Welcome to our review of the Cel Damage HD game, previously available on Xbox and Gamecube, now out on Nintendo Switch!
Cel Damage HD is a re-release of the classic vehicle combat game Cel Damage: Overdrive which includes gameplay enhancements and it’s running in High Definition. Cel Damage HD is the definitive local multiplayer game, so just add a couch and have a blast with your friends and family. Master the single-player mode to get a leg up on the competition!
I was lucky to play Cel Damage back on the GameCube, one of my friends had bought it and at around age 25, it was my first time playing this game, now 17 odd years later, I got a second view at the game. Mind you that I own a full set GameCube but I never got back to this game as I mostly play solo and well… Let’s be honest, this game shines most in the multiplayer mode as single player in a destruction based car game gets tiring and boring.
In single player mode, this is mostly a button masher and while there are three modes that basically come down to “destroy all”, “capture the flag” and basic racing, the destroy all game called Smack Attack is the one you will primarily be playing. At least this was the case for me. Once you manage to get through the skimpy mission of beating all worlds, you get to see one of the character’s back story. Very skimpy indeed.
Most of the time, you will be feeling like you’re stuck in a bad episode of a random Looney Tunes episodes. There is sadly a reason why this game is mostly found in clearance bins in retro stores and well, aside from offering a skimpy experience, it is just no fun in single player. The layout of the controls resulted in me getting a painful thumb from all the firing within a few games after starting and I am used of playing musou games…
Another thing I noticed, that despite its cheap price, it had much better graphics than what I remembered. This game does look the part for being on a modern day console.
Now the good part, this is a fun co-op game and probably the time it shines the most? I played with a couple of friends and while we laughed out loud on more than one occasion, the consensus was that none of my friends would see themselves play this game for hours. It was more a casual thing rather than something to invest time into in order to become a really good player.
In conclusion, Cel Damage was originally reviewed and found to be mostly a rather empty game and this still holds true. When I played it, it also felt skimpy and though we can not really expect more from a port, the fact remains that so much more could be done with this game is still a shame. The co-op alone cannot carry this title into stardom…
