It's mindless, brutal mayhem like Destruction Derby's that gives video games such a bad name. Thank God for games like this and their pointless, glorified violence from beginning to end that sucks you in instantly. There are only two things to do in this game—race or inflict damage on other cars—and it's at its best when you do both simultaneously, timing a slide around a tight hairpin in such a way that you send some poor schlub pinwheeling into a wall in a storm of flying metal and glass. The beautifully-rendered racetracks have their moments, but the real focus here is “The Bowl,” an open arena holding a dozen cars, all turned loose on each other. Though the cars may look realistic as they are reduced to smoking, lumbering junk, automotive physics has been cheerfully chucked out the driver's side window in the name of smoother gameplay. Cars are confined to a 2-D plane, unable to roll or even get two wheels off the ground—but don't worry, you won't be disappointed after inflicting your first full-tilt-boogie 360° on another car. Destruction Derby is low-brow gameplay at its best.
Destruction Derby Review
Thank God for games like this and their pointless, glorified violence from beginning to end.
