Cel Damage is a cartoon-based racing/battle game. The basic plot is…well, there is no plot or a need for one, either. Cel Damage is like Twisted Metal but with cell shading (the same technique used in Jet Set Radio). To compliment its cartoon looks, Cel Damage has its own cartoonish physics system.
The basic features of the game are pretty standard. 10 arenas are offered and four cartoon worlds to choose from–not counting hidden areas. 36 devastating weapons are available to mess around with and 6 different characters can be chosen to pilot your particular machine of death. Various power-ups can be collected, with them respawning occasionally.
The game’s goal is quite simple: destroy other vehicles. Basically it is a deathmatch, which is similar to Unreal, Quake, etc. You die, you respawn instantly. A frag counter can be displayed to keep score. Also, in essence mimicking games like Half-Life, there is a capture the flag mode. No description of which is needed. The gameplay in Cel Damage is probably one of the strongest factors of the game while the graphics and sound are moderately good, too. It is always hard to judge the graphics and sound of a cartoon game; you always know that the goal of the graphics is to create a cartoonish environment and they succeeded at that. If they wanted to create realistic 3D graphics then that would be a whole other story. I would give the graphics in this game an 8 out of 10 because they met their goal but did not expand on the graphic portion of this game.
Overall, Cel Damage looks set to be a hit. Very cartoony physics, unique characters, original weapons with a cartoon twist, and other nice features give this game a good feel. Whether you’re hunting for opponents in the woods or having a full on slugfest, this game will satisfy where needed. Vehicular destruction rules! So, buy it? Well, I would say that you should try it out but don’t go looking for a perfect 10. Yes this game is good, but it’s no Halo that’s for sure.