Destruction Derby 64 Review

Great Tracks
Harder Edged Gameplay Than Previous DD's
Excellent Multiplayer Modes
Instant Rearview Mode With Z Button
"Checkpoint" Girl

Inconsistent Scoring
Freezing Glitch

I've always been a big fan of the DD series ever since it came out on PSX so many years ago. It's nice to see Nintendo users get their shot at this great game. Looking Glass Studios (the developer) made some overall changes to the original design concept of the game and I have to say they are big improvements. The track design has taken on more of an arcade appearance, making the racing environments much more interesting while giving the gameplay a shot in the arm. In fact, although not as long or as intricate, these track designs remind me a lot of my favorite N64 racer, Beetle Adventure Racing. Add in the fact that you are encouraged to smash head-on into other cars at breakneck speeds and you have a winner on your hands.

Stock car fans know that the ultimate no-no in the sport are driver door collisions. Not so in this game. This game is about wanton destruction of your opponents. You are awarded points based on your collisions; the nastier the better. If you "kill" the opponent's car (I'm assuming the driver somehow escapes from the car after a head-on collision in which his vehicle blows up upon impact) then you are awarded even more points. During a race, in which you will be surprised to know that there are cars racing towards you and vice versa, it is up to you to score as many hits or kills as you can; getting to the finish line doesn't work in this game as there is no finish line. There are 11 other cars on the track and you will be notified when one of those cars bites the big one. Your damage meter lets you know how you are doing, as does the real time damage on your car. Door will be dented, brake lights will be smashed, hoods ripped off and smoke will billow from the engine when it's darn near closing time. However don't despair if there are 5 cars left and you are on your way out. As long as you've scored enough points, you can still come in first. Once you blow up, the computer finishes the game for you (quickly thank goodness) and tallies up the points.

Destruction Derby 64 has 3 racing modes to choose from: World Championship (play through all of the tracks to become the best), Arcade (pick a track and lay down the smack), Time Trial (focus on speed rather than demolition), Multiplayer (Deathmatch, Destruction Race, Bomb Tag and Capture the Flag). Although the Time Trial is a good way to look for some shortcuts without fear of not making a checkpoint during a race, it still pales in comparison to the demolition modes. Let's face it, you can race in any racing game available on the N64, but how many can you dish out vicious head-ons? I found the World Championship mode to be my personal favorite. It's the deepest game available out of all of the modes and will keep you entertained the longest, outside of Multiplayer, of course. The Multiplayer games were a blast, and I was surprised at how well the framerate performed using the ¼ sized screen. A nice bonus is that during the Multiplayer games there are other cars on the track as well, so you can practice all alone while getting used to the small screen and still compete against CPU controlled opponents. This is one of the first Multiplayer games that did not give me a headache!

The tunes in DD64 are the usual fare; pseudo techno rock tunes that pump out the skank and give you the appetite for destruction. The announcer is unobtrusive and rarely seems to speak, but the "Checkpoint" gal has stolen my heart. She has such a lilt to her voice when she says "Checkpoint" that I would give up everything for her even though she is just a sampled sound byte. I could see it now, "Honey, I'm going out on a 6 week camping trip with the boys. Make sure you have the house painted when I get back, okay?" She'd look up at me, smile and say, "Checkpoint." Ah, perchance to dream...

Complaint Dept. I have found the scoring system in DD64 to be inconsistent. Sometimes a good collision will net you a ton of points, but then what you would deem to be an even better vehicular assault nets you close to zip. What gives? Also on several occasions the game froze up and I had to turn off the machine. This happened whenever I had ran out of time and at that same moment been rammed by an opponent. My advice? Don't run out of time and get rammed by an opponent, especially if you are having a really good game.

Glitches aside, this game is a lot of fun. I was expecting a carbon copy of one of the older games but was pleasantly surprised to find a whole new game under the hood. This updated version does its predecessors proud. If you are looking for a smashing good time, look no further than DD64. There is nothing like it on the N64.

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