There was a Race Practise mode, Time trial and of course the new Multiplayer mode. The second was Wrecking Racing which was all about the damage you caused to other cars as well as your final position. Championship mode had two settings, the first was a traditional league racing mode consisting of four races. There were four modes in the game which kept it interesting as well. The vehicles themselves were redesigned to look more like American Stock Cars which lent itself well to the damage elements of the design. The commentary was hyped up and the soundtrack was an all-out Heavy Metal assault. Not only had the scenery been improved but Jumps and obstacles were also added to boost damage but also make the race more exciting.Īnother element that upped the excitement level was the sound design. Not only could you race around some impressive looking tracks but you could smash up your opponents at the same time. Yes, this was the game that brought wanton destruction to racing and we loved it. You got extra points for causing damage to other players so you were actively encouraged to smash into the back of the car in front or ram the car you were overtaking off the course and into a tree. Of course, as we’ve already said, this was more than just a racing game and that damage was essential. A crumpled left wing could spell disaster as you suddenly couldn’t turn round sharp corners.

On top of that, the damage would actually affect the handling of the car, this was massive. Bits would fly off and areas would crumple. Whereas before damage on the vehicle might have indicated by an area of the HUD turning red now you could see the damage on the car. Whilst we’d seen this in games before this was completely different. It had some next level game physics that allowed the cars to become damaged. Why does it stand out from the other racing games of the time? Well, let’s take a look at what made Destruction Derby 2 the go-to racing game for a generation of gamers.Īt its core, Destruction Derby 2 is a racing game but it was so much more than that. When its sequel came out the year after a lot of those flaws were fixed and it was a whole new animal.

One of those titles was Destruction Derby 2.ĭestruction Derby was released in 1995 and was a brilliant game with a few obvious flaws.

When thinking back to the Sony PlayStation, or the PS One as it was later known as, there are several seminal titles that made it the legendary console it became.

Destruction derby 2 ps1