Published by: Activision
Developed by: Sidhe
Release Date: November 2, 2010
Available on: Xbox 360; PS3
BUY THIS GAME HERE
INTRO: Ahh, I remember the days of Twisted Metal on the original Playstation. Until the later sequels, I would spend hours playing those games, committing vehicular destruction in the worst ways possible. Flash forward past many clones and rip-offs that have done the genre a disservice and here in 2010 we have Blood Drive. Here’s the company line:
In Blood Drive, contestants must use their motorized death steeds of steel in a televised game show where drivers battle each other and hordes of revolting flesh eaters in an all-out fight to the death. Face undead frat boys, cops, strippers and bachelorette partiers, each with their own special brand of death and devastation – and ways to die! While these rotting monsters wander the streets of a desert sin city craving sweet, succulent brains, your enemies have come equipped battle hardened armed vehicles, including heavily weaponized muscle cars, hot rods, and more. Amidst this gore-drenched mayhem contestants must use their head or lose it!
Read on, my loyal subjects to find out just whether or not this is a drive worth embarking upon.
GAMEPLAY:
Let me tell you something brothers, this game is pretty bad. Besides the fun idea it brings to the table, it is pretty broken. All you need to be able to do is run over zombies and smash the ever-loving crap out of them.
Although the concept is fun, this one fails almost right from the start. When you fire up the game, you don’t even have the option to have a tutorial. You just..go. This is never a good sign, this sort of thing. The zombies are really, really, really stupid (even for zombies). All they do is shamble around and you mow them over ad nauseum. Fans of Left 4 Dead will notice very similar types of ‘special’ zombies that you can kill too. As if that isn’t enough, the enemy cars are weak sauce too. You can blast them all you want, but the weapons just suck. They sound and look kind of cool, but they barely do any damage so you best get used to car-butting everyone you see.
The characters themselves are really nothing but caricatures and none of them stand out really. You’d think that in a driving game that the driving might be half-decent, but it’s brutal. The controls just feel super loose, and you’ll spend a ton of time bumping into things. Then the zombies attack your car, you fumble for pick-ups to save yourself, the computer opponents steal them and you’re left cursing at your television. You’re going to run out of ammo quickly, so get used to it.
The tracks are so-so, and fairly large but uninspired. If you like variety, there’s a little bit to be found in the various objectives posted throughout the game. With that said, the checkpoint mode is endlessly frustrating because you’re going to have to constantly turn around to find your next point. This is a baffling decision. Luckily for you, you’ve got a self-destruct button for when you inevitably become stuck in one of the unfinished-feeling levels. Trust me, you’ll need that button.
Finally (and this is a kiss of death), this game doesn’t even have a save option. You can auto-save but it only works after you complete an entire cup. The first one is comprised of four races, which is doable. The last ones go from 14-30 races. This is mind-blowing and endlessly disappointing. As if you needed another reason to not play. Also, forget about grabbing a buddy for some local split-screen, it ain’t happening.
Gameplay: 4/10
GRAPHICS:
The graphics are so-so. This isn’t a pretty game, looking a bit like a PS2 reject. The frame rate chugs like nobody’s business and the environment pops-in like crazy. Nothing really stands out, although gore-hounds will love the blood as it splatters all over the screen. Everything else about this game is just pretty bland.
Graphics: 5.5/10
AUDIO:
This game has voiceover work that is going to make you plug your ears. Coming off like a ‘look how cool we are, we’re swearing’ sort of effort, this game tries too hard to be cool and it doesn’t succeed. The other sound effects are passable and the music drones on in the background without really being noticeable.
Audio: 5/10
FINAL VERDICT:
This is about as bargain bin as it gets, folks. The controls are way too floaty, the presentation is lacking and downright juvenile at times, the characters are bland and uninspired and mowing over all kinds of zombies becomes boring instead of fun, which is a true shame. Don’t pay more than 10 bucks for this stinker.
Final Score: 4.5/10