Destruction Derby Arenas

by 2K Games

Product Features

• Choose from more than 20 unique muscle cars -- all fully destructible to reflect the damage through races
• Collect nitro boosts, spoilers and more upgrades as you finish near the top
• Two offline and six online game modes, for hours of fun on 18 fully-destructible tracks
• Arcade-style physics for great racing action - powerslides, skids, insane jumps and eye-popping crashes
• Broadband capability for up to 20-player online action

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0001ADALA
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: March 30, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,298 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #63 in Video Games > PlayStation 2 > Racing

Product Description

Game Informer Review

At first glance, Destruction Derby Arenas seems like it's got all the makings of a great game. Tons of unlockable cars and drivers, plenty of over-the-top arenas, and a weird mix of smashing and racing sounds pretty awesome. Unfortunately, once you start digging into this title, you bottom out pretty quickly. Scoring is done in such a fashion that your skill as a driver means less than the opportunities you're presented with on the asphalt, which results in the feeling that the outcome is out of your hands.

The idea behind the single-player mode is sound, but it's structured really poorly – if you don't qualify for the next tier, you have to make the entire run through the circuit again. Ideally a robust online experience makes up for this – it's too bad that playing with other humans simply exacerbates the inherent flaws in the scoring system.

All of its weaknesses aside, DDA is still a good time for a little while. The graphics are crisp and the physics are solid once you get used to how loose they are, but there's nothing to keep you coming back after the initial fun of t-boning someone and watching them explode wears off.

Concept:
Win the Derby by a combination of racing and wrecking your opponents' rides

Graphics:
Nice detail on the cars and stadiums, and a cool blur effect for nitro use make it the high point of the title

Sound:
You'd be hard-pressed to find a more irritating announcer

Playability:
Except for the idiotic camera pans that break up your flow, it's fine

Entertainment:
There are some good thrills to be had, but success tends to depend a bit too much on luck

Replay:
Moderately High

Rated: 6.75 out of 10
Editor: Adam Biessener
Issue: May 2004

2nd Opinion:
This game feels like tipping cows on a Saturday night: A small part of me thinks it's fun, but the overwhelming majority knows I've got better things to do. If this was a Hot Wheels game, I could see young kids liking it, but nobody will find joy in the sluggish online portion. You might get a few laughs from it with your friends, but then so would pestering farm animals.

Rated: 6.5 out of 10
Editor: Matthew Kato


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Product Description

Destruction Derby Arenas puts you in charge of classic American steel, for hard-racing action! Battle for first place with other turbocharged V8 monsters, across the wildest interactive obstacles. Voice-acted commentaries and character taunts, plus the headset voice support lets you mock your victims with your own voice

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Smash'm Up Fun!!, June 14, 2004

By 

William McCurdy (Winthrop, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Destruction Derby Arenas (Video Game)

Just got this game a few days ago and having a great time with it. This is a great game if you are looking for mindless fun. It's not hard at all, anyone will be able to pick up a controller and join the destruction. The only issue is the game is really short, soon after you start playing you will have unlocked everything. The only thing that takes a whole lot of time is the upgrades to the cars, which are won by repeating the Championship mode over and over. I have not tried the on-line modes yet but from what I have read it's the best part of the game. I can't wait to try it out. This game is well worth the money.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fun, but irritating at the same time., May 22, 2005

By 

Jeffrey Kelley "Slauncha Man" (Okemos, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Destruction Derby Arenas (Video Game)

I'm of two minds about this game. On one hand, it's pretty fun to sit back with a friend and drive around, crashing into other cars and making them explode. On the other hand, it is so flawed that extended play is uninteresting and replayability is nil.

The game has its good points, but none of them are all that great. Graphically, it's good-looking, but it's not the best-looking game on PS2 by any means. The physics are odd, but it's very easy to get used to how the game moves. The game is fun to play, but only for about a half hour. I haven't played online, but I imagine it's basically two-player mode without the splitscreen and with more players.

The game suffers from some serious pitfalls. The camera, instead of staying behind your car so you know where you're going, pans around at seemingly random times. This is especially irritating when you're attempting to T-bone somebody, only to have your aim ruined by the camera leaving you. The announcer in the game runs out of stock phrases pretty quickly, but having nothing to say doesn't stop him. He spits out the same phrases time and time again. Finally, the game seems small, as the championship mode is like any other racing game on the market; there is no "career" mode or anything where you upgrade your car, etc. Gran Turismo it is now.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Destruction Derby, August 29, 2005

By 

Alvin L. Lindsey - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Destruction Derby Arenas (Video Game)

Great fun. decent graphics, easy to controll. I am 38 with three kids. We all take turns racing/destroying cars. Makes me one big kid. Only drawback that I see is that the game is only two player.