Infogrames is wasting no time and are getting to some serious work with the PS2. Vehicle combat was really first recognized with Twisted Metal. This was a hardcore game with no-rules just death, SingleTrac (the original creator of Twisted Metal 1&2) did a great job of letting gamers raise hell and destroy one another's vehicle. Then many knock-offs appeared, Vigilante 8 which I was never very fond of, was too realistic and didn't give me the arcade feel. Rogue Trip which is actually a Twisted Metal spin-off, played a lot like Twisted Metal 2, but it was published by GT Interactive which has bought out by Infogrames. SingleTrac split with Sony and this is where 989 Studios arose from. Twisted Metal 3 was a disaster, the game was incredibly bad but managed to sell incredibly well. Twisted Metal 4 on the other hand had many improvements and was a great game. So now that the PS has seen its share of vehicular combat games, it's time PS2 gets a turn. Motor Mayhem looks like it is the first car combat game that the PS2 is seeing. Check it out and don't forget the marvelous looking screens.

      The game graphics are so damn good. It'll wet your pants good and give you the same effect when you first saw The Getaway screenshots. Eye candy is all over the place, the game is oozing with so many smooth graphics including the PS2's favorite motion blur. Taking a glance at this game quickly may remind you of Acclaim's Extreme G games. Dangerously fast bikes, shooting lasers, bombs, fire and many other projectiles at enemies. But instead of a linear line for racing, you get more freedom so you can play strategically to destroy your enemy. Though the concept is still surprisingly racing. The great feature about Motor Mayhem is that there are many different paths to drive through, so it could either be an area where you may want to lure an enemy or just explore. Bikes, backgrounds, and everything has that cinematic touch to it and Motor Mayhem has PS2 written all over it.

      Motor Mayhem is not expected until next year, maybe early 2001. It is your standard game, pick level, character and then off you go. With eight riders and nine areas to race on Motor Mayhem, this title may be turning out to be something special. Don't expect only bikes in the game though, because you may see 4x4, a six wheeler, dune buggy looking car, or who knows, maybe a hovering machine. Beyond Games is developing the PS2 wonder, meanwhile Infogrames will be taking care of publishing the game. To keep gamers going even longer, Beyond Games has also implemented a tournament mode called VCL. VCL stands for Vehicle Combat League, this is where gamers let it all out demolition derby style. Motor Mayhem looks extremely promising, if this game plays as well as it looks then we may have a gem on our hands.

06/16/00  SolidSnake

Playstation 2

Scheduled release date:
TBA (2001)

Publisher:
Infogrames

Developer:
Beyond Games

Genre:
Car Combat

Number of Players:
1-2