ripped out of your car) you can use that instead to wreak your havoc.

    New Game

    When starting a new single-player game, you can select one of two drivers, Max Damage and Die Anna, the names of which can be changed to protect the innocent. During the game you can witness the reactions of the drivers via the Pratcam, which can be turned off should you tire of Die Anna piercing your ears every time she screams, but then let's be realistic, if you were strapped into a car being driven and thrown about by someone else, and had no control over it, wouldn't you be screaming ?

    Skill Screen

    Three skill levels. That's all you need to know, but they're not called Easy, Medium and Hard, as you'd expect, but bizarrely :


    Playing the Game

    Before you start to race, there are a few options to take care of first :

    Carmageddon Pic

    Action Replay (not in 8Mb version)

    Once you discover this option, you'll never stop using it. Pressing the Enter key on the numeric keypad puts you in Action Replay mode. Just like a VCR, you can effectively tape the race and watch it back at your leisure. Due to the available memory, if the space available for action replay info fills up, the oldest stuff gets wiped.

    As well as full control of the replay, there are three different camera angles. Very commendable, but there's only one I use, and you'll see why soon.


    Hints, Tips and Cheats


    Blood Version ? Zombie Version ? Pardon?

    Carmageddon Map Look at the map opposite. No, it's not the international scenario for the next Mission: Impossible film, but an indication of which countries have had which versions of this game.

    In good ol' Blighty, the BBFC decreed that they wouldn't allow us to mow down ordinary people, even after applying an 18-certificate to the game, so UK gamers have to put up with mindless, identical zombies whose green blood looks more like guacamole all over your windscreen... or do we? Available on the internet, if you look for it, and you don't have to look too hard I can assure you, is a Gore Patch which reinstates the human pedestrians.

    Also available is a 3Dfx patch for those with suitably-equipped 3Dfx graphics cards to improve the quality and speed of the graphics.


    Graphics, Sound and Playability

    The graphics and the interaction between the cars, pedestrians and scenery is all first rate. Each of the cars is very detailed, mainly down to the fact that they've been rendered with polygons, as is the scenery, the only parts which are sprites being some track accessories and the pedestrians. Also, the collision-detection is spot-on.

    The sounds in the game set the tone perfectly, but lose a point for being not a great deal more than you'd expect from a racing game. The sounds that do stand out are the grinding crunches between the cars which are great fun. If you have your PC connected up to a hifi or surround amplifier, make sure you have the volume turned up as you plow into the opposition!

    Playability is nothing short of excellent. The combination of keys can take a little getting used to, but once you've worked out what goes where, or have configured the keys to suit your own preference, you're well on your way to venting your frustration on the bad guys. After this, it's a case of practice makes perfect, or try, try, try, try and try again...and again and teach the opposition a lesson they'll never forget.


    Overall

    Overall, for me, this is the game of the year so far. It takes the conventional racing game and gives it a sharp kick in the teeth, not to mention doing the same for political correctness. :)

    If I wanted to make one alteration, I'd allow the saving of your position from within a race, but then the way it stands now will make you try just that bit harder which may increase the longevity of this game as you won't want to stop until you reach the top-slot.

    On the subject of longevity, now available is the Carmageddon SPLAT PACK, an extra set of levels and cars, to give you even more Carmageddon in case you thought you'd seen everything. A demo of this is available on the internet and you can click HERE for my review.

    If you're after some more Carmageddon excitement, you can check out the official SCI Website at www.sci.co.uk which also includes links to a stack of Carmageddon-related sites.

    GRAPHICS 		: *****
    SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC	: ****
    PLAYABILITY		: *****
    ORIGINALITY 		: *****
    ENJOYMENT 		: *****
    -------------------------------
    OVERALL 		: *****
    

    Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1997.

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