Posted on: June 22, 2020

idbeholdME

Games: 732 Reviews: 68

Extremely good, but pretty difficult.

An awesome arcade racer. One of the best I've played actually. If you are a fan of the genre, you can't go wrong with this one. The main gripe however is that it commits the most often repeated sin any racing game can. To proceed in the game, you HAVE TO get a certain amount of points in any of the championships. In this game, it means you have to get at least a 3rd place on average to qualify for the next event. I have no idea why racing games do this but it is extremely annoying. It can result in situations like "I won the championship with a huge lead, yet didn't qualify for the next one because I didn't meet some arbitrary point requirement." What? Also, there are 20 racers and only 5 of them get any points. It is way too strict and the main thing that can drain enjoyment out of this game. Example: In a championship that has 4 races and the places are awarded - 1st place - 10 points, 2nd - 8 points, 3rd - 6 points, 4th - 4 points and 5th - 2 points, you are required to get at least 30 points to be able to play the next championship. So a single bad race means you might as well restart the whole thing. This leads into the pretty demanding difficulty. DON'T play this on hard. It speeds up the opponents so much it is basically impossible to win. Even on normal difficulty, you have to drive very well to be able to reach the top places. Enemies also get a massive head start for some reason. Every single one of the AI opponents will get a massive boost immediately after starting the race, meaning you spend the first lap just catching up to this artificial deficit. And one smaller gripe - there are only 4 worlds with 3 tracks each, meaning 12 races in 4 environments. That is definitely on the lower side and thus can get repetitive pretty quickly. But the main thing, the racing itself, is stellar. Along with the power-ups and weapons, genuinely fun with some very tense moments. But I have to take a point off for the things I mentioned above. So a very good 9/10.

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Posted on: March 18, 2020

Silvershock

Games: 843 Reviews: 2

Very fun, but a little too easy

I've played Dethkarz many times throughout my life, coming back to it every now and then for a nostalgic racing romp. It looks great, it's fast, it controls well and the explosions when you take out an enemy car are incredibly satisfying. That said, it's just a little too easy, and a little too short, and that's always bothered me. Outpacing the other cars once you get the hang of the (admittedly cool) tracks is not difficult, and the standard laser weapon can be charged up and released with such deadliness that I used to take pleasure in slowing down so I could vapourise everyone else on the track for an easy win. Still, if you want some Wipeout-era arcade fun, I recommend Dethkarz. Just don't expect too much in the way of depth.

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Posted on: December 29, 2019

Quadrasoul

Games: 13 Reviews: 1

Big "YES"!

I remember very well playing this somewhat 20 years ago. Me and friends having a blast on a LAN party which somewhat brings me attention to a small detail - why is this game tagged as a "Singleplayer" when its obviously also a "Multiplayer" too? Great car handling, excellent gameplay and has that thing to draw you to play it (specially in Multiplayer) - the crucail regent for a game to be good, and nice graphics. It has my stamp of approval!

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Posted on: December 31, 2019

trusteft

Verified owner

Games: 1963 Reviews: 121

Solid futurist racer

There are good reviews in this section so I won't try to tell you about the game, read theirs. It is fun, it is fast and it has good late 90s rave music for soundtrack. You can switch off weapons and powerups, which is something I wish more games with weapons and powerups had. Oh how I wish that was the case. The only negative I can say about this release is there is no downloadable OST. It's so pure nostalgia that I wish I could download it here.

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Posted on: March 16, 2020

KMickle

Verified owner

Games: 137 Reviews: 10

A milestone in arcade racing

This title is a deathmatch racing simulator set in a fictional future. Four corps of racers compete in a series of tournaments spanning 4 racing complexes (of increasing difficulty) each with 3 tracks (of increasing difficulty). Each corps drives their own type of vehicle, emphasizing either speed, handling and acceleration, combat ability or nothing in particular. The race tracks are suspended in the air, with many crazy tilts, jumps, bumps and tight turns. You fall down—you are teleported back up with half the speed. You're destroyed—it's all over. Apart from the main weapon (you may charge it up by holding the 'Fire' button) there's a number of powerups (missiles, shields, mines, booster, repair kit) placed along the track. You may carry one and deploy it at any time. Pros: — Brilliant graphic and sound FX. This looks great even now, but back in 1998 that was marvellous. Destroyed cars have their reactors go into meltdown, overload and detonate with a blinding flash of light; — Manoeuvring and landing killing blows feels great. The intricacies of racing tracks makes driving more interesting; — Different types of vehicles give a new dimension to the game: the "leave everyone behind" motto of the speeders does not easily come on terms with the "leave no one ahead" motto of the heavy-hitters. — Challenging; you must have the knowledge of the tracks and the feeling of your vehicle controls before you can actually expect any results. Cons: — The opponents have trivial AI. They fire and use power-ups lazily, haphazardly and ineffectively; never make mistakes, always follow the optimal trajectory, but have their top speeds capped. As such, either speeders or speed/acceleration balanced AI racers always win (depends on the track). Rating justification: — Extremely pleasant and memorable; — Challenging; — Cons do not have a severe impact on the overall impression. Not recommended to: those who dislike action games; casual gamers; Recommended to: everyone else.

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