So this is the return of the series from the Carma pit where it lied for 11 years! This is made by the original developers after a long battle they had to acquire the rights for the brand back. So what is this game? It's a game based on the film "Death Race 2000", meaning that it shares the same humor, with actually a lot more British Humor added (the devs are from the Isle of Wight, England). When i say British Humor i mean of course Monty Python sketches and maaaybe some notions of Douglas Adams. The gameplay is simple. WIn every map by completing any of the 3 following objectives : 1) Destroy all cars (5 more opponents) 2) Kill all pedestrians 3) Finish the laps There's a timer on there (as is the case with all the games in the series), and if it runs out, the match is over. You increase your time by killing peds, crushing cars, chasing checkpoints or collecting powerups. You also collect money with which you can repair your car and buy powerups. There's also many silver wheel tokens throughout each map with which you can upgrade each car (offense, defense and power). Simple eh? As for the powerups, there's a huge collection of them, and among them many are new and funny as hell! You also can mix them in some cases (for example try the "Rapture" Pup and then change to a slicing powerup). But the lack of many older powerups is somewhat showing ("Harvester" and "Drugged" among them). The damage physics are unbelievable! The work they've done is phenomenal, but you can test for yourself! The graphics are beautiful (not CryEngine/UE4 level of course, since they have their own engine). Sound is good and the music is fitting, but you can also change the playlist and create your own. The main flaw of the game is how easily you can be destroyed sometimes and that the HUD doesn't show the state of the other cars (like it did in Carmageddon 2 and TDR 2000). This was a great addition in those games and i find it lacking in the new one! Great game overall.
So i started by playing the demo of the first Carmageddon. Loved the game and was playing it for 1 year. Yes, you read that right! I was playing the demo for 1 year. Then came Carmageddon 2 which i absolutely loved! Much better than the first one and the one that made me a metalhead thanks to it's awesome soundtrack. Around 2000 came the third game. Different developer, Very different atmosphere. Can't remember much about the music though. First of all this game has a set of maps and for most of the maps you'll have to play 4 matches and 4 missions. The matches are against AI and you'll have to either kill all the pedestrians, complete all the laps or destroy all your opponents (which i always found easier and more rewarding). As for the missions : That's a LOT of missions! Something that was introduced with Carmageddon 2 by the way. Now bear in mind that they are timed and you have to find clever ways and shortcuts in order to complete them cause they are not that forgiving. But what made me love this game is it's atmosphere. The bleakest atmosphere of all in the series, it has that steampunk/psychopunk/gutterpunk vibe that will win many people over (and yes i've been inventing words from this point). If you loved playing GTA 2 at dusk or love being the mastermind of chaos (thanks to the missions), you will love this game. And it's not nostalgia goggles folks. I've played this game at 2014 again (4th playthrough) and i loved it for the same reasons! First map is kind of shiny, but under that fake shine you can see the rot that has taken over since the ending of Carmageddon 2 (no spoilers folks...). The AI of the peds is also great and you'll be in for a few surprises. Hope you have a fire extinguisher in your car... Oh also, the afterburner powerup works much differently than the other games and please try it while you're on the air. That was my hint for you.
Yes, Dracula 4 might be very short, but now, bundled with Dracula 5 for it's original price ($19.99), it feels like a complete game! The only flaw that game had has now (almost) vanished. All the other aspects of the game are superb and you can easily immerse yourself into the story (the most important aspect of an adventure game in my opinion).
