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Mashed Review
Derek dela Fuente
01/06/2004
We take a look at this fun little racer from the creators of Micro Machines 2...
Without beating around the bush, getting straight to the point, Mashed in the opinion of a number of the leading magazines is perceived to be one of the best games of its kind to appear for a long while. With its simple premise it has a lot to live up to. TVG was eager to face the challenge and experience possibly the ultimate adrenaline rush!
Going straight for the jugular, Mashed can best be described as a cross between slot styled scaletrix racing and Micro Machines â“ small cars but with big attitude and performance!
The scaletrix reference is more to do with the fast pace that the cars move at, as well as some of the physical attributes of the whole experience and the fact you are pretty much stuck between the race line! Press the accelerator button and the cars whiz off at speed - take your finger off the âgoâ button and the best way to stop them is to slide them around the gravel. As for the Micro Machines mention, well it pretty obvious from the look and the stylised form the cars take, the presentation and physical handling required!
The familiar birds eye/helicopter view pans down on the racing cars â“ reminiscent of the infamous Dinky car models - these powerful little cars are well formed but devoid of much detail, although just enough for the player to feel real empathy. Nice in game stills and footage of cars skidding to a halt, with better definition, although default shots will give a nice feel good factor!
The essential dynamics, the controlling of these little pent up bullet power cars, is nothing short of thrilling although there is a number of little quirky problems that spoil what feels like the perfect isometric 3D experience.
Supersonic Software, the UK development team, way back in 1998 presented a similar styled game in Circuit Breakers which at the time, was a pleasing lite racer but much was made of the fact that is looked too much of a rip off of Micro Machines for it to be talked about in much detail. This time around, the team has managed to create enough variants on a Micro Machines theme to potentially give its own qualities and attitude. There is no âtoyingâ around hereâ¦. Itâs all pretty serious!
The games offer a number of modes of play, including multiplayer and the basic mode â“ being a winner - centres around keeping your car in first place or as close to the leading car as possible. If the two cars span more than a screens view/distance then the car in front wins. OK this is a simple premise we have seen before â“ try to get enough distance away from the opposition and you win. Or for the not so competent player, stick close to the bumper of the lead car and hope a little bit of luck may come your way and they make a wrong move and you win, is always high priority but Mashed manages to pull off the most basic of ideas turning it into a game of mini epics, and tussles!
There is a number of vehicles to select from, ones that look like LandRovers, a Starksy and Hutch Red Cadillac offering and many other shapes and forms you would come to expect. Big cars, slick cars, even âmad maxishâ vehicles but itâs hard to be that descriptive as there is not that much disernable difference between the controls and handling of any of them. Maybe when you are sliding around in a huge box shaped vehicle it could look and feel slightly different, more cumbersome, to the slick swagger of a sports car but that possibly is all in the mind!
Winning is not always about being the fastest which is but one of the many moreish gameplay aspects of Mashed. Winning is about accurate controlling, longer-term anticipation and patience, as well as keeping your nerve! To win, make it to the flag first or drive the other car off the screen. Making it to the flag will be secondary at the start for with 2 cars on screen motoring at full speed, shunting around the track, spinning in all number of directions and crashing around like drunken drivers is more of a starting premise.
Although some may have reservations that races can last only a few seconds, one car going over the edge of a cliff whilst the other sails off into the distance, or you spinning or facing the wrong way whilst the opposition continue their domination, strangely never happens that often after the initial burst of enthusiasm! Simple directional perfect sync control of your car happens quickly! Customisation to the task is seamless and totally intuitive and after only a few minutes you will be having the most momentous tussles along rock strewn tracks, sliding into corners and constantly cursing and yelping in delight! This is arcade racing at its most basic and itâs fun like it should be! Forget flash technology, feel the experience!
Mashed appears to be a rather innocuous offering but conversely has enough attitude to create plenty of high charged action to really get under your skin. What looks pretty simple to start with builds into a rip-roaring experience. Even its deceptive look can lull you into a wrong sense of what is bolted on inside once you feel the pace and vitality that is conjured up!
Although the challenge, to be first and win over a myriad of tracks, tussles, against finely tuned CPU opponents may seem an open and shut case, nothing really innovative, every element in the game offers more than you would be accustomed to expect.
The tracks â“ 13 courses - offer landscapes and settings, in both looks and driving skills that will test even the best arcade racer. Circuits include amazing jumps, walls, bridges and tons of scenic scenes of devastation! Picture the scene; you are racing neck and neck, side by side with the opposition. Itâs a long straight road and both of you are moving as fast as physically possible. The two-lane gap is gradually tunnelling into one. Do you slow down, try to stay in front or even play dirty and try to bump them off the road - look to your left and you will see a sheer drop of a couple of hundred feet? Yes, there are always a number of imponderables. Having to think quickly and make the right choice within a fraction of a second is high on the list!
Weather conditions and road textures give more variation and the need for skilful play. The multi faceted driving experiences, from pseudo hot rod racing, to stunt car, all under the guise of being best and faster is further extended and made harder via the introduction of weapons! Weapons are dotted around the tracks from machine guns to flame throwers and other race spoilers, which give the game some extra spice!
So with a bunch of well worked and fleshed out ideas what is the negative side to a game with such a simple philosophy?
Getting off your marker first, sailing into the lead, is what it is all about. If you accelerate into the lead then you have a slightly better than 50% chance of winning the race! (This is our opinion.) Getting this lead is never a simple process of first on the button for in some cases you could be starting a race on a corner so it could be more about manipulating a spin into a corner or some precious navigation ploy but occasionally you feel that the CPU steals an unfair march on you for no reason!
Some of the winning decisions are also slightly suspect â“ sometimes you feel you are just about keeping within a screenâs tag of the opposing car and then without any thing happening, you lose! The close calls always going to the CPU! With this in mind and the screen update being critical sometimes you can lose sight of the lead car off screen (the winner should be announced) and hey presto â“ screen updates and the game continues. This is not too bad for it works for both sides!
The CPU controlled cars occasionally throw up one that is so darn good it takes forever to beat or even challenge but generally the mix between them all is nearly perfect!
