KMGR of "Demolition Derby"

Demolition Derby from Glu is a strange game... it's either too hard, or too easy, and not much in between. Skills will NOT necessarily win you the day... but a lot of luck may. As a result, it's more like a game of chance than a game of skill, but it can exciting.

You drive one of the vehicles that participate in local "dirt track" figure 8 races or demolition derbies. Or you can do "race night", which is a whole week's worth of races. The perspective is 2D but isometric so it looks slightly 3D. However, the controls are pretty bad. The car accelerates automatically, as do more driving games. There's nitro, turn, and brake/reverse. That's about it. The other problem is the car is TINY, even on my large-screen LG VX9900 enV. I understand that you need to keep track of like 7 other cars on the screen at the same time, but a car that small borders on the ridiculous!

The figure 8 tracks are extremely easy. Just HOLD DOWN the nitro button (somehow you seem to get an unlimited amount of it) and make turns as you can, and try not to hit the walls and other trucks as you go through the intersection of the figure 8. If you don't hit any trucks, you'll probably come in 1st. There is only 3 laps, so it'll be over quickly.

The demolition derby, on the other hand, is MUCH more difficult than the figure 8. You need to SLAM the other vehicles into submission without getting killed yourself. That means upgrades and lots of upgrades, and no slamming into walls and such by yourself. But you need to WIN to afford upgrades, there lies the problem...

If there are multiple races for the same day, you are only allowed 120 minutes of repair time TOTAL. Anything you can't fix, you are SUNK. This also means you need to minimize damage suffered during the demolition derby so you can win the 2nd and 3rd bouts of the day, or even the main heat, if it goes that far.

Fortunately, there are bonus powerups like shields, repair, nitro, bomb (double damage) to help your battle. And the standard tactics like go backwards does apply somewhat.

The AI can't react to your driving that well, so it's easy to win the overall race, as long as you win the figure 8's and use the money into judicious upgrades, and win the later demolition derbis.

Graphics is below average for the genre, though it is decently animated. Sound is below average, as the music just drones on.

All in all, this game is below average, but not that bad. If you like the genre, give it a try. But it's not on my recommended list.

Overall rating: 6.5 out of 10
Pros: simple to pickup, can be exciting
Cons: below par in almost every regard, AI a bit too simple