First Impressions: Take one part Saturday morning cartoon and one part Twisted Metal...
Cel Damage is one of those games that is combining genres in hopes of making a game that is greater than the sum of its parts. At its core, Cel Damage is taking a big cue from the Twisted Metal formula of vehicular combat. EA is putting a twist on this idea by mixing in a healthy dose of cartoon inspired visuals. If the Gamecube version of this title performs as well as the recently released Xbox version then we will be in for quite the gaming riot.
Visually, the Gamecube iteration of Cel Damage is matching its Xbox brother step for step. Without being informed one way or the other, I can't tell the difference between screen shots from the Gamecube from those off of the Xbox. The fantastic art style of the game is the primary thing that will get it the initial attention it needs to build a strong fan base. The characters, weapons, and vehicles are all superbly designed and really do capture the chutzpah of the old Warner Brothers and Hanna-Barbara cartoons.
The key to Cel Damage is variety. The game is going to be offering up a plethora of weapons with which to whack the opposing 'toons. You will have everything from baseball bats and axes to the cartoon-staple boxing gloves available to each of the six characters that you can use. The vehicles available to you will be diverse as well, ranging from hovercrafts to roadsters. All of this is being rendered beautifully with a cel-shading technique (hence the "cel" in the title) that helps to reinforce the Saturday morning feel of the title.
After you get past the visual appeal of a game you need some substance to keep you coming back. EA is giving Cel Damage some staying power by putting several different play modes into the title. As one would expect, there is a deathmatch mode that is affectionately named Smack Attack. However, instead of racking up frags or kills you earn "smack points" and the player with the highest smack total wins. Next is Flag Rally, the cartoon version of capture-the-flag. The twist on this is that the flags have legs and actively try to avoid being caught. The final mode is Gate Relay. Simply put, Gate Relay is combat racing along the lines of your standard kart racing games. All of these modes are going to be flavored with the character and craziness that you would find in an episode of Wacky Racers.
