Mashed: Fully Loaded : Web Wombat : Games

But, at the same token, I feel it is my duty to sporadically insert chunks of that review into this one because that's exactly what Empire and Supersonic have done with this new game.

For those playing at home, see if you can spot the differences!!

Mashed: Fully Loaded is the follow-up to Mashed and could be seen a cynical attempt by the game's publishers to make a quick buck from those who loved the original, and in way that's not too far from the truth.

While the original game was loosely based upon the Micro Machines formula of racing tiny cars to the top of the screen before anyone else, Mashed takes this premise a little bit further, adding heaps of weapons, shortcuts, airstrikes and four-player insanity.

And then there's Mashed: Fully Loaded, which takes this premise, that was already taken a little bit further, even further again.

The original game - and indeed this addendum too - had a level of accessibility and instantaneity that defied the modern videogaming trend that favoured complexity over simple fun, and for this it was enshrined as a cult game of purity rather rapidly by all those who had a strong sense of style and justice.

As I once said somewhere, it supplies jaded gamers - such as myself - with incredibly quick, rapid gaming chock full of intensity and comical violence. I also once said: always take the stairs, never the elevator... Strange.

But enough about the original game - we're here to talk about Mashed: Fully Loaded. What does it do that the original game doesn't? Well, it provides a handful of new tracks, one of which is brilliant, while the others are merely good.

It also allows all tracks to be raced at night, on ice (low traction) and there's also some improvements to the graphics - the framerate and texture quality alike have increased.

The dozen or so different cars have now been given individual handling and acceleration traits, which is quite cool and can affect the ebb and flow of races substantially.

In the original Mashed game the differences in the vehicles were purely cosmetic, so now things are a bit more hectic, particularly when jumping out of a slow car and into a race with fast ones.

There's also some new training modes thrown in there for good measure, which the developer reckons adds "over an hour of extra game play". To my count it's more like 54 minutes, but there you go. Destiny will decide who's right and whose not.

Beyond this, not a lot has changed, and one of the biggest disappointments this anti-scientology crusader had was that no new weapons were included (and I'm not jumping on the bandwagon here [I've been driving it] having been scientology-dark for years - since GameBlitz.com - and way before Tom Cruise went troppo on Oprah).

The weapons were one of the most important facets of the original game - use them wisely and conservatively and you could rule the racetrack. But alas, no newies here. I was hoping for a gattling laser, cluster missiles, or at least some sort of low yield nuclear ICBM launcher.

That said, there's still plenty of neat ways to dispose of your foes, whether they be CPU controlled or human opponents. This can be achieved by a) knowing the tracks and racing like demon, b) nudging opponents off cliffs, or c) blowing the crap out of them with a number of delightfully violent car-mounted weapons.

The first two options are fairly straightforward, but the weapons need a little more explaining. There are four rearward deploying weapons, useful for slowing and/or annihilating your foes:

Oil Slick	An old favourite. Use this weapon to reduce the grip of foes. Tactically placed, you can wipe out the entire contingent of racers if placed near a cliff-top hairpin, for instance.
Barrels	You get two of these puppies for each pickup. They simply fire from your roof into the sky and explode in a really big way when they hit the ground behind you, and are powerful enough to completely kill off opponents.
Proximity Mines	Very useful, very powerful, but they can also backfire if you're not careful. They have a 2.0 second arming delay, which sucks at times because you can't really drop them in your rivals faces.
Flame Thrower	This is one a rearward only weapon, which is a somewhat odd choice. Strong enough to destroy one opponent if aimed well, or at least slow them down. It's a reassuring powerup to have under your belt if you're in first place as it can also take out homing and airstrike missiles. Gravy!

There is also a range of forward firing weapons on offer, usually the most popular come race time. Here they are:

Flash Bang	Not exactly forward or rearward firing, this is just like the FB grenades from Counter-Strike, and are useful for sending rivals off the road when sharp corners approach, or getting foes to run over approaching prox. mines.
Mortar	An incredibly rewarding weapon if used correctly. Its firing arc makes aiming almost impossible, but hit an opponent and you'll be fist-pumping the air with glee. Not devastating in power, but you get three rounds of ammo.
Homing Missile	One of the most powerful and indeed deadly weapons in the game. Just like a Mario Kart red shell, these puppies home in on your opponents and have good tracking systems - very hard to outmanoeuvre. You also need to gain a lock for it to track a target, otherwise it will be dumb-fired forward.
Machine gun	Like the missile, you've got an infra-red tracking beam, and when it turns green, you can pummel your foes with bullets without missing. More of a gattling gun than a machine gun, it's the most common power-up along with oil slicks.
Shotgun	Lucky last - the shottie. This chirpy customer adheres to neither the fore nor rearward firing convention, instead discharging buck shot out from either side of your vehicle. A very tactical weapon that does more 'shove' and 'push' physical damage, it is henceforth useful for sending opponents off the track and into the pixellated abyss that lies beyond our comprehension.

Generally speaking there are four players on the screen at once, although in the single player challenges this is not always the case, and you can have 1 vs 1 matches if you like. Bots, or CPU controlled cars can also be added in multiplayer games, which is a nice touch.

Mashed: Fully Loaded is a must have game in my humble opinion. It's dead easy to pick up - even for non-gamers - and can be played until the wee hours of night thanks to the competitive aspect. While the game may appear monotonous to passers by, it's anything but, and it is my personal goal to become a Grand Master at Mashed (complete with embroidered leather jacket).

Mashed: Fully Loaded also includes a bunch of new single player challenges, and while these are fun for a bit, it's the multiplayer modes that are the most fun. I have to say though, if I'd paid cash for this game having already owned the original, I'd couldn't help but feel a little short changed.

Taken on its own merits, and forgetting there's a game that preceded it, Mashed: Fully Loaded is a wicked game, yet there's not enough new stuff in here to warrant calling it 'Fully Loaded' in my not very humble opinion, and it comes across as lazy programming when no new weapons and only a handful of new tracks are included. I was eagerly anticipating this game, and I can't lie when I say it was a bit of a let down to discover the changes were minimal.

If you own the original game, and love it pieces, then you can't go wrong with this as a purchase, and likewise for those who have never played Mashed (shame on you!) this is the version to get, because it's got more options, more tracks, more doodads and it costs less than $50.

Game: Mashed: Fully Loaded
System: Xbox
Players: 1-4
Online: No
Developer: Empire Interactive / Supersonic
Distributor: Red Ant Enterprises

Rating: 70%

(Ratings Key/Explanation)

Mashed: Fully Loaded is on the shelves now.

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