Rating: 
Summary: If it moves, run over it
Review: This game is so much fun to play. The only rule is that there are no rules. Where is the fun in completing lap after lap of a race while trying to avoid running into anything? The real fun lies in the mayhem and destruction you can cause, and the makers of Carmageddon 2 understand this. Running over simulated, screaming pedestrians is just plain fun and a great stress-reliever. So is totaling the souped-up cars of your virtual race opponents. I think the original Carmageddon game is better in terms of general playability, but this second installment in the series introduces all kinds of goofy new stuff (which, by the way, only makes much more obvious the fact that this is just a game and has nothing whatsoever to do with real life). You've got your standard greased tires, jelly suspension, exploding barrels, and the like, but now pedestrians can magically grow or shrink, turn into stick insects, blindly enter into the path of your oncoming vehicle, etc. The Iron Maiden soundtrack, I should add, is great music to drive destructively to.I have only one complaint about this game. In order to advance to higher level races, you have to "qualify" for them-this can involve such challenges as completing so many laps in a certain amount of time or running over strategically placed pedestrians in so many minutes. There is little fun to be had in these challenges, and one in particular has left me stymied longer than I care to mention. I just want to be let loose in a crowded city and run over everything and everyone in sight, and I have yet to get a look at some of the higher level racing venues because of the annoying and unnecessary challenges I am expected to complete. Frankly, I've never understood the controversy surrounding this game. At its worst, it really isn't that gory or disturbing at all, especially when compared to first-person shooters (which I also enjoy, I might add). I cannot believe anyone would take this game seriously enough to complain about it, nor do I see any problem with parents letting children play it. Of course, such a decision rightly rests with parents, and the Mature rating is right there on the box to guide them.
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