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Hey everyone, I've always been a fan of car combat games since the Twisted Metal series.
And not too long ago a close friend of mine informed me I had missed out on what is possibly
one of the most fun car combat games in that persons childhood. Well I couldn't let this
go unplayed so I picked up Cel Damage for the original Xbox console to only find out
it's basically a cel shaded twisted metal.
And no, by that I do not mean I think it's better than Twisted Metal at all, especially
because there aren't any Sweet Tooths in it, but I cannot believe I missed out on such
a simple fun game. This game involves a group of misfit racers who all have extreme personalities
of some stereotype and have some tricked out cars or trucks. There is no real deep plot
behind this game and the story is quite simply displayed in it's cel shaded cinematics. These
people simply were rejected from society for some reason and are desired to star in this
show called "Cel Damage" and they're all ready to duke it out for the win with their vehicles.
Well I can't say there is much of a racing aspect to this game it’s really to just
drive around destroy your damn enemy. Literally your main goal in the mode you start out with
called Smack Attack is to get as many hits in to be the first to 500. As simple as the
goal sounds this game is actually pretty difficult because of it's simplicity. As whatever character
you choose you must literally for most weapons line yourself up to shoot them properly straight
on, and generally by the time you get lined up you're getting chopped up or blown to smithereens.
These characters in Cel Damage are all pretty unique and range from a demented little demon
with a car who's special move will shred your car into scraps all the way to a stereotypical
nerd who's better depicted as a genius. The voice acting is also hilarious to me as these
little characters speak in game to you with snarky comments. Now when I say special moves
as I mentioned, I mean there are boxes you pick up in matches that you'll drive your
car through and these boxes give you weapons. Your simple projectile you start with really
doesn't do ****, so it's necessary to get these weapons. Each level has it's own set
of weapons, generally there are 2 regular weapons for that level and then there's a
special box in the level that give you your own cars unique special such as a bulldozer
that can flatten it's enemies with a giant mallet.
The only disappointing feature to this game is that there are only four levels. Each of
these levels has other unlock able stages but again having only four themed levels is
a little bit of a downer. You have a western level which takes place in some kind of canyon,
a swampy level which is self-explanatory, a graveyard Dracula style level, and also
a futuristic alien space level.
There are other modes in this game but to unlock them you actually have to place first
in one of the smack attack matches. The other modes consist of Gate Relay and also Flag
Rally. This game is truly about just being number 1 in combat.
I feel this game is actually best played with friends because it's very simple and quickly
becomes a one button using game as you'll generally find yourself spamming your projectile.
However there always is the occasional horn beep or taunt you can pull. I, myself regret
missing out on this when I had my original Xbox console and am a little bummed out it's
not compatible with the 360's. It's really not fair because this game is a great time
and truly deserves to still be able to get some playtime on any console to date.