System Requirements:
- Windows 95 or 98
- Intel Pentium II 266 / AMD K6-2 300Mhz
- 32Mb RAM
- DirectX 7-supported 3D graphics card
- DirectX 7-supported sound card
- 210Mb Hard Disk Space
- 8-speed CD-ROM
Carmageddon TDR 2000
has been two years in the making and continues the popular series of the driving game
where gentlemenly conduct never wins the race. Instead, just running through checkpoints
isn't the half of it - you need to smash your opponents up and gain extra time by
running over the pedestrians. You don't get the same amount of time for each person
though as in previous games, but the extra seconds depend on how well you despatch of
them, such as punting them far and wide when you hit them.
And most importantly, since this version contains no video footage then the BBFC don't
need to be involved and I was pleased to see, upon installation, that it blessed me with
the 'English Blood Version'.
There's a pointless storyline about the third millennium beginning and a plague of mutants
evolving from the result of dropping nuclear bombs on a town where all the human scumballs
were shoved - sounding rather like the 'New York' in
Escape From New York - and you're
in the middle needing to escape.
However, all you need to know is that the plot is more of the same. There's 50 totally
destructible vehicles, over 48 missions and races to complete, 9 3D single-player environments
to explore and destroy and 7 multi-player game types in 9 custom maps.
The second installment...
You've seen the above system requirements, but the box does state
recommendations of a Pentium III (266Mhz) or an AMD K7/Athlon (500Mhz)
and I can well believe it. When I played
Carmageddon 2 upon release
I'd only just upgraded my PC and it was straining a little then - just after
I'd got the first game to run like the wind.
When I first heard about this installment being in development it was
said that economies would be made so it would run well on low-end machines,
but given the minimum specs above that clearly hasn't happened. Still, I've
broken the bank by upgrading my PC to the spec at the bottom of this review
and it does play damn well.
Graphics, Sound and Playability
You've heard my comments on the graphics - if you have the spec. for it,
you'll be in heaven.
The only slight niggle I have from playing in the first level is that the
demo featured a rickety wooden bridge in the desert area which moved up and
down as you drove across it quite realistically. Now, it doesn't move at
all. Rather a shame as it was quite a cool effect.
The sound is much better than the previous games and the TDR 2000
demo, not because it features music from Utah Saints and Plague,
both of which I turn down because they're not quite my cup of tea, but
the SFX are much more entertaining, particularly the squelch as you run
someone over :)
As ever, the control system causes no problems, but those playing this game
for the first time may take a short while to get used to it.
The Carmageddon cartoon strip online
Overall
If you've loved the series so far - like me - and have been clamouring for more, then this
is for you and at only £19.99, it's a must-buy. You'll need a pretty
beefy PC to run it on, but if it's fast enough to make games run like shit
off a shovel then you can't afford to miss it!
If you're after some more Carmageddon excitement, you can check out the
official SCI Website at www.sci.co.uk which
also includes links to a stack of Carmageddon-related sites, or click on these
links to access reviews of the previous releases:
Carmageddon,
Carmageddon 2
and the
Carmageddon:
Splat Pack.
GRAPHICS
SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC
PLAYABILITY
ORIGINALITY
ENJOYMENT
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OVERALL
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Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2000.
This game was played on a PC with the following spec:
Intel PIII 600Mhz, 128Mb RAM (133 Mhz), Voodoo 3 3000 AGP, Soundblaster
Live! 1024.
[Up to the top of this page]
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
