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Watch out for that sawmill! The ultra whacky Cel damage is finally on the GameCube. Review:
November 14, 2003 | 10:00 PM PSTby: Joey Goodknight
Written by: Jonathon Chantos
Back in the twilight days of the mid-late 90's, a little genre (which I call Demolition driving) became a hit among gamers everywhere. Games like Vigilante 8, Twisted Metal, and other numerous franchises which involved vehicles blowing the nuts and bolts out of eachother, evolved to be repute titles upon gamers that wanted just plain, simple, multi-player fun. Some of these games came and went, while the quiescence of others satisfied us.
Now, however, we've just barely took our first stride into the next generation of gaming, and have been occasioned by having games like Twisted Metal Black. With the new generation, comes new games. Cel Damage is yet another game trying to break into this genre, and its result is a gray excuse for this kind of title, compared to others that came before it.
Cel Damage debuted on the Xbox, but made a ported jump to the GAMECUBE in less than 2 months. It was published by EA and developed by a company known as Pseudo Interactive. This game has it happening in a plurality of areas, but in others, well, that's a different story...
The first thing one would notice about Cel Damage is that the graphic style of the game is different than any other game in its genre. In fact, it is the trade mark of the game's title, since it is done through the cartoony technology known as cel shading (Hence, the name Cel Damage). Indeed, it is probably the goodness of the game. Characters are done with a lovely cartoonish, detailed look, and the vehicles very in design, depending on which character you use. The explosions, and every other animation which brings violent results, resemble that of a Loony Tunes episode.
Every character has their own, hilarious entrance video, which is nice, colorful, and appeasing to the eyes (heck, the whole game is, really). To begin with, you get 6 characters to toil around with at the start of the game, and sadly, there are only 4 areas to go around with for the entire game. That's right-- only 4 areas. There's a haunted/Transylvania-esque stage, followed by the "Ol' West" desert level, and graphically pleasing Jungle and Space areas. All are gorgeous the first time through, but after about ten sessions in each area, they get repetitive, and boring. The only joy in them are when you first play them, and want to see the juicy environments that cel shading can conjure up in a videogame. Boulders disintegrate, dust is thrown from behind your vehicle, etc. and eventually, you pretty much have seen everything in total completeness. To add to that, with a plethora of things going on screen at once, the framerate stays at an exceptable, steady 60 frames per second. Truly, Cel Damage's artistic style is the main highlight, and with so many games in current development using this technology, I can't wait to see how they turn out.
As far as gameplay goes, Cel Damage has room for much improvement. When first playing the game, each character is outfitted with their own, initial, mean of various attainable weapons. Which, if you think about it, is simply ridiculous, since this is a Demolition Driving game. In turn, when you use it, it gets you nowhere (minus being blown to bits). The only way to effectively exterminate your opponent(s) is to go for the various power-up's scattered throughout the levels. With those, you are permitted to attack from long range, allowing your opponents no way to get you (unless, of course, they too have long range weapons on their vehicle). However, this is where Cel Damage begins to go down the
John in terms of gameplay. You are limited to only one special power-up, along with grenades, chainsaw, etc. In no way whatsoever are you allowed to toggle through your power-up's (Hence, you can only have one at a time). With this, the game isn't necessarily deserved to be called a Demolition driving game. It becomes a race to the best weapons, which are for the most part, extremely unequal in the category of power. Some offer instant kills, others 2 hit deaths, and some are (what an individual could call) utterly useless. At least you have somewhat of a selection with about three dozen different weapons, which won't necessarily catch you using the same one every single game. However with only 3 modes of play (only one being accessible from the start) you really don't want to play them again, and again, and again, so you more than likely won't even memorize all of the weapons there are in the game. And, when you get into multi-player, fun goes away fast, as it doesn't revolve around skill, but speed. Can you get out of the way quick enough? Which power-up can you get to first? Both these, and other queries gallop through your mind as you play Cel Damage's mediocre multi-player option. This, as well as the other parts of Cel Damage's gameplay, ages quickly, offering no replayability at all. This game had a great exterior, but when it comes to gameplay, Cel Damage is a disgrace to the Demolition Driving genre. Sorry, but I think I'll stick to Twisted Metal Black, thank you very much.
When it comes to sound, yes, Cel Damage has that too. Don't get excited now, it's not anything you've not heard before. The title's music and sound effects fit the game well-- but the fact that there are only so many, they pump a giggle out of you from
minute one, but come minute ten, you want to put your TV on mute. This doesn't really go for the music, but the bottom line is that the sound effects get old in tremendous velocity. Overall, your mind will welcome the sound in Cel Damage, and dismiss it just as quickly.
So, overall, I think Cel Damage is, in all honesty, a class C game. I find it hard to believe people would put $50 down for the game, but for a 5-day rental at blockbuster per $6, why not? Definitely give this game a rent, but in no way should you even contemplate purchasing it.
