Genre: Racing
Developer: Creat Studio
Publisher: Metro3D
Release Date : July 2003

Pre-order 'SMASH CARS': PlayStation 2

Today I got my hands on Smash Cars from Metro3D and Creat Studio. Smash Cars is a remote controlled racing game that companies exotic locals and wacky pint sized remote controlled cars. This game is more tailored to the younger crowd of gamers but for those old gamers that aren’t all about violence will have some fun with this. So let’s charge up our batteries sees whose car is faster.

Smash cars is a simple straight forward racing arcade game. You have your selection of cars with different attributes and a selection of tracks that traverse the globe. The game play to Smash cars is just plain fun, no story with plot twists, no complicated missions with mission goals to meet, just you and 12 other remote control cars racing to be number 1. Smash cars immediately reminded me of a PC title called Revolt (by Infogrames if i am not mistaken), where it was you racing your remote controlled cars through the house, or you front yard. I had some fun with that game so I knew SmashCars wouldn’t let me down.

In the final retail version of SmashCars there will be a total of 7 play modes, 13 cars, and 13 race tracks. In the preview I was only allowed to test two play modes. The first mode is single race were it is just an all out race to see whose the fastest. With winning comes prize money and with that money you can upgrade your cars, you also are working towards unlocking new tracks. A cool feature to SmashCars is that the tracks are not limited to just a predefined path, Each board hides a host of shortcuts that you can discover to cut down on your time and almost insure victory. There are also obstacles scattered throughout each map, some are simple pools of water while others are humans shooting guns or driving go carts trying to knock you over. The second play mode I tried was the tricky mode. This play mode is pretty much self explanatory, you have to pull off crazy tricks to rack up to points as well as get to check points to extend your time.

In trick mode you must utilize the ramps and surrounding environment to pull off your crazy tricks. There is also a jump button when pressed at the right time can assist you in launching yourself into the air to pull off some crazy stunts. It also helps in avoiding the random speed impedance located throughout each track. If you do pull off an extreme jump or trick the game automatically does a kind of slow-mo matrix replay so you can check out how much airtime you scored.

Smash cars graphics are vivid and crisp. The remote control car models are extremely well done. The movement of the cars is fluid and the physics are well represented. The surrounding environment is vivid as well; trees, grass, water, sand, and pavement all have sharp textures. There is not much to say about the audio in Smash Cars, it is what you would expect to hear. The sound track is pretty cool, it has some thumping tunes, and for the sound effects, they all fit and sound natural.

Smash cars was a fun game to preview and I am sure the final version will be even better, since there will be more play mode, cars, and tracks. If you have a younger sibling with and upcoming birthday or something, I totally would recommend this title for a gift. As for the older gamer I can see this not being your cup of tea, but we were all kids once so give it try.