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Over the years, the demolishing of one's vehicle has actually become an important aspect in racing games. There's nothing more annoying that taking a severe crash into a road block or a wall and ending up back on your wheels with nary a scratch on your vehicle.

Sure, it's fun to watch, but it's incredibly unrealistic. If you need further proof of this, try to catch the new Codemasters TV ad, where the new Stock Car Racing game shows off its realism with a car actually getting trashed. Now that's funny.

Psygnosis tried their hand a while back at such destructive racing with the Demolition Derby series, but it's since grown stale in terms of execution and programming, with the latest in the series, the Playstation game Destruction Derby Raw, taking a turn for the absolute worst. Fortunately, Infogrames may be back on the right track with their latest Dreamcast racing game, Demolition Racer: No Exit. Although the game is hardly enough to be considered the next Sega Rally 2 or Daytona USA, it still has enough quickie arcade thrills to keep driving fans happy, and gives you the destruction you so long desire.

So how's the game break down? Here you go...

Visuals:: Infogrames has come a lot way since the garbage that was Test Drive 6. First off, the game's frame rate just simply flies by at a blazing 60 frames-per-second with severe slowdown only kicking in during the most dramatic crashes in the game (perhaps on purpose, even). The cars look just like the real thing, and have some pretty good physics considering their weight and parts. The tracks themselves don't have too much flair, but offer enough twists and turns to offer a good challenge, along with some cool trackside details here and there for variety. You can also change camera perspectives during the race, from inside the vehicle to right behind it to get a dynamic view of your sides. Not original, mind you, but it works. Finally, the game's menus, while simply designed, are adequate in getting you where you want to go, in terms of racing options. Overall, a good step up from the normal third-party racing game glut out there, but still nowhere near the quality of AM2's finest hours. Good stuff.

Audio:: Unfortunately, this is where the game series kind of takes a bad turn. The sound effects aren't nearly varied enough, leaving the sounds of car destruction minisculed to the point of little trash-can style effects. Ugh. Even worse, the soundtrack is a generic bunch of tunes, and the announcer is very small in terms of excitement and sporadic commentary. This could be a blessing to some of you, but he could've sounded a bit better. A bit lackluster in this category.

Gameplay/Control:: This is a mixed bag as well, but shouldn't upset the hardcore arcade gamers at heart. The game handles pretty well, with nice maneuvering of each different car available and many different opportunities to knock off your opponents, including the "death from above" option, where you can take out a car by flying in the air and landing right on top of them. Nice. Unfortunately, there's little variety in how each car handles, so you'll be pretty much getting the same ride through and through. There isn't even an option to perk things up with bigger tires and more destructive power, although some of the game's power-ups are kinda sweet, if generic. So, depending on how you approach this game, you'll either love it or wish you had stuck with Sega Rally 2 or Test Drive V-Rally. Personally, I think it's cool, for what it is, but here's hoping that Demolition Racer 2 gives more options.

Extras:: A few goodies here, like some hidden cars and bonuses to snag along the way, but, otherwise, it's all about the destruction involved in the game (which there is plenty) and the addictive two-player mode, which runs smoother than you might think. Otherwise, your digging won't go too far here.

Overall:: There's a glut of racing games on the Dreamcast now, and Demolition Racer: No Exit is hardly the cream of the crop. However, it's an excellent evolution from Test Drive 6 and other previously failed efforts by Infogrames, and provides a solid racer for us to toy around with until their inevitable sequel arrives on the market. And, hey, once you nail the "death from above" procedure, you'll be trying to nail 'em for weeks...especially on your buds. Give it a spin, and then decide if the destruction's worth buying.