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Motor Mayhem: VCL Preview

The action in Motor Mayhem: Vehicular Combat League takes place in the year 2025, when demolition derbies have somehow been accepted by the common man as a legitimate sport.

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Success breeds imitation. Thanks to the success of titles like Twisted Metal and its many sequels, the vehicular destruction subgenre has steadily grown into a genre of its own in recent years. As a consequence, you can now expect that, for every title that adds something new and innovative to the equation, there will be twice as many clones and copycats. Infogrames' PlayStation 2 effort, Motor Mayhem: Vehicular Combat League, is attempting not to be thrown in the category of the latter by promising innovative gameplay and plenty of novelties unique to the genre.

Developed by Beyond Games (makers of the Commandos add-on, Beyond the Call of Duty, for the PC), Motor Mayhem: Vehicular Combat League takes place in the year 2025. In this idealized future, destruction derbies have grown from their humble, trashy roots into something of a popular sport - on the scale of today's major sports leagues. Vehicular combat takes place in massive arenas filled with unique dangers, pitting wild, combat-trained characters against each other in mechanical showdowns that end with one combatant's vehicle reduced to a pile smoldering slag.

Motor Mayhem is serious about the "Vehicular Combat League" part of the name. Though there are four game modes to choose from - championship, endurance, last man standing, and quick start (several of which are playable with one or two players) - you'll find that, in its championship mode, Motor Mayhem resembles a sports title. Choose your own character and car, and then enter a fully functioning league, replete with scheduled matches, eight unique arenas, and eight outlandish opponents spread across four geographically determined divisions. The season schedule will work like levels do in other games, matching you and your prized car crusher against a multitude of opponents, one after the other. Perform well enough during the regular season, and you'll earn an invitation to the final tournament.

Beyond Games is going to great lengths to ensure that Motor Mayhem emphasizes chaotic fun and destruction over attempts at futuristic realism. You're still going to aim that minigun on your own, but at least you won't have to simultaneously struggle with a manual transmission. Beyond Games is promising "intuitive" AI, so you should expect computer opponents to possess multiple tactic routines, along with the ability to recognize the importance of multiple weapons, power-ups, and stunt driving. Weapons, as you can guess, are the primary focus of the game, with an emphasis placed on special attacks and weapon systems that can be picked up in the arena. In the season mode, you'll also have the option to head into the shop to upgrade your personal arsenal. The game is expected to feature interactive environments, so most arenas will contain their own destructible elements. A strategic structural hit here or there can literally bring the house down on your opponent.

Motor Mayhem's current graphical build looks very encouraging. Though not nearly on the level of renderings Infogrames initially released, the title still looks like it could be a visual stunner. Arenas are sprawling and lack fogging or draw-in. Car models also look good, with plenty of polygons to go around. There are already a few graphical touches in place in the engine, too. If you're not too busy dodging tracking missiles and stray bullets, you'll notice characters inside the mammoth rigs are not only detailed but also fully animated, flailing as their rigs are hit and leaning into turns. Conversely, the early build has its share of graphic snafus, which are most prominently displayed in its low quality textures and hiccuping frame rate. The game is still very incomplete, but Beyond Games has plenty of time to improve textures and get the frame rate chugging by the time the game's released.

Motor Mayhem: VCL, for all its similarities to others of the demolition derby ilk, has its fair share of originality going for it. Along with including the innovative idea of a car-wrecking season, Motor Mayhem looks to refine and update the vehicular combat experience for the PlayStation 2 with a copious helping of gameplay and variety.

Motor Mayhem: VCL is currently scheduled to ship sometime in the second quarter of 2001.

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