Hell on Wheels- Blood Drive Review

With the Twisted Metal franchise selling more than fifteen million copies across seven iterations, you might think that store shelves would be saturated with car-combat clones. Yet beyond 1998’s tag-team of Vigilante 8 and Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012, little direct completion has emerged. Enter New Zealand-based Sidhe (GripShip, Shatter, and Madagascar Kartz), whose new release Blood Drive offers a familiar interpretation of vehicular violence. Beyond the allure of mixing a demolition derby with an obscene amount of ballistics, the title presents another cathartic outlet- players are encouraged to plow through mobs of the staggering undead.

In execution, running over zombies is offers only fleeting gratification. Sure, some of the undead leave a temporary splash of crimson of the screen, simulating a windshield obscured with bloody fragments. Others sporadically display a bit of ragdoll physics as their carcasses tumble underneath a car’s undercarriage. However, considering some of the game’s challenges defy gamers to crush 200 zombies in under two minutes, players can quickly see all of Blood Drive‘s visceral violence. 

Although the title admirably attempts to recreate Left 4 Dead‘s creature diversity, the results seem undeveloped.  While raising an undead  headcount by mowing over slow-moving Shamblers, vehicle-destroying Behemoths are easily evaded. In fact, the giant monstrosities rarely present any more menace that the stationary red, explosive barrels which litter each playfield. Lobbers attack with a ranged acidic attack, but they can be quickly dispatched with either vehicle contact or a well-placed shot, negating any opposition. Similarly, Blood Drive‘s car-slinging, damaging-inducing Leapers can be shaken off with a simple impact.

That’s not to say that the missions which compromise each of Blood Drive‘s multistage tournaments are a cakewalk. Whether players are engaged in re-animated genocide or taking part in the more traditional demolition derbies or checkpoint rallies, the title’s single difficulty level will present a tough. but rarely insurmountable, challenge. The game’s King of the Skull competition- where players vie for possession of a golden skull while other drivers attempt to knock it loose, was Blood Drive‘s most taxing variant. Thankfully, earning enough points in a tournament’s other challenges offered enough momentum to allow me to collect the cup at each stage.  

Unexpectedly, a bit of strategy may also give gamers a much-appreciated edge. Beyond picking a suitable driver from the Blood Drive‘s roster of eight characters, players also choose from ten different  loadouts. Each of these three part perks augment the protagonist’s vehicle or weapons, giving benefits like increased ammo capability, a higher top speed or increased car durability. Unfortunately, none of the power-ups enhance Blood Drive‘s mildly unwieldy steering- which for better or worse, accurately recreates the sensation of driving an semi retrofitted with a half-ton of junkyard armor.

Visually, each of the title’s characters are distinctive, drawing from the twisted tropes of Twisted Metal Black. Considering  neither the game’s weapon effects nor six playfields are superfluous, the game’s frame rate is surprisingly volatile frequently stuttering when a group of cars congregate in one area of the map. Aurally, the game offers a suitably high-spirited announcer along with the requisite power chords of unlicensed hard rock.