"Evil toons and pissed off bulls... Just can't go wrong!"

I'm not really big into driving games... Or at least I wasn't. In fact, if you look at my pre-PS2 game collection, I had maybe two driving games: Battle Cars for SNES and Super Sprint for NES (unfortunately, Super Sprint was stolen). It isn't that I didn't like driving games. It was just that there were games out there that interested me much more. You might be shocked to see one driving game in my PSX collection. Nope, not Gran Turismo... Just Twisted Metal 2. Finally, after playing Gran Turismo 3 and Grand Theft Auto 3, I kindled a new love for driving games. No, I'm not a major driving freak now. I only go for something that sounds unique and/or interesting in terms of driving titles. One that seemed to have its share of both elements that was on the market for quite cheap was Cel Damage. I was in the hunt for more Gamecube games, as until I purchased Cel Damage, I only had Rogue Squadron and Super Smash Bros. Melee. It was only about $24 at Hastings (yeah, it was cheaper at other places, but oh well...) and I had some money to burn, so I said, ''Why the hell not?'' I sort of expected this to be a cartoony version of Twisted Metal. That is what I got, but there's much more to it than that. I almost felt disappointed with the game at first, but after time I really began to see what made this game so wonderful. While the frustration factor may hamper its rating a bit, the great graphics, superlative sounds, and addictive challenge kept me playing and even inspired me to write a FAQ.

There is a bit of a story to this game. It takes place in another dimension- I guess you could say a cartoon dimension where people can live through what would be fatal events such as falling off cliffs or being cut in two. Yeah, it's a bit like Cool World, except Moby isn't on the soundtrack. In this dimension is a highly rated show called Cel Damage in which cartoon participants drive around and blow each other to bits. The participants include a succubus named Violet, a small devil named Cinder, a nerdy kid named Flemming, a dirty black & white detective duck named Fowlmouth, an Elvis-obsessed construction worker named B.T. Bruno, a mistress of S&M named Dominique Trix, a Hollywood dinosaur/kaiju named T. Wrecks, an enraged animal-rights activist bull named Whack Angus, a living brain named Brian, and a vampire named Count Earl. Each character has a different vehicle with different abilities and disabilities. For example, Flemming may be a fast character, but his vehicle can be hard to control around some corners. It adds a spice to the game that any with mulitple choosable characters should.

Storywise, it sounds like a bit of an interesting idea, does it not? Well, it is a fair amount just like the other drive-around-and-destroy-all-that-move games, with the exception that you really aren't playing for a championship or stardom. You're just doing another episode of the show. The real relieving point here is that EA decided to take the emphasis off achieving a championship and more at just competing. The story, though, is only a meager contributor to the overall rating, as this game is not plot driven really at all.

Does the game play like Twisted Metal? Yeah, sort of. It also has a few elements of other games (such as Unreal Tournament) thrown in to make a nice combination. As far as game basics go, you drive around in a 3D cel-shaded environment. All about the level are your opponents and some weapons to pick up. You can only pick up one at a time. When that weapon runs out or you grab another, you lose it. You do start with a weapon, in case you're wondering. However, this weapon is mighty weak, but can serve a few moderate purposes. What exactly is the point? To be the best damn cartoon you can be! There are three different modes of gameplay. One of them is your basic ''death match'' type of game called Smack Attack. In this mode, you rack up points by hitting or killing your enemy. Whoever ends the game with a set amount of points (the default is 500) wins. In this type of match, you're encouraged run run about freely in each level and explore while chasing your opponents around with scary, sharp objects and either chop them to little pieces or blow them to bits. You also have Gate Relay mode, the most difficult part of the game. It's your usual racing game. There are two gates set up in the level and your objective is to drive through both of them, one after the other, ten times each (making 20 points in all). The first to successfully get to 20 wins. Finally, we have the chaotic Flag Rally. In this mode, you have to pick up four flags before anyone else and take them to a goal. Keep in mind that your opponents can knock flags off your vehicle. You can also do the same to them, though! After some time, the flags will begin to multiply until the field is practically covered with flags (or until someone wins).