Back in the twilight days of the mid-late 90's, a little genre (which I call Demolition driving) became a hit among gamers everywhere. Games like Vigilante 8, Twisted Metal, and other numerous franchises which involved vehicles blowing the nuts and bolts out of eachother, evolved to be repute titles upon gamers that wanted just plain, simple, multi-player fun. Some of these games came and went, while the quiescence of others satisfied us.
Now, however, we've just barely took our first stride into the next generation of gaming, and have been occasioned by having games like Twisted Metal Black. With the new generation, comes new games. Cel Damage is yet another game trying to break into this genre, and its result is a gray excuse for this kind of title, compared to others that came before it.
Cel Damage debuted on the Xbox, but made a ported jump to the GAMECUBE in less than 2 months. It was published by EA and developed by a company known as Pseudo Interactive. This game has it happening in a plurality of areas, but in others, well, that's a different story...
The first thing one would notice about Cel Damage is that the graphic style of the game is different than any other game in its genre. In fact, it is the trade mark of the game's title, since it is done through the cartoony technology known as cel shading (Hence, the name Cel Damage). Indeed, it is probably the goodness of the game. Characters are done with a lovely cartoonish, detailed look, and the vehicles very in design, depending on which character you use. The explosions, and every other animation which brings violent results, resemble that of a Loony Tunes episode.
Every character has their own, hilarious entrance video, which is nice, colorful, and appeasing to the eyes (heck, the whole game is, really). To begin with, you get 6 characters to toil around with at the start of the game, and sadly, there are only 4 areas to go around with for the entire game. That's right-- only 4 areas. There's a haunted/Transylvania-esque stage, followed by the "Ol' West" desert level, and graphically pleasing Jungle and Space areas. All are gorgeous the first time through, but after about ten sessions in each area, they get repetitive, and boring. The only joy in them are when you first play them, and want to see the juicy environments that cel shading can conjure up in a videogame. Boulders disintegrate, dust is thrown from behind your vehicle, etc. and eventually, you pretty much have seen everything in total completeness. To add to that, with a plethora of things going on screen at once, the framerate stays at an exceptable, steady 60 frames per second. Truly, Cel Damage's artistic style is the main highlight, and with so many games in current development using this technology, I can't wait to see how they turn out.
As far as gameplay goes, Cel Damage has room for much improvement. When first playing the game, each character is outfitted with their own, initial, mean of various attainable weapons. Which, if you think about it, is simply ridiculous, since this is a Demolition Driving game. In turn, when you use it, it gets you nowhere (minus being blown to bits). The only way to effectively exterminate your opponent(s) is to go for the various power-up's scattered throughout the levels. With those, you are permitted to attack from long range, allowing your opponents no way to get you (unless, of course, they too have long range weapons on their vehicle). However, this is where Cel Damage begins to go down the
John in terms of gameplay. You are limited to only one special power-up, along with grenades, chainsaw, etc. In no way whatsoever are you allowed to toggle through your power-up's (Hence, you can only have one at a time). With this, the game isn't necessarily deserved to be called a Demolition driving game. It becomes a race to the best weapons, which are for the most part, extremely unequal in the category of power. Some offer instant kills, others 2 hit deaths, and some are (what an individual could call) utterly useless. At least you have somewhat of a selection with about three dozen different weapons, which won't necessarily catch you using the same one every single game. However with only 3 modes of play (only one being accessible from the start) you really don't want to play them again, and again, and again, so you more than likely won't even memorize all of the weapons there are in the game. And, when you get into multi-player, fun goes away fast, as it doesn't revolve around skill, but speed. Can you get out of the way quick enough? Which power-up can you get to first? Both these, and other queries gallop through your mind as you play Cel Damage's mediocre multi-player option. This, as well as the other parts of Cel Damage's gameplay, ages quickly, offering no replayability at all. This game had a great exterior, but when it comes to gameplay, Cel Damage is a disgrace to the Demolition Driving genre. Sorry, but I think I'll stick to Twisted Metal Black, thank you very much.
When it comes to sound, yes, Cel Damage has that too. Don't get excited now, it's not anything you've not heard before. The title's music and sound effects fit the game well-- but the fact that there are only so many, they pump a giggle out of you from
minute one, but come minute ten, you want to put your TV on mute. This doesn't really go for the music, but the bottom line is that the sound effects get old in tremendous velocity. Overall, your mind will welcome the sound in Cel Damage, and dismiss it just as quickly.
So, overall, I think Cel Damage is, in all honesty, a class C game. I find it hard to believe people would put $50 down for the game, but for a 5-day rental at blockbuster per $6, why not? Definitely give this game a rent, but in no way should you even contemplate purchasing it.
November 20, 2009
