Looking for Gore-in all the wrong places.
Story: Since the game doesn't say it's story, and I didn't get the manual, I'm just assuming it's the story of the others. There is a race nationwide involving some psychopaths, with some really sweet rides, and they're hellbent on killing almost every pedestrian in their path, or killing each other. Taken straight out of Death Race 2000, but hey-it's cool and it works.
Graphics: Surprisingly good! I was a bit shocked to be perfectly honest. The cars look like micro-machines of their 3D Modeled counterparts in Carmageddon 2, and it works. They look sweet. Pedestrians are little moving pixels that are you are barely able to make out. The levels all are designed pretty well, and all feel like they accurately represent where they're supposed to be. You can always tell whether you're bashing into a police car, or a certain enemy and his tricked out set of wheels. When pedestrians are hit, little red pixels spray out and a heap of pixels are then on the ground behind you. It's pretty amusing the first couple times, but then you just go into "run everything over" mode.
Sound: Don't expect much, it's a Gameboy Color game. The acceleration noises for your vehicle are alright, as are the bashing sounds. The tires squeal when turning, marked by a sound effect straight out of an Atari game, I swear. The music is alright. The opening theme is a really fast beat, sort of building adrenaline for what's to come. Overall, I can't complain too much since it is a GBC game, but it could of been a bit better I think.
Gameplay: Here comes the meat and potatoes of the game of course. It plays the same as the other Carmageddon games: Destroy all of the other racers or run down all the pedestrians. Except, take the fun of what that is with 3D Models, large open enviroments, and buckets and blood and gore, and turn it into a fast paced, top down GTA, except it's a race. Sort of confusing, I know. Basically take what was a classic for the shocking and brutally fun gameplay on the PC, sanitize it, extract a good portion of that fun, and put it on a handheld. After each race, you earn credits, which you can use to buy more vehicles. Surprisingly, the amount of vehicles in the game is pretty good! There is: The Eagle II, Blood Riviera, Beetle, Cow Poker, DC Cobra, Hawk, Jetcar, Mach 13, Piranha, Piledriver, Harvest, Police, Prop Shafter, Slam Sedan, Super Stuka, Plough, and Thunder. I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure all of these are in previous Carmageddon games, at least I know the Eagle and Super Stuka are. I'm pretty sure the game has powerups. You can run over these tokens in the road, and they make a power up sound, but nothing ever happens. I'm not sure. The game is pretty clean, though the towns with quite, um, innuendos for names stuck around, and there is a small red spray of pixels every time you hit a pedestrian.
Replayability: This one will be fun for a car ride here and there, and if you're looking for watered down Carmageddon on the go. There is plenty of cars to unlock, so that'll keep you playing for awhile. Some handheld games you can just sit on the couch all day and play cause they just work for a handheld, Carmageddon is not one of those games, though you'll appreciate it for a good 30 or so mins of pedestrian squishing action on the go.
Final Verdict: Pick this game up if you're looking for a game like I described above, or if you're a Carmageddon collector. Just don't pay more than $5 or so for it, and you too should be satisfied. Don't go in expecting a gorefest thrill ride like the game's PC counterparts, but there is enough action to keep you hooked for at least a little while. Happy Gaming Friendos! :)