While a couple of the games I described above sound pretty run-of-the-mill, the execution behind the modes is done very well. I actually get quite involved in playing all of the modes. Each delivers a different element to the game that hooks you and keeps you in. Smack Attack delivers simplistic, but addictive action. Gate Relay instills that competitive edge that you get from playing other racing games, trying to battle your way to the finish. Flag Rally gives you a chaotic, incredibly aggressive battle full of despair (good in this case) and ire. The fact is that all these modes give you the competitive feeling any great sports or racing game can give you, its just presented in a much more cartoony manner.

Aside from all that, the game can be pretty frustrating at times. There are times in which you will be just in the reach of victory only to see someone sneak up right behind you and snatch it. The only advice that can be given in that department is to not give up. The game is meant to be fairly hard, at least if you want to unlock anything it is (you cannot unlock anything in easy mode). However, there are times where the frustration factor just seems like too much. I've noticed, though, that after I finished playing I looked back on my frustrating moments and actually laughed. So, it's not the real irritating kind of frustrating, at least not in the long run, but in the moment.

I'll have to say this is some of the best Cel Shading I've seen! The game really does capture an authentic cartoon feel. All the animation and design is done just right. The cinematics are also nice. The only problems I would have with them is that there are occasional jaggies and the animation seems choppy at some points. However, you can really see where the developers put some work in when I speak of environment. There are four different themes for levels in this game: old west, jungle, Transylvania, and space with three levels for each. Every level in the game was superlatively designed. There are little details and destructible environments that give the level an authentic feel. There're even traps all over the level for giving you an edge over the other competitors (or sometimes vice versa). I'd say EA did a great job with the graphics in this game.

Another place where the game blossomed quite well was the sound. Not just the music, but the sound effects and voices did their part very well to sell the cartoon environment. The voice actors did their parts almost as if they had been doing these characters on a TV show for a couple seasons. They added just the right attitude and tones to each archetype. Sure, I may hate some of the things that T. Wrecks says, but his voice actor worked so well at delivering the character. The music may not have much of a cartoony sound (some of it seems more techno-esque or like really bad easy listening music), but it worked well with the game. Not as well as the other sound elements, but still fairly well.

This is a very good example at how to do a gimmicky game right! Find out what elements the gimmick has to offer and replicate it as well as you can. If you look at where some gimmicky titles went wrong, it's mainly that they got tiresome fast. I still play this game; maybe not as much now that I have a bunch of newer ones since buying this, but I do still play this game. It's very exciting, highly competitive, and shows us yet another solid delivery from EA. The game even has a good amount of replay value in the form of other characters, weapons, and ending movies to unlock. Whether or not you will unlock everything depends on how patient you are. You figure that you have 12 levels in each mode, making 36 levels. Multiply that by the 10 playable characters (four of which are hidden) and you have 360 total levels to complete to get everything unlocked. I think most people would either give up or use a cheat code. The only other areas where EA might have fouled up a bit are the high frustration and the fact that a couple songs really don't fit the game's theme very well. All in all, though, Cel Damage is a great driving game that should be considered by anyone who likes action/driving titles or is looking for a good multiplayer experience.

FINAL JUDGMENT
Graphics: Very nicely done and beautiful cel-shading 9/10
Sounds: A few songs are off, but everything else here is perfect 9/10
Control: Very nice how it varies with some characters. Minor complexity issues. Very well done controls. 8/10
Plot/Storyline: Actually pretty unique, but not something you'd read in an epic novel. Definitely suiting of the game, though. 8/10
Gameplay: Fun and addictive, but a bit frustrating at times 8/10
All Together: 8/10

Perks
*Awesome graphics
*Addictive as hell
*Unique
*Great toony environment
*Superlative voice acting
*Replay value

Downers
*Pretty frustrating at times
*A couple songs that don't belong...
*You have to play so much to unlock everything

Recommendations
Definite trial for driving fans. Anyone looking for another good multiplayer title that still haven't tried this or Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee might want to look into both titles.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/31/02, Updated 10/13/03