The Destruction Derby series is a collection of video games. They have been published by a number of companies, including Studio 33, Psygnosis, THQ, and Reflections Interactive.
The first game in the series was Destruction Derby, which was released in 1995.
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Destruction Derby is a 1995 video game developed by Reflections and published by Psygnosis, the former of which would later develop the successful Driver series. It was released for PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and MS-DOS (PC). Based around the real-life sport of demolition derby driving, the game involves wrecking other cars for points, or driving a simple stock car race around one of five tracks. Though simplistic in its aims, the game achieved popularity and was one of the first games to achieve platinum sales on the PlayStation console. The game was given a name change just two months prior to its release in October 1995; it was originally called Demolish 'em Derby [1]
The game is currently available on the PlayStation Network for PSP and PlayStation 3 download.
The popularity of the game resulted in a 1996 follow-up, Destruction Derby 2, released for PlayStation and MS-DOS, 1999's Destruction Derby 64 for Nintendo 64, and further games for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2. The games in the Destruction Derby series have led to several attempts by other companies to recreate their success, such as Demolition Racer by The Pitbull Syndicate (later to become Midway Studios Newcastle), and Bugbear Entertainment's FlatOut series.
Destruction Derby 2 was released in 1996 for the PlayStation and PC, developed by Reflections Interactive. A version for the Sega Saturn was also planned and developed, but never released.
In Destruction Derby 2 the player must race on up to seven different circuits, in a range of modes, similar to its predecessor. The key changes introduced in this sequel were a wider variety of tracks, and the ability of cars to flip over and jump. Commentator Paul Page performed as the announcer, shouting small phrases during moments of impact, such as; "Yeah!!" and "Go easy on the paintwork!".
Destruction Derby 2 was added to the PlayStation Platinum range in 1997. Originally the game was released in a double-CD cover (even though the game was only on one CD), but the platinum range version was released in an ordinary PlayStation cover.
Destruction Derby 64 is the Nintendo 64 version of the first game in the series. It is graphically and technically superior to its PlayStation counterpart, with more cars, brighter and more detailed graphics, and expanded crash damage graphics, including the hoods and trunks of cars flying off in hard collisions.
The cars that the player starts out with are rather basic generic saloons painted up for racing and smashing. As the game progresses through the championships, the player is awarded bonus vehicles, such as a black Hot rod with flames and a blue Ford Mustang GT hybrid called the 'Blue Demon'.
Destruction Derby 3 was a cancelled game in the series. It was to be released in spring 2000. Several images from a demo were recorded on the first edition of PlayStation Zone Magazine in Germany, but this is the only recorded illustration of the cancelled game.
Destruction Derby Raw is a game for the PlayStation and is considered the fifth installment of the series. It was developed by Studio 33 and was first released in 2000.
Destruction Derby Arenas is a video game for the PlayStation 2. It was developed by Studio 33 and published by Gathering of Developers. It was released on 1 April 2004.
The game is notable for being one of the first PS2 games that allowed online play. Whilst it was the first title of the Destruction Derby series released for the PS2, the game was met with generally low reception in comparison to its predecessors, due to its deviation away from realism and reliance on a more cartoonish tone.
Due to poor sales, it was the last game of the Destruction Derby series, but the car crashing genre still continued with the likes of Flatout, which arguably could be the spiritual successor of Destruction Derby.
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