Difficulty:

Easy

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Great multiplayer"

Definitely a game that grows on you. When you first boot up the career mode, it looks terrible-a ‘world map’ with all of three roads in it, only about four places to visit off the bat and a car that handles like a complete truck, you may think that you’re better off looking elsewhere. Once you enter a race, however, you’ll find that the sheer variety of the career events keep this game alive.

You’ll be invited to begin with almost no cash and the worst car in the game. The whole idea is to slowly make your name in the demolition derby circuit, finishing with a derby championship to decide the greatest of them all. Of course, the box of bolts you start with is hardly going to win in that, so you need to make money by placing well in derby events and winning bets with other racers.

Winning an event will move you up 5 places on a type of ranking board, with the ultimate aim of becoming the No 1. Unfortunately the events can get a bit similar, and the first events are quit easy, even in the first cars.

As you progress through the game, you’ll accumulate rep which unlocks cars and tracks in the arcade mode. Every time you go to the used car lot, there will be a different line-up of cars, which will slowly get better-and more expensive-through the game. You can also install upgrades and paint them, although the paint is difficult to use at first. After you’ve completed the career, though, the arcade mode seems a bit under-developed. You can race in any one of 26 ‘dares’, although you’re unlikely to be hooked by them. You can also unlock cheats by performing specific feats, which is a good idea.

Multiplayer is terrific, and if you have friends over on a regular basis, you can pretty much player the ‘battle’ mode all day. Shooting exploding chickens at each other is hilarious, and is by far the best bit of the game. The soccer mode is a good idea, but the top-down view is awkward to use.

Unless you play with mates regularly, though, Test Drive: Eve of Destruction is likely to be short and sweet, with very little replay value.