Written by: Alex

 

 

 

"Smash Cars" is developed by TiKGames seems to be the natural evolution of Rare’s R.C. Pro-AM. Both games are radio-controlled car racing games, but where R.C. Pro-AM was limited by the 8-bit NES it was originally on Smash Cars has the full power of the PS3 at its disposal.

 

The added horse power and graphics capabilities has allowed TiKGames to place the game in a real world settings, giving the diminutive cars gigantic obstacles to overcome. But in a similar way to the watching the original Star Wars movies (before all the rereleases) and then watching the prequels you are aware that the new movies look superior, but somehow they lack what made the originals great.

 

Smash Cars makes a good first impression. Your tiny R.C. monster truck is cute when juxtaposed against the life-sized beach and pier setting of the opening levels. Tearing around the track give a good sense of speed that combines well with the light nature of you diminutive car. Some how the floatier feel these small cars makes the game stand out from a lot of other arcade racers on the market and goes some of the way to excusing some of the cars more outlandish properties, such as the ability to jump (and the inclusion of nitro).

 

 

Reducing the racers weight and presence on the track also provides a very different feel to much of the racing. In a full sized car game a collision can normally be maneuvered out of, in Smash Cars any bump or collision within the world usually results in the car spinning out of control or grinding to a halt. Either of these problems can be overcome by making use of the games boost function, but the reliance on this mechanic takes some getting used to at first.

 

Boost is awarded for tricks and completing laps. There is a relatively small pool of tricks to draw from but this may well be a good thing as the important thing of performing these acrobatics is not to show off but to earn more of the precious boost fuel. Before the second area of the game is even over the importance of this boost function becomes apparent, because Smash Cars is hard. Without landing a good portion of tricks, and using the extra speed it grants you wisely, you will soon drop behind the pack. Even when in front of the pack you are rarely safe, opponents are never far behind and the last positioned cars are not ones to let you pass easily when the time comes to lap them.

 

Unlocking extra cars I was hoping would be a solution to my difficulties with the single player game. Thus when I finally unlocked the final fastest car type I would finally start to feel a bit more confident. I was wrong. As I the cars unlocked and became more powerful the tracks became more challenging at a rate that seemed disproportionate.