Psygnosis is once again starting to make a name for themselves as a leader in
gaming. With the release of Destruction Derby, Psygnosis is opening the door to many future cross platform releases with the Sony Playstation. And if this game is any indication of what is to come, you are in for a real treat. Destruction Derby is a wonderful game where you get to do one of the most fun parts of racing... Wrecking. The incredible graphics that show your car getting destroyed in an ever so graceful fashion are a welcome plus. Car handling is good, and the real-time appropriate announcer is wonderful. Although the game's racing portion is still only a smah-up, it is fun. The absolute must-have part of this game is the multi-player network capability. Without this, the game would be seriously lacking.
Although not nearly as impressive in compatibility as Psygnosis' other current release, Wipeout, Destruction Derby seems to run on a wide variety of machines. Don't expect a clean hard-drive after playing this one, as the game seems to load tons onto it. If space is not a concern, then compatibility is not a real problem. The game ran under all operating systems we tested it under (OS/2, Dos, Windows 95), and supported all of our machines.
There is something just fun about smashing into your friend... And this game brings the best out of it. The graphics are smooth, the announcer excellent, and the gameplay relatively realistic. As a one player game, this title could tire very quickly. However, in a network environment, or even just playing against one of your friends, the game really shines.
Graphics : 20/25
The changing vehicle graphics with damage were very nice. However, a low 320 pixel resolution maximum really hurts. This title is another candidate for the new 3D accelerators on the market.
Gameplay : 22/25
When smashing cars, the gameplay is relatively important. Destruction Derby comes through with gameplay that lets you point the car where you want, and accurately reflects damage.
Longetivity : 19/25
As a one player game, I cannot rate the game that high... It simply won't hold your interest, since their is really little to improve on. However, much like a good fighting game, the two player longetivity is excellent. Throw in an 8 player network, and the longetivity score gets boosted.
Compatibility : 21/25
This game ran on all our machines, although it did require cleaning some room off the hard disk for it. A higher resolution would have been a welcome addition.
Graphics : 20/25