Another Sunday means another episode of 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die, the (hopefully) weekly series where I play through all of the games listed in the book - 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. If I played the game before, then I will share my memory of the experience. If I haven't played the game before, then I find an online version or an emulator and I play the game (for at least 30 minutes). This is a book every gamer should have in their library, and if you're interested in purchasing it, you can find it here.
Last week I suffered through a game called Knight Lore. On paper, it had a solid reputation with lots of people bragging about it, but I didn't feel the magic when I found a place to play it online. But I did play it and I did mark it off the list. I'm really hoping this week is something fun and exciting. I can't wait to see what it is...so I'm flipping there now. Looks like it's going to be...
Demolition Derby
Drive your car in a demolition derby and avoid getting hit in the radiator. Hit other cars in the radiator several times to make them explode. Collect wrenches, screwdrivers and car keys for bonuses.
Bally Midway, the Demolition Derby maker, released 89 different machines in our database under this trade name, starting in 1981.
Other machines made by Bally Midway during the time period Demolition Derby was produced include Black Pyramid, Soda Pop Tapper, Pac-Land, Spy Hunter, Root Beer Tapper, Gold Ball, Jump Shot, Pink Floyd The Wall, Galaxy Ranger, and Grand Slam (4 player version). (SOURCE: Arcade Museum)
I've played a few Demolition Derby video games over the years and I've played games that weren't supposed to be demolition derby games but ended up being played that way (like Halo and playing Warthogs only). After all, demolition derby is nothing more than deliberately ramming your vehicle into your opponents vehicle with the goal of being the last one running (or at least running faster than your opponents). If you play Forza and ever see my Drivatar in action, you might think I play it like a demolition derby game.
I kind of feel like I have played Bally Midway's Demolition Derby way back in the height of the arcade era, but I'm not completely sure that I have...so that means I need to find a place online to play it. Once again, Vizzed comes through. I played it here.
Having played the game now I still can't say for certain whether I've played it before or not. It's surprising how simple the game is, but how much fun it is. You have a top down view of all the cars and there are anywhere from six to eight of them on screen. You can drive forwards or backwards - but you're better off driving backwards so you can ram cars with the back of your car. You're trying to protect the radiator of the car or you'll go out early if you don't. There are random drops that show up in various places on the track. Stuff like screwdrivers and wrenches will repair a little bit of the damage you've taken. You can also run over tires that have fallen off of the other cars which may cause them to fly into your opponents' car for even more damage. Watch out for the oil slicks - they'll reverse your controls.
Apparently there were two different arcade cabinets for this game. The stand-up version had a steering wheel and a gear shifter for each driver. There was also a cocktail cabinet that had four wheels and four shifters. The game has a catchy audio track that sounds very much like it's from the 80s. So, there's another highlight.
Whether I played the game in the past or not, who can say...but I've played it now and it was indeed a lot of fun. A breath of fresh air after last week's game. I actually played this game for a little while although the gameplay never really changes. I won the first round I played, but it gets progressively harder. I was curious about who might hold the world record on the game and what there score might be, so I went to the definitive source for video game records - Twin Galaxies.
Surprisingly, there isn't a lot of other information written about the game. I couldn't find a Wikipedia page for it and even looking at Bally Midway's page, the game isn't listed in their credits. It must be one of those obscure titles that was a ton of fun to play but wasn't one of the big breakout hits.
I can definitely say I've played the game now and I enjoyed it. Hopefully this trend continues and next week I'll be playing something equally as fun and entertaining. Until then...
Enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a wonderful week.
Cheers.