Carmageddon was one of the first games of it's kind - sensless killing-spree's in an armored dream car. A great idea, but many things held it back. Poor control, terribly chunky graphics, 2D sprites, and lack of special effects and gameplay options. Carmageddon 2: Carpocalypse Now is going to attempt on improving these flaws.

Gameplay & Control
The controls still seem a little laggy, but are somewhat improved over Carmageddon.  If your not familiar with the brakes in racing games, you are going to have a hard time controlling these badass cars. All of the original functions are still there such as repair and recover, get familiar with these keys. You seem to take damage much more easily than Carmageddon, which is good because in the original you were able to take your car off the highest building and it would be fine, just a little dent or two. In Carmageddon 2 you would be destroyed. The cockpit view hasn't changed - it is still ver obstructed and jerky. Third-person perspective is a much better view.

Gore Factor
This time around the pedestrians are 3D, not ugly 2D sprites like the ones in the original Carmageddon. 3D pedestrians means 3D gore. When you run over someone at low speed, limbs pop off and if you keep pushing one against a wall, blood squirts out. Hit them at high speeds and they explode into a mountain of bloody giblets (a la Quake). The variety of pedestrians is still here. Everything from business men to hookers and dogs to drunks. It seems like the designers of Carmageddon 2 spent more time designing the pedestrians than anything else. So if you like to kill innocent people, you'll be satisfied with this game.

Graphics
Carmageddon 2's graphics are much sharper and smoother than the original and the frame rate is nice and smooth (thanks to hardware acceleration - which Carmageddon 2 requires). The flame and smoke effects look much nicer, and you can even break glass and watch it shatter to the ground while splattering 4 pedestrians on your windshield. One of the major improvements which makes a game like this more enjoyable is the fluidly-moving 3D rendered pedestrians which can lose individual limbs, and be annihilated in countless different ways. The cars damage effects also seem more realistic. Carmageddon fans will be happy.

Features
I can't say much about the new features - because the demo is kind of restricted. But you can buy upgrades for your cars while you play the game. The full version of the game promises to add the most requested features and hopefully include better multiplayer support for the net. I've always wanted to do hit-and-run's with a friend :)

The bottom line is, Carmageddon fans can expect a more enjoyable crime spree, and the new stuff may even attract some new players.

Preview by Kamikazie
Date: Aug 26, 1998

Back to 3DGW