Creat Studios has done it again. The team behind PSN greats like Magic Ball and Cuboid have brought their PS2 title Smash Cars, to PSN. It’s important for me to get this out there: Smash Cars is a fantastic racing title for PSN. It reminds me of both Pure and Motorstorm for PS3, with great tracks and cool tricks to pull off. Instead of playing the driver of a full automobile, you play as a remote control car, as your human drives you to victory. It’s a unique experience, and a nice touch on the developer’s part.
The controls are incredibly accessible, with R2 to accelerate, L2 to back up, and Square to handbreak. Tricks are performed by simply moving the left thumbstick either up or down. You can pull off other tricks as well, which require you to hold down Square and moving the left thumbstick left or right. And if you feel like really pulling off some cool stunts, combine the two for massively awesome moves. There’s several car types included, such as Buggy, Monster, etc. My personal favorite is the Buggy class, mainly because it’s very well balanced. It has just enough speed, and has adequate handling.
Smash Cars is a hit in the gameplay department. Racing never gets old in the game, as the developers added a lot of unpredictability to the overall setup. It’s always a different race, as anything can happen, including crashing into people who are walking on the beach, to falling through a broken wooden bridge. Winning races is always a blast too, as you know you’ll be getting some nice treats for your car, such as brand new parts. Tricks are an essential part of the gameplay, and if you pull off a great one, expect some stars and points to be thrown your way. Your RC car also has the ability to boost, but be careful. If you overuse your boost, you’ll have to wait until the next lap to get it back.
The modes within this game are pretty familiar. You have your standard races, time trials, and, my personal favorite, the Knockout Challenge. The Knockout Challenge is a great mode in the game, with four cars in a race. As you can guess by the title of this mode, players get knocked out. In this mode, you’ll have to stay alert at all times, as whoever is last at the end of each lap gets knocked out of the race. This goes on until one car is remaining. It’s very fun, and nerve-wracking at the same time.
