MASHED
is a multiplayer racing game that will remind players of the old classic racing
game, Micro Machines. The game is all about fun and
this game contains a load of fun. The game doesn’t try to offer multiple
licensed car models from manufacturers all over the world. It doesn’t try to be
the biggest and baddest racing game on the market.
The whole premise of the game is to have fun playing a game with a bunch of your
friends.
The concept of the game is
you and three of your friends compete in a race to see who can finish the race
first. Sounds easy, simple and just like any other racing
game. But MASHED is different since instead of competing in a race that
lasts for several minutes, each race might last 30 seconds to a minute. It’s a
fast paced race for the finish, but if you end up in 3rd or 4th
place during the race then the race is over for you.
If you start off the race
and all of your friends race past you and you are no
longer on the screen, then you’re out of the race. But the game isn’t over just
yet. Now you have the opportunity to eliminate one of your friends still
racing. You now have control over a crosshair and when you lock on to one of
your friends you can launch a missile at them. So even though the race might
only last 1 minute, it’s a mad dash race for the
finish. If you end up in last place now you can get revenge on your friends by
trying to take them out of the race. So if you end up in fourth place and your
friend ends up in third place, both of you can team up and take out the
remaining two players.
But if everyone remains
within a close proximity of each other, then you can still try to take them out
in the game. You can ram them into oncoming traffic or pickup weapons for your
vehicles. All of this happens in what seems to be an instant. You start the
race and within 10 seconds you’re already out of the race. Ten seconds later
you blow up your friend that knocked you out of the race. Then a few seconds
later your friend is trying to take out the leader, and then the race is over.
It’s fun, fast-paced action that will have most gamers hooked right now.
The graphics are presented
in an over the top mode so you can see all four friends on the track at the same
time. The location we played on the demo was an on
ramp to an expressway. The graphics are sharp and detailed but the colors
seemed a little washed out. This could be corrected when the game is released
later this year. The controls were probably the biggest problem, with the cars
being very touchy and sensitive when trying to steer them. Several times I was
out of the race because my car would turn too hard during a corner, even though
I just barely touched the controller. The developers mentioned that this was
being addressed.
All in all MASHED is
shaping up to be a great party game that should entertain everyone. The fast
paced gameplay and unique gameplay should have everyone hooked right away. The
game is an offline only title and will support multiplayer on both PS2 and
Xbox. Look for MASHED later this year.
