Crash 'N' Burn Preview

At first look, Crash 'N Burn may look like a typical racer among a flurry of street racers.  But to hear Climax developer Serkan Hassan explain it, the game separates itself from the pack with its unique style and features.

Crash 'N Burn features real-time damage models not only for cars, but for the track as well.  Cars will inevitably take damage, in fact the people at Climax encourage it with unique racing modes like Kamikaze racing, where one half of the cars race the track in one direction and the other half take to it in the opposite direction.  Parts of cars will fly off, oil will spill, gas will splatter.  These parts stay on the track throughout the race, littering the course with enough debris to fill a junkyard.  Oil slicks, placed in real time depending on crashes, become slippery hazards for racers.  Gas ignites on the track, creating infernos and walls of flame.  This is what Serkan calls “lap evolution”.  “No race will be the same”, he explains, “we wanted every one to be different, and the lap evolution will make it that way.”  As he sped around the course in Kamikaze mode, it became obvious that it works very well.  Cars smash into each other, car pieces became more frequent as the twenty lap race went on, and fire became lethal walls of destruction, igniting cars and obscuring vision.  It’s a great twist on a genre that’s been overdone, and it works very well.

The game will be playable online and offline and Climax didn’t want that to effect a driver’s standings.  “It shouldn’t matter if you play online or offline, you should still earn rewards.”  Unlike other games that have two separate modes for online and offline, cash earned for victories and parts acquired translate across the board.  Gamers can effectively beat the game solely by playing online.

Simple customization creates your online identity.  Four chassis act as bases for cars, with many options for paint jobs, spoilers, fronts, etc., available to create just the right look.  Car performance can be upgraded by changing out parts of the engine, tires, and nitro kits.  The cars are unlicensed, which gave the developers total freedom.

The game features thirty-six tracks in nine environments, spanning standard race courses, baseball stadiums, and Coliseum-like destruction arenas.  Online tournaments can be played for fun or entry fees, depending on the host’s wishes.  Other game modes include destruction derbies, Bomb Tag, and Running Man – a version of keep away.

Crash 'N Burn may not have the graphics or luster of other racers, but its unique style definitely makes it a racer worthy of checking out.  Crash 'N Burn should hit shelves in late Fall.

For All E3 2004 Previews