"Fun for the first few levels, and then….Frustration!"

Back when the Gamecube was first released in 2001, there was a dire shortage of quality games. Sure we had Super Monkey Ball, Luigi's Mansion, and Super Smash Bros. Melee, but aside from that there really wasn't much else. I tried many different games just so I didn't have to hook up my N64 again. One day Cel Damage caught my eye. It seemed interesting to say the least. I mean, everyone loves cartoons, and this game was basically a Looney Tunes style game where you destroy other cartoon cart racers so you can win. The premise was good, but sadly the game really failed to live up to my lofty expectations. Cel Damage may be fun for a while, but then you as the gamer are given a series lesson in Frustration 101.

Surprisingly there is a decent storyline to this game. The story takes place in another dimension where cartoon characters are on a show called Cel Damage. The object to the show is to blow the other cartoon characters up in order for you to survive. Of course that is the fun part to the game. Getting there is a different story. Each cartoon racer comes with a default weapon. This weapon is a machine gun, but it could be more classified as a pea shooter. It does absolutely no damage at all! In fact the only way you will survive is to grab a power-up weapon. There are 36 in all, and some are better than others. The baseball is good for close nit combat, but you will have to whack the opposing character several times in order to blow them up. The best weapons; the axe, and the chainsaw, are one-hit kill weapons, but when they do appear, the A.I. controlled characters always seem to get there first.

That is what brings me to the most disappointing part of the game. The difficulty is very hard! There you will be, just driving along with a target in sight, when BOOM; your character is blown up by a computer controlled character that came out of nowhere. What is even worse is the fact that you lose all of your power-up weapons when this happens. This makes you vulnerable to another kill from the same character that just destroyed you when you do materialize again. Not to mention the each cart racer controls very poorly, and the camera is a major pain all the time.

The game does excel in one department and that is the presentation and audio. The graphics look like they were ripped straight from a cartoon. Everyone knows what a cartoon looks like right? So, if you like how Bugs Bunny or the Ninja Turtles look like then that is what Cel Damage looks like. The sound is also perfect for this game. Think of the zany music in a Looney Tunes cartoon and you start to get the idea.

There are three game modes offered and after a few levels in, they each become boring, repetitive, and frustrating. Smack Attack is all about destroying the other cartoon racers to get the most points. Gate Relay is a race between two markers, and flag rally is just a game of capture the flag. The game could have a lot of replay value, especially if played with other people, but alas even multiplayer fads quickly.

Cel Damage was fun for a few days, but after that all I wanted to do was get rid of the game. It was so frustrating that every time I played it I would end up swearing at the game because of the cheap computer controlled characters. There may be a few people out there that like this game, but I am not one of them. I would advise that if you are interested that a rental wouldn't hurt, but not a purchase.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 06/20/06, Updated 02/21/08

Game Release: Cel Damage (US, 01/07/02)