Destruction Derby
Entitled Destruction Derby Psygnosis published since 1995, several racing games. These were developed by the studio Reflections Interactive based in Newcastle upon Tyne and released for Windows, Sony PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Sega Saturn and Nintendo 64
Outstanding was the unusual and completely new setting of a racing game on accidents, bumps and destructive modes of operation, with the Destruction Derby series laid the foundation for modern games like Flatout, Carmageddon or Crashday.
Game content
The player drives a car race against 19 ( in Part 15) opponents, reminiscent of a stock car race. Various routes and vehicles are selected. In the first part, the routes were still relatively flat and NASCAR - like configuration, the later parts, however, took over with jumps, banked corners and variable ramps substantial distance elements from games like Fatal Racing or 4D Sports Driving. The selectable vehicles differ in terms of road holding, acceleration and top speed and see also from typical NASCAR -like.
The player has a choice of four racing modes: Wreckin 'Race, Stock Car Race, Destruction Derby and Time Attack. The first two options represent classic round course race dar. In Stock Car Race counts alone the placement, the Wrecking Race, however, include primarily the so-called race points for spectacular accidents with other vehicles. Also, the AI behaves much more aggressive in this game mode. The other hand, falls completely out of the frame of the eponymous Destruction Derby mode: In a circular arena, players fight downright vehicles against each other. The decisive factor here is the " survived " time and appealing for damage score. Time Attack is finally a simple time trial.
The player can either complete individual race events, or an entire championship. In the championship, the player will unlock further routes through successes.
Both appeared for the PC parts offer a multiplayer mode via LAN. Part one offered this opportunity for four players, two against already part for up to sixteen virtual racers.
Technology
Destruction Derby was the beginning of 1995 one of the first racing games available for the PlayStation and Saturn, and sat by his fully textured real-time 3D graphics benchmark. The flat landscapes were there only in the published one year after the PSX version PC version of the weight. Did a better job the second part, which was released in late 1996 for all systems. On the PC the graphics but 384 pixels was limited to a low resolution of 512 ×.
One of the revolutionary features of the Destruction Derby graphics engine was the correct simulation of deformations on the vehicle model. This was far ahead already in the original version available and concurrently released racing games like Fatal Racing or lead foot. In the second part, the simulated damage included even the loss of bonnets, tailgates and wheels.
The PC version of the first part was run on MS -DOS. The second part appeared in addition also in a version for Windows 95
Parts of the series
- Destruction Derby ( 1995 Saturn and PS 1, 1996 for PC)
- Destruction Derby II (1996 for PS 1 and PC)
- Destruction Derby 64 (1999 for Nintendo 64)
- Destruction Derby Raw (2000 for PS 1)
- Destruction Derby Arenas ( 2004 PS2)
The 1999 released game Demolition Racer does not belong to the series, but was developed by also based in Newcastle Studio Pitbull Syndicate, which, inter alia, was responsible for various parts of the Test Drive series.