Mashed

Once upon a time there was a simple little game, based on a simple little line of miniature toy cars. That game was Micro Machines, and through quite a number of variations, its simple gameplay mechanic -- mostly governed by being able to race outside the camera view of every other player, scoring points -- was enough to endear it to lots of games. Mashed might not bear the Micro Machines licence, but it's fundamentally the same game, updated visually -- although hardly cutting edge when compared to titles like Burnout 3. If you want the short version of this review, it's this: If you've got plenty of players always on hand who want simple gameplay and lots of action, then Mashed is OK, but if you're predominantly a single-player gamer, then we'd suggest you look elsewhere.

While it sports a few game variants -- chasing down fugitives, making it through a set number of laps before a bomb explodes and so on -- the basic gameplay model is that exactly handed down from Micro Machines. If you've not played one of those before, think basic racing game, with multiple vehicles. If any vehicle gets so far ahead of the pack that it moves 'off' camera, the stragglers are eliminated and the leader gains a point. First car to eight points -- or, if the game runs too long, the car with the highest score at that point -- wins the pot. It's not a stellar experience for a single player, but as with many multiplayer experiences, once you add in a few other human players that you're jostling with side to side, the competitive juices get flowing and before you know it you've spent four hours trying to prove your superiority. With a simple and effective gameplay model like this, we're rather surprised why Mashed doesn't feature online support -- we tested with the Xbox version of the game, and it'd make a fine addition to the lineup of Live enabled racers.

While there's been a huge trend towards realistic physics and pin-point steering controls, Mashed is strictly old-school in the controls department, letting you slide around courses with a very floaty feel, especially on some of the more outlandish vehicles. There's a smattering of powerups on selected courses, although they're really more of an afterthought to the racing action itself.

A game that relies on you outracing other vehicles relative to the camera needs one thing -- a darned good camera. Unfortunately this is one area where Mashed sometimes doesn't work quite as well as it could. Oftentimes you'll find yourself in the lead but unable to maximise your advantage because the camera isn't focusing far enough forwards, and other times a point will be scored when one car hasn't really got all that far in front. It's a problem that seems more marked in single player.

Single, and by extension, multiplayer, is also plagued by a problem that's common among far too many current games. The vast majority of content in Mashed is unlocked by playing through the single player campaign. Because of the sometimes dodgy camera, there are invidual levels in single player that are just frustrating, and unlike, say, Burnout 3, you aren't earning anything extra for just playing. As a result, when you first take it out of the box ready for some action, there's not quite as much on offer in a multiplayer setting as we reckon there should be.

Still, Mashed does deserve consideration if you're in a situation where a large number of you are constantly joshing for control of the Xbox. It's got simple multiplayer action in spades -- as long as you can endure the single player campaign long enough to unlock it all.

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