Scrap Metal: Review

Micro Machines with guns? Yes. Chaotic? Yes. Fun? Yes. All of this is true about Scrap Metal, it’s just like Micro Machines, it looks like Micro Machines, plays like Micro Machines, well if the cars had various weapons attached to them that is. And it’s just plain fun.

Forget about it comparing it to Micro Machines though. Scrap Metal is its own top-down racing game with weapons. It has 8 different environments to play through and beat the bosses, and a whole variety of cars and weapons. From trucks, to V8 muscle cars, and chainsaws and shotguns for the latter. The weapons seem slightly unbalanced though, with the guns seemingly having an advantage over the close range weapons like the chainsaw or the flamethrower.

The game has two control systems, one being an more traditional style set-up using RT/LT to accelerate/brake and the analogue stick to direct, which I found very easy to use and It made the majority of cars easy to handle. And the other being a basic set up using just LT to accelerate and the left analogue stick to direct the car. The graphics are sort of cell shaded, with both the environments and cars looking great, even when there are bullets riveting off car bonnets, and scorching flames going everywhere, the game manages to look good.

The cars can be customised with different paint jobs and accessories, and then upgraded to give you an edge in the mass chaos that is the Scrap Metal events. The upgrades are a great feature, using the coins you receive from placing in races to improve the speed, grip, armour or firepower of your car. It gives you the chance to take that favourite car of yours and upgrade it fully into a pure wrecking machine (as I did with the V8 muscle car.) These cars then go on to participate in a wide variety of events. You get the chance to play straight up races, V.I.P events and other events throughout your quest to become ruler of Scrap Metal City.

The environments all have a unique look. They’re all different and each has a new track layout that you need to memorise to win and be successful, however you race the same events over and over again throughout these areas, and after every new area they can get slightly repetitive. Then, at the end of each area there’s a boss for you to overcome. For the majority, I found these boss battles disappointingly easy, however there’s the odd one (especially the final boss, as you’d expect) that puts up a hell of a fight.

Scrap Metal is a fun game that will entertain, but occasionally frustrate with the odd event. The repetitiveness of it is outweighed by the fun and somehow, throughout the 8 areas and the slight repetitiveness, the game can come up with the one or two fresh events that keep you on your toes, and keep you enjoying the game.

Review by Daniel Brookes