A test of temper.
* Challenging
* Competitive gameplay
* Multiplayer excellence
* Flowing tracks
* Good graphics
Minus:
* Camera often gets left behind
* Sensitive controls
* No on-screen weapon display
* Cruel AI
* Not the best sounds
First off, I should say that 'Mashed' is a game that is designed to be played with friends. The most fulfilling experience is to be had when there's more than one of you playing.
However i shall be basing this review on the single-player aspect of the game as that is how most of us play PS2 games most of the time.
If you are playing with friends though you can disregard most of the flaws I've highlighted as then it's the same for everybody.
The first thing you should be aware of if you're thinking about owning this game is that it is frustrating, so if you have a short temper or hate losing several times in a row then i don't think 'Mashed' will be the best game for you.
If you're patient or persistent then you will get joy from the game, though don't expect any great depth or story.
To give its full title; 'Mashed: Drive to Survive' is a combat competition racing game, the objective simply to win at all costs.
The main bulk of the game is "Challenge Cup" where you tackle a variety of game types on each track in order to unlock the next track.
There is no currency or special unlock system for cars or weapons; you drive each level with what you're given and the weapons are the same set every time. The main purpose of the "Challenge Cup" is to unlock multiplayer modes.
Challenge Cup game types are as follows:
"Battle Mode"
This is what i regard as the central game-type and the one that occurs most often. Anyone who's played a "Micro Machines" game (1, 2, V3) on the Amiga or PS1 will instantly recognise what to do here. The idea being to get a distance in front of your three opponents to win a point. The cars are then all reset and you go again a bit further on, on the track. Repeat until someone has scored maximum points.
Sometimes weapons are available which can make things a lot harder (though ramming your opponents off the sides is still the most decisive way of achieving victory), and sometimes it's 3 vs. 1 against you.
Matches can last a while if no one is prone to errors, though to stop them going on too long after a set period an end-game mode starts up, where the next team/car to score 2 wins in a row takes the stage.
It's not often it gets this far though as 'Battle Mode' is usually quite hard.
"Race Mode"
As it sounds. You, three opponents and three laps to complete, sometimes with weapons, sometimes without. This is generally the easiest game mode on offer.
"Beat the Bomb"
A bomb is placed on your car and you have to race around the track hitting checkpoints which top-up a countdown timer. Too slow and car goes boom, complete 2 laps and you get to live. Quite tricky as you tend to need minimal mistake runs to stand a chance as the amount of time you get for each checkpoint is reduced on the second lap. You do this mode alone.
"Chase the Fugitive"
Just you and another car. Generally the other car is faster but slightly erratic. You just have to catch it within the 3 laps you're given. Sounds easy but it isn't as you're required to drive perfect laps otherwise you won't make it. Some of these missions will have you repeating them over and over and over.
Outside of "Challenge Cup" there is also Time Trial and Multiplayer modes. Which are both self-explanatory.
A few areas where the developers could've done a better job are as follows:
The first flaw and the one that will have you constantly cursing is the game's camera. You get just one view to control the action from and for the 'Battle Mode' it is supposedly mounted on a helicopter. It changes its focus on particular cars periodically though never appears to centralise on the players'. When the field becomes spread-out, the camera zooms out to accommodate it, but this then makes it especially hard to judge the yaw of your car around the corners. Many a time you'll fall off the road because you can't see where your car is pointing. The best chance you have of combating this issue is to choose a yellow or pink car, this negatively affects those of us who'd prefer a blue or black car. You can't have it all.
Secondly in relation to the camera, you don't have an on-screen weapon display. The weapon you pick up is immediately mounted to the roof of your car, but if the camera is zoomed-out, you can't tell what it is you've got. So you end up not firing where it might be useful for the fear of being caught in the blast of your own missile/mortar.
Thirdly in relation to the weapons, they're nearly all detrimental to your own performance in some way. The missiles and mortars can't be fired from right behind someone because you'll be caught in the blast. The mines are not activated until the next lap (unless one of your foes is far enough back to miss the activation delay) by which time you're embroiled in more pushing and shoving; it's not unusual to run over your own mine. Likewise the oil slicks. The flash bang's blind everyone for a moment, even the person who fired it. The machine guns only have a narrow cone directly in front of you where they'll lock-on and due to the twistiness of the tracks, don't stay locked-on for long.
There are also exploding barrels, flamethrowers and shotguns with which it's tricky to hit anything with, though at least they don't pose a danger to you as well.
Fourthly in relation to difficulty hitting stuff, the controls are far too sensitive. Through all the games of 'Mashed' i've played, i've not once had the analogue stick pushed to an extremity. The dead-zone is tiny and sensitivity high, so much so that a lot of straights are taken with left-right weave because the centre position is non-existent.
There's no in-game music, and the 'insults' are just annoying after 5 seconds, but they can be turned off.
The biggest issue of all though is the one that makes potentially great games into merely good ones: You often get the impression that the game is cheating.
Rather than allowing you to feel beaten fairly, the game does a good job of making sure you don't win. Cars speed up and slow erratically, there is an automatic turbo-use system which makes no sense at all, and the camera will often be so focused on who's losing that you can't see where your car is going out front, and it's at this point that the foe closest to you decides to T-bone you.
It doesn't matter if it's a free-for-all or a 3 vs 1 match, the AI cars will make sure you lose in preference to them winning.
At first you'll think it's due to the narrow courses and you're just being caught up in someone else's mistake. But eventually you realise it's completely intentional and even though you and Pink were fighting for the lead, Pink would rather you both go off the track and Blue gets the point instead.
Overall it's a good game; even playing on your own. Finally beating the other cars after 14 attempts and thwarting each of their dirty tactics is immensely satisfying.
If you can live with its unforgiving nature and dodgy camera then there's loads of fun to be had.
Not quite as much though as with friends.