If you’ve been gaming for a couple of years like myself, you’ll probably remember the original Carmageddon. It was one of the first racers where you could kill pedestrians and drive in an open world. Needless to say, the original release resulted in a lot of protests; people didn’t like the direction this game was going, selling brutal kills as pleasure. Now, years later, Stainless Games brings back the game after a successful crowdfunding. But is it still fun after all those years or is the franchise as death as the many pedestrians?
Here to shock
Carmageddon: Max Damage wants to shock once more, as the original did back in the days. The gaming landscape has changed a lot since the original launch however. We got games like Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt, Postal and more brutal franchises. Running over pedestrians is no longer the worst thing you can do in a game but it feels like Max Damage is trying desperately to still shock gamers. By including a wide variation of pedestrians, or peds, to run over, the game hopes to become another cult hit. Sure, running over a pedestrian in a wheelchair feels brutal but thanks to the hilarious ragdoll physics, it’s not all that shocking. One thing’s for sure; Carmageddon isn’t your standard racing game.
If you haven’t played a Carmageddon game, you might mistake it for an action-packed racing game at first sight. But that’s not what the game is about. There is only one mode where ending first can make the difference; the other modes revolve around running over peds or destroying the other cars in the open world.
Prepare for an ugly battle
Carmageddon isn’t about showing off your racing skills, you can win the round by demolishing the opponents or by killing all the pedestrians on the map. The maps aren’t linear at all and invite for a more open world approach. The maps are big and filled with hidden roads and even off-road segments. It’s definitely worth checking out since the maps are by far one of the better features of the game; the only downside is the way they look.
No longer part of this era
The creators went for a retro look but that doesn’t mean the game should look this sloppy. There are pixels and missing polygons everywhere. The environments look like something we could have played on the original PlayStation and aren’t inviting at all. It’s a shame really because the game could have looked amazing with a little more time and eye for details. As it is now, you’ll drive on ugly maps filled with cloned pedestrians and ugly opponents. It’s a bit of a letdown for sure, especially since a lot of gamers were looking forward to play a modern Carmageddon game. Well, we’re sorry to break it to you all, but this isn’t a modern version at all. It feels like an easy cash-in, selling on nostalgia and controversy, which is a huge shame. So is there any good left in the game?
Worth giving a shot
Unlike the graphics, the gameplay did innovate just enough to keep things interesting in a modern gaming era. The biggest plus of the game is the huge campaign mode where you’ll have to race under several conditions. One mission will have you chasing random appearing checkpoints while another will ask you to take down all the opponents. When it comes to variation, Max Damage got things covered. It’s never boring playing a mission and there’s always some weird yet addictive fun factor while doing so.
The humor won’t be for everybody but we could relate. A lot of dirty jokes and references to all sort of things teenagers will absolutely adore, set a certain atmosphere to the game. There’s no story or whatsoever but the characters and power-ups are so over the top they’ll manage to put a smile on your face anyway. Talking about power-ups, if you want to take down your opponents faster, you should collect the red barrels on the map; these babies give you a random upgrade such as a spiked metallic ball to really demolish the other racers.
Collect upgrades
One of the main reasons you’ll be playing Carmageddon is to collect some coins, these coins can be traded for upgrades or new cars. Be aware, however, the same coins are used during the races to fix your car or to put you back on track if you fall down. Killing pedestrians or hitting the other drivers results in coins. It’s a fun mechanism but it’s nothing deep or hardcore really. Upgrades are fun but they don’t change the impossible controls of your car.
Every car you drive feels like a tank and doesn’t move fluently, which is a problem in an open world racer. It’s like driving a high-speed tank, when you want to make a turn, your car will crash into the brick wall. If an opponent is pushing you, there’s no simple way to shake them. You’ll have to use the handbrake a lot to maneuver in the world but it never really works. You simply can’t control the car how you want it to and the upgrades aren’t changing that issue.
Besides hard controls, the AI of the enemies is simply retarted. It happened more than once that an enemy just kept driving against a wall, trying to get out the narrow street. It’s laughable to witness such weak AI in modern gaming. It looks like the developers didn’t invest much time into their physics and AI engine, which is a real shame. Max Damage had the potential of being great but due to the technical issues, it’s not that fun to play at all.
Conclusion:
Carmageddon: Max Damage isn’t the glorious return of the brutal franchise we all hoped for. Instead, we get a game that looks and controls like something from the past. It doesn’t offer the same amount of fun as it did back in the days and the technical flaws keep it from being really enjoyable. If you like mindless racing games where you can kill a lot of pedestrians, it’s worth giving this a shot. If not, please stay away from this product. Carmageddon is a name we’ll always remember but it won’t be because of Max Damage.
