Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
You'll need to be at least a little mean-spirited to truly appreciate them, but Carmageddon II's graphics look good by any standards. The three dozen-odd cars are meticulously detailed and wildly creative: You get to drive and destroy everything from a tricked-out '70s low-rider sporting front-mounted jackhammers, to a muscle car crossed with a World War II prop plane, to a dragster, to a dune buggy, and much more. They're not real cars, but they look real enough, especially when you smash them (or into them) and they crumple and crack in all the right places. Then again, the cars in Carmageddon always did look good, although the same couldn't be said for their targets, the lowly pedestrians who were mere 2D sprites in the first game and didn't look right against the 3D cars. But now the pedestrians, comprising a cornucopia of humans and wildlife, join their hunters in the third dimension, which unlocks a world of gory, new opportunities for the player. They'll come apart at the seams, go flying through the air, burst into blood and guts, and worse as you careen into them in every which way, earning money for each and every kill. Were it not for the rather plain-looking tracks and a frame rate that can falter even on high-end systems, Carmageddon II would look entirely excellent.
Of course it's tasteless. But if the country can embrace a foul-mouthed and foul-mannered prime-time cartoon show, then it's ready for Carmageddon II. Besides, it's a funny game. You'll pick up dozens of different power-ups that affect the innocent bystanders in absurdly hilarious ways: They'll explode when hit, pop and fly away, dance in place, stumble like drunks, have huge heads, turn huge altogether, turn tiny, turn fat, turn tall, turn skinny, turn completely immortal - you name it. And the carnage is set to the perfectly appropriate music of the quintessential heavy metal band Iron Maiden, as well as a few guitar-heavy instrumental pieces that, while they aren't Maiden, aren't bad. Unfortunately, the other sound effects in the game are only fair, as pedestrian screams and steel wrenching against steel all start to get repetitive fast.
In any event, you'll probably be too wrapped up in the game to be bothered. Like the first game, you don't need to follow too many rules. You can race around the track past a series of checkpoints through several laps and end a race, but you'll often find it easier (and a lot more fun) to total all the enemy cars vying to do the same. Either objective is made both challenging and enjoyable thanks to the wacky hyperrealistic physics model behind the game that has cars careening through the air and against buildings and one another at the slightest invitation. You'll find yourself in all sorts of incredible and ridiculous wrecks, often with those hapless pedestrians at the center. Thankfully, you can magically repair or recover your car at the touch of a button, and for a price. And because the collisions rarely force you into a frustrating situation, and the physics model is so open-ended, and there are so many silly power-ups, Carmageddon II ends up being entertaining for a long time.
That's not to say it never gets annoying; because of the linear race progression, you'll sometimes get stuck on a timed mission objective that you'll have to replay until you get it right. But the game isn't all that difficult, and a little perseverance should get you past any roadblocks, metaphorical or not. What you're left with, then, is a game that isn't serious at all but instead offers a fun and colorful, albeit predominantly red, environment to drive across, through, or over. Carmageddon II isn't the most ambitious game you'll ever play, but chances are it'll be one of the more enjoyable games you've tried lately. --Greg Kasavin
--Copyright ©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a game with long term potential,
By Anonymous_me (chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Carmageddon 2: Carpocalypse Now (CD-ROM)
no point in repeating what others have said.The missions are a bit frustrating and u'll need to get help off web - google under "Carmageddon 2 stategy", also look under cheats- cuz those sites often give tips, too. Notice that u can buy a book(used) here on Amazon that helps. The missions aren't explained in the game, some of them u would NEVER guess the objective on your own. Get the book or search the web. If u follow the map on one mission, U'll try smashing your car repeatedly into walls. Who'd guess that u're to jump from rooftop to rooftop? Get the book or help off the web or u'll go nowhere. Realistic crashes, lotsa fun. Go way off the main course and find all kindsa cool stuff to get into. This game could keep u happy 4ever. Start it up and have fun destroying stuff. Better than destroying real stuff or people and animals. Fun, tons of off-course stuff to exlore. At first, I kept running outa time. Hit as many pedestrians as possible, as this gives u more time on the clock. If u never get past a certain level, so what? Its a great game that u'll come back to for mindless fun. Replay levels to sock away more points for later. Tip: At lower levels, just keep the red car they give u. Buy armor, offensive and power for the car. The car u are given at first is actually better than most. Dont waste all your points buying other cars. (unless u want to) At the higher levels, u'll need lotsa points to buy a big vehicle. The game changes around level 7 or 8. The old tricks to destroy your opponents don't work against the huge vehicles u face as opponents. U've been warned. After u get enough skill to play without running outa time, explore every nook and cranny. Lota stuff to explore. Don't always stick to the main course. At first, I couldn't play without running outa time. That was OK, cause it was just fun to play. Its a GAME! Who cares if u lose sometimes. The simulated violence offends some. Its a game. Take out your frustrations here, not in real life. I only fear that one day I'll be forced to go to Longhorn (or XP) and maybe the game will stop working. A good game is a good game. If u need to always have the newest games, buy something else. I have WinMe, 4Mb video RAM. What a joke of a PC. On very rare occasions, the games stutters for a few seconds. This is extremely rare and passes within seconds. Hardly enough to matter. Occasionally u see odd bugs, like part of a car passing thru another. This is fairly rare. This game is so very good that its few problems don't matter. If u want the latest, greatest, go elsewhere. But I can't imagine a game being that much better, or any better, than this one. This is a gem. If u have it,keep it. Or buy it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If it moves, run over it,
By Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Carmageddon 2: Carpocalypse Now (CD-ROM)
This game is so much fun to play. The only rule is that there are no rules. Where is the fun in completing lap after lap of a race while trying to avoid running into anything? The real fun lies in the mayhem and destruction you can cause, and the makers of Carmageddon 2 understand this. Running over simulated, screaming pedestrians is just plain fun and a great stress-reliever. So is totaling the souped-up cars of your virtual race opponents. I think the original Carmageddon game is better in terms of general playability, but this second installment in the series introduces all kinds of goofy new stuff (which, by the way, only makes much more obvious the fact that this is just a game and has nothing whatsoever to do with real life). You've got your standard greased tires, jelly suspension, exploding barrels, and the like, but now pedestrians can magically grow or shrink, turn into stick insects, blindly enter into the path of your oncoming vehicle, etc. The Iron Maiden soundtrack, I should add, is great music to drive destructively to.I have only one complaint about this game. In order to advance to higher level races, you have to "qualify" for them-this can involve such challenges as completing so many laps in a certain amount of time or running over strategically placed pedestrians in so many minutes. There is little fun to be had in these challenges, and one in particular has left me stymied longer than I care to mention. I just want to be let loose in a crowded city and run over everything and everyone in sight, and I have yet to get a look at some of the higher level racing venues because of the annoying and unnecessary challenges I am expected to complete. Frankly, I've never understood the controversy surrounding this game. At its worst, it really isn't that gory or disturbing at all, especially when compared to first-person shooters (which I also enjoy, I might add). I cannot believe anyone would take this game seriously enough to complain about it, nor do I see any problem with parents letting children play it. Of course, such a decision rightly rests with parents, and the Mature rating is right there on the box to guide them.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
carmageddon 2,
By "mutinyrider85" (Houston, tx) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Carmageddon 2: Carpocalypse Now (CD-ROM)
This game is just plan awsome! If you like games like Twisted Metal, you'll love this. Its 50 times better! Carmageddon 2 is even better than Carmageddon 3! Just buy it already!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
