We recently received Xbox and PlayStation 2 preview builds of Crash 'N' Burn, a Destruction Derby-style racer that's currently in development at Climax. The last time we got hands-on time with the game was at London's GameStars Live event in September, and we've been looking forward to spending more time with it ever since. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to check out any of the online features that will appear in the finished game, but we've taken the single-player modes for a test-drive and are happy to report that we enjoyed every minute.

　　Interaction with your opponents is as inevitable as it is satisfying.

　　As its title suggests, Crash 'N' Burn is a racing game in which you'll be spending a lot of time "interacting" with your opponents' vehicles. None of the compacts, pickups, muscle cars, or sports cars in the game are licensed, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that, in any given race, the car you finish in will rarely be recognizable as the one that you crossed the start line in. In fact, Crash 'N' Burn will feature only one vehicle for each of the aforementioned classes in its roster, but with the numerous customization options available, you should have no problem creating an automobile that stands out from the crowd (and perhaps bears more than a passing resemblance to your favorite real-life model) when you join 15 other drivers on the starting grid. Cosmetic options for vehicles in the game will include hoods, fronts, side skirts, rears, spoilers, rims, patterns, and decals--most of which will be unlocked and become available to purchase as you progress through the single-player game.

　　Every time you compete in a race--at least in the single-player game--you'll be awarded cash and experience points based on various aspects of your performance, such as how many opponents you wrecked, how many laps you led the race for, and what place you finished in. Cash is necessary to purchase all vehicle modifications, while experience points are required to unlock upgrade slots for your vehicles so you can improve their performance by investing in a better engine (higher top speed), a new gearbox (improved acceleration), or superior tires (extra grip). We've found that all the improvements we made to our vehicles were instantly noticeable when we took the cars back out onto the circuit, and were definitely a better investment than the various oversized rear spoilers that we had a penchant for but would invariably fall off long before the end of a race.

　　None of the damage that we sustained during our time with the game had a noticeably detrimental effect on our vehicles' handling, but some of our performances were definitely hindered by the wrecks and the debris from opponents' vehicles. Perhaps the most unique feature of Crash 'N' Burn is that even though only a handful of the 16 starters in a race will make it to the finish line, each and every one of them will continue to influence the race. Wrecks will remain on the track (often in two pieces), puddles of oil and fuel will cause you to lose grip temporarily, and large fires will often make it difficult for you to see as far ahead as you'd like--often completely obscuring the aforementioned wrecks from your view. Smaller car parts will also be scattered all over the circuit by the time a race comes to an end, but they're really nothing more than eye candy, since collisions with them have no noticeable consequences. It's worth noting at this point that the vehicles being driven by your CPU opponents are clearly made of a much less durable material than your own--it's not unusual to see their vehicles being written off before the first 30-second lap has been completed. Your ride, on the other hand, can sustain a number of head-on collisions before you even have to think about being more cautious.

　　The damage you'll sustain during races is cosmetic, for the most part.

　　Although you'll invariably start from the back of the 16-car grid, you'll find that getting a good start off the line can make the races a whole lot easier--and far less eventful. Leading a race from the outset is certainly the most rewarding way to play as far as your postrace rewards are concerned, but we actually found it far more satisfying to take it easy at the start and then battle our way through the field as an increasing number of our opponents were relegated to inanimate-obstacle status. This was certainly the case in the GP (regular race) and XGP (regular race with added jumps and hazards) events, but the KGP (kamikaze) races--in which eight cars race around the circuit in each direction--are anything but dull.

Short Circuit

　　The street circuits that we've raced in the game thus far have been set in caricature versions of Miami, San Francisco, Detroit, Los Angeles, the Bronx, San Diego, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and a redwood forest. Despite the diversity of their locales, all the circuits have a similar feel, and most are very short--which is a good thing, since you'll never be too far from your opponents. All the circuits in the game are enclosed by barriers of some kind, so you'll never have to worry about straying off the track--although you may have to worry about slamming into a wall, cartwheeling a couple of times, and then landing on your roof pointed in the wrong direction. Even a crash like that is unlikely to put an end to your race, though, since getting your vehicle back on its wheels is as easy as pushing left or right on your analog stick.

　　Large portions of track are reused in multiple circuits.

　　All the race circuits will reuse portions of track that you've seen previously, but they're generally reused in such a way that you have to race them differently. Whether it's an easy right turn replaced with a sharp left, or the addition of a jump ramp, your assumed familiarity with a certain portion of track will work against you just as often as it works to your advantage when you're racing a new track layout for the first time.

　　Surprisingly, getting behind the wheel of a new car for the first time won't put you at any disadvantage whatsoever, because every vehicle in the game basically boasts the same arcade-style, easy-to-pick-up handling. The sports cars are certainly faster than the muscle cars, which, in turn, are faster than the pickups and compacts that will be available to you the first time you play, but that's where the differences end. Of course, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, given the style of the gameplay and the fact that players of differing abilities will inevitably end up competing with each other online once the game is released.

　　The damage models in the game are quite convincing.

　　Visually, of course, the different vehicle types all look very different, and, as we alluded to earlier, they boast some convincing damage models. Paintwork gets scuffed and scorched, panels get dented and eventually fall off, windows shatter, and--although it's never happened to us--cars sometimes split in two. The graphics in Crash 'N' Burn are looking a little rough around the edges on both the PS2 and the Xbox, but the gameplay is already very satisfying. We look forward to bringing you more information on the game, and its online component in particular, as its November 15 release approaches.