Driven to Destruction - Review PS2

beaten up, modified stock cars that come in various categories such as compacts, mid-sized saloons, muscle cars and there is the last category which includes big machines school buses and the like. This may sound like quite an impressive list of cars to choose from, but the list of race types is absolutely huge. To name a few you have the simple figure of eight track which is your basic stock demolition derby track, then you have races around oval'ish tracks which see half the cars travelling one way and half the cars travelling the other and then the typical arena type race, well its blatantly not a race its basically a last man standing affair. If demolition derby is your thing you will not find a race type that isn't included here.

The career mode sees you doing all the same smashing and racing from the action mode but you will start off is a really crappy car with some cash. To start you will have to drive around and look for a race to compete in. The races aren't too hard to find as they appear on your map along with other areas you will need to visit such as the scrappers where you will buy your new cars and the auto shop where you can upgrade your machine. You will find that new cars have to be bought fairly often as most cars won't last too long in regular competition. You do have the option to repair your car but certain parts can never be fixed so after time these parts will get damaged and eventually break, so you will need a new motor.

You will have approximately 25 different events to enter in the career mode, plus you can drive around the streets and challenge individual drivers to a race for some extra funds. Basically what you will be doing is driving around looking for an event, taking part in the event and then driving around looking for another event to take part in. The only thing that can break up the monotony is the trip to the scrap yard you will have to make every now and again. This whole process of driving around can get quite boring and repetitive at times, so be warned.

The car controls are as basic as you would expect, the cars handle in more of an arcade style, so when ever you are travelling around a corner it will usually be sideways. Its not realistic, its more simplified realism if that makes any sense. The action is fairly intense but you have to be careful to avoid walls and any other solid object as you can take a far larger chunk of damage. When you hit cars the damage is fairly forgiving, you will be thankful for this as some of the races can go on for a very long time and it's especially important as you can always earn extra points for smashing and killing your opponent's cars. The action in the races strikes a good balance between destruction and winning. You can go out to win the race but the idea is to score as many points as possible, so as well as winning the race you also want to smash some cars up to bolster your points and make sure you come first in the points table and not just the race. Unfortunately Driven to Destruction will not have as much longevity as you might think, there are some un-lockable items that will take some time to collect but after you have collected everything there really isn't that much to play for, as the game doesn't feature an online mode. There is only so much smashing of cars that one person can take, even with a friend.

Visually Driven to Destruction is pretty good. The cars are not particularly well detailed but they do look like old bangers and when you smash into something the damage is convincing. The tracks and arenas are all fairly basic looking, everything is either dusty brown or tarmac grey coloured and the roadside objects are similarly coloured. Technically you will experience some slow down when there are loads of cars and plumes of dust on the screen at the same time. This is noticeable but not serious enough to hinder the game-play.

The music is not my thing, it's all very average generic American rock and as there are only a few tunes in the game it can get very repetitive to the point when you will switch the sound off. The sound effects such as the engines and the sound of crumpling cars aren't too bad; they are just a bit better then average.

Driven to Destruction is one of those games that you will see in a shop and pick up just because of the action packed screen shots. For good reason too, because you won't be disappointed with the action Driven to Destruction has to offer. The unfortunate thing is the longevity; it's almost a novelty game that after an initial stint of play, you will only play for a few minutes now and again or when you friends come around. For all the good points I have mentioned Driven to Destruction can't be faulted, it's a great laugh with friends and for a quick smash on your own now and again but unfortunately it doesn't really offer anything more.

6.0 out of 10

Click Here to View Driven to Destruction Screenshots