Full Review: "Hit the road, Jack..."
I owe both Smashing Drive and its makers an apology. In my preview of this game I likened it to Crazy Taxi with power-ups. I am pleased to say that the only similarity between the two titles is that each one puts you in the seat of a taxi cab. With how uninspired Simpson's Road Rage turned out, I was certain that a Crazy Taxi spawned Smashing Drive would be a disaster. Since I had the game pegged wrong I was able to sit down with the finished product and basically start with a clean slate for this review. So, the question now is, "How does Smashing Drive really stack-up?"
At its heart, Smashing Drive is an arcade racing game. On its own, this fact is neither good nor bad. This is where the gameplay is factored in. In the game's favor, Smashing Drive is incredibly simple to play. The controls are tight and straightforward and the racing system can be understood right away. However, that same line of thinking also leads to the assumption that an arcade game will inevitably have arcade game depth. That assumption is right on the money. These arcade roots provide for a highly enjoyable gaming experience that just doesn't last that long.
Each level of Smashing Drive is a race against another cab driver through the streets of New York. Scattered across the race course are numerous floating power-up balloons that help you to go over, through, and past the everyday city traffic. Many of these power-ups will also help you to find "Risky Routes" through the city. These routes allow you to either shave a few seconds off of your lap time or rack up a few extra points. Unfortunately, Smashing Drive is just too short. The games scant 12 levels just don't have what it takes to keep you coming back to this game. Sure, there is at least one track to unlock, but the motivation to try just isn't there. The addition of a survival mode doesn't help much as each level is identical to the arcade mode with the added catch that you are disqualified if your cab takes too much damage. There is also a head-to-head racing mode, but once again there just isn't anything special to it.
Smashing Drive's presentation is a well-rounded package. The graphics are vibrant, the textures are adequate, and the visual effects are pretty darn nice. Of particular note are the sparks that fly when you accidentally sideswipe another vehicle, but then again, I am a big fan of flashing lights. All of the power-ups are animated well and come across nicely and the turbo boosts give a greatly enhanced sense of speed to the race. Unfortunately, the rest of the action is somewhat subdued. There is a lot of traffic to avoid and pedestrians to scatter which steps up the "frantic" feeling of the game, but the racing just doesn't feel like it is going anywhere. The other cab is almost entirely disposable as you rarely see (or notice) it after the level gets under way. I can't help feeling that this game would have been better executed as a straight racing game.
Xbox 360 | XBLA
PS3 | PSN
Wii | VC
DS
PSP
iPhone
PS2
PC
Retro
