Game Info
GAME NAME: Cel Damage HD
DEVELOPER(S): Finish Line Games
PUBLISHER(S): Finish Line Games
PLATFORM(S): PlayStation 4
GENRE(S): Car Combat
RELEASE DATE(S): April 22nd, 2014
Way back in 2001 (Wow, I’m getting old), Cel Damage was originally released for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube. Back then it was developed by Pseudo Interactive and published by Electronic Arts. Now with neither of those names attached to the project, Finish Line Games HD re-released the game, now titled Cel Damage HD and released it fully cross-buy compatible for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.
Cel Damage HD is a light-hearted cartoony take on the car combat genre. The main “story” focuses on six characters from a fictional cartoon show called “Cel Damage“. For the pleasure of ratings and the television audience , the characters annihilate each other. The game features thirteen different levels and three game modes for players to battle it out to. Some of the weapons and gadgets you will use to destroy your opponents with include vacuum nozzles, portable holes, chainsaws and baseball bats. The gameplay feels tight and the weapons are accurate when you launch them. I did get stuck in a corner a few times in Flag mode, but was able to back up.
The first of the three main modes is a race mode in which you have to take to the courses and battle your way through checkpoints to ultimately come in first place. The second mode is a race to pick up flags with legs and race them to a flagpole destination. The third and final mode of the game is just your standard deathmatch where you want to do a total of 300 damage to your opponents to win the game. Winning any of the games unlocks more levels and weapons for use. After you beat the 4 levels under each mode you unlock more “story” videos for the characters.
All of the modes in the game can be played split-screen multiplayer which is a blast. I really wish they would have spend a little more time with the game and made it cross system online. That would have been awesome on so many levels.
The art style that Cel Damage uses is the popular style from the time in which the game was released called Cel-Shading. I was a pretty big fan of the Cel-shaded style that was used in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Wake, XIII and Okami from that generation. I really wish that it would have caught on better and not remain just a niche. At least the UbiArt engine looks amazing in Child of Light and Rayman Legends. The graphics look HD and clean, but the presentation hasn’t been adjusted to widescreen, so it is 4:3 aspect which is pretty annoying. The sound is okay, nothing memorable in the way of music. The videos are well done and entertaining.
The Recommendation
Cel Damage HD has a wonderful value in you own the PlayStation family of systems. One purchase and you get the title on the PS4, PS3 and Vita. The core game itself is not bad and the multiplayer is actually quite fun. Once everything is unlocked and completed there isn’t much to come back to except multiplayer which would have been helped out by an online mode. For fans of the original release I don’t know if there is enough to bring you back, but I would say it is worth a purchase for newcomers, super fans or gamers looking for a car combat fix.
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