By Andy Matheson on September 16th, 2004

Presentation
I have never been to a destruction derby event, or an "eve" as they are called, but I can imagine how it was created. Somewhere in the middle of Alabama a group of guys are sitting around the trailer park and decide they’d each fix up a few of the old rusted cars they have in their yards and then they’d go out somewhere and smash ’em. The unlockable videos in this game pretty much cement my theory.

That said, Eve of Destruction does a good job of capturing the atmosphere of this lifestyle. The career mode is set up real nicely, and gives the game a more authentic feel than any game of its kind before it. The menus are also very nice, if just a little simple.

Graphics
Test Drive games have never really pushed the envelope in terms of graphics and EoD doesn’t change that. They aren’t ugly or anything but when put next to something like Burnout 3 or even an old game like Gran Turismo 3 or Hot Pursuit 2, the game looks dated. The tracks are too repetitive and a little bland. The special effects are also pretty average, especially car damage. It just doesn’t look very good.

All of this would be good if things like detail and flash were left out in exchange for a solid framerate but unfortunately that is not the case with EoD. When the action gets intense, the game bogs down on both the Xbox and PS2. And with the word ’destruction’ in the title, it doesn’t really take a rocket scientist to figure out that the action is intense quite often.

Sound
Okay, you have three main areas in sound here, in my opinion. First off, the sound effects are great. The cars sound realistic, the collisions rock your speakers. You can hear the suspension shaking when you land from a jump. Now, on to the other areas... First up is the music. EoD has the smallest soundtrack I have ever seen in a videogame. They don’t really have something for everyone either. The music ranges from mainstream crap rock from Hoobastank and Sum 41 to just plain old white trash music. That’s not even the biggest problem. The biggest problem is the soundtrack comes with only six songs. It takes you all of twenty-five minutes of playtime to hear the entire soundtrack. It isn’t all bad though. You do get a Rob Zombie track that isn’t "Dragula." Lastly, we come to the announcer. Yes, these things have announcers. Like apparently you need someone to explain to you what amounts to nothing more than drivers trying to wreck other drivers. EoD’s

"OH MY!!11 HE JUST REAR-ENDED THAT GUY!"

He says that almost everytime you hit someone in the back. Everytime you see a white flag, get ready to hear "Last lap, who is gonna choke? Will it be the leader?". The guy just has too little to say and what he does have to say is irrelevant and annoying. For better sound, turn the announcer slider all the way down, turn the music all the way down, then turn the sound effects all the way up and listen to your own music. The Xbox version supports custom soundtracks.

Gameplay
Eve of Destruction really delivers in terms of gameplay variety, whether the gameplay is enjoyable or not. There are so many modes of play that it seems like a wrestling game on wheels. They aren’t half-assed modes either, a lot of them sport quite a bit of their own feel and strategy. For example, the Figure Eight Race is a good time to simply race for first, as you have no idea when or if you’ll be caught in the crossfire of cars in the middle of the track. On the other hand, in something like the Trailer Pull, you’re encouraged to rub paint often because demolishing a trailer automatically elminates the driver pulling it. There’s a load of game modes, but some of them are just variations of another (example: figure eight race, figure eight jump race). Here is a list of the main modes:

Suicide- In this mode, half of the drivers are driving one way on the track, the others are driving the opposite way. In this mode you must be cautious at all times. You never know when the AI cars will have a huge pileup right in front of you.

Demolition Derby- Simple enough. Be the last car running in order to win.

Red Rover- One of the more interesting modes. In this mode there are two "bases". You start and gun it for one base. The last car not across is eliminated each time, all the way down to a 1 on 1 race for the finish line. This one is a blast, especially in multiplayer.

Figure Eight Jump- Takes the unpredictable nature of the regular figure eight and adds a jump, which leads to less wrecks but when there is a wreck it is usually pretty big.

Trailer Pull- Each car has some sort of trailer hooked onto it, maybe a flatbed or a little RV, maybe a boat. These trailers are very weak so you have to be careful with them because if they get too damaged and break off from your car then you are out.

Chain Race- Each car has another car chained to the back of it. You’re saying "Well isn’t that just like the trailer race?", and the answer is no. In the chain race,

Pushoff- There’s an area marked off and you must stay inside it while trying to push others out of it. Last car either still running or still inside wins.

Flagpole- There are poles in the middle of the track. You not only have to pass them, you have to circle around them. Just imagine 12 cars trying to circle one flagpole.

Those are just a few of the race modes in the game. Eve of Destruction has the usual offering of games in this genre. There’s multiplayer for 1-4 people, an action mode that can be used to unlock things, and a career mode. The career mode is setup much like the one in Tony Hawk’s Underground. You start out in some town in the middle of nowhere with the ugliest car ever made. You work your way up in the demolition eve world, eventually making it to the top.

The career mode isn’t very long nor is it very hard, but it keeps you interested with a few side tasks. There’s a huge race track in your town that opens up after you win a few events. There’s also a restaraunt that you can pull into and challenge people to a race for some cash. On your way to an event, you can even actually challenge one of the people you’ll be going against in the event to a race to the starting line.

The multiplayer in the game is pretty solid and will provide loads more playtime than the single player game. Virtually everything available in single player is also available in multiplayer. There’s loads of tracks, events and cheats to unlock in the action mode as well.

The big problem with this game comes down to the AI. The game is called Eve of Destruction, so the AI should be pretty aggressive. You are the only one causing any destruction though. The only time the AI starts to try and destroy anyone is when the race mode calls for it, like the derby modes. Other than that, most races are like NASCAR with everyone taking the same line around the track. It gets very boring, and makes the game very easy. The only way you will lose a race is if you mess around with the CPU cars too much.

There are other small problems. The multiplayer and action mode could use more options, such as longer races. The game could make damage more of an influence on your car too. Why don’t wheels fly off? Maybe you could snap your brake line or something, I don’t know. Anything is better than your car simply looking like crap after taking damage but never actually feeling it until your car is completely dead.

Overall
Eve of Destruction is rental material at best, especially when there is something like Burnout 3: Takedown out. It’s enjoyable but also short and not difficult, taking you only a few days to unlock everything and then you’re just left with the multiplayer and action modes which aren’t limited in race types but are very limited in options. The game also lacks Live support or online support on PS2, making it even less of a value compared to the competition. It’s nice to see Test Drive somewhat returning to respectability, but they’ve got a bit more of an improvement to make before this would be worth $50.