It’s a win-win scenario; combine the old-school racing physics of Off-Road with explosive vehicular combat. You get the bouncy driving, loose turns of an arcade racer but with all the guns, oil slicks and grenade launchers any spyhunter would want. In theory, that’s a great idea. Yet I walked away from Scrap Metal more than a little underwhelmed. For 1200 MSP, I was expecting a little more variety, well balanced gameplay and a finely tuned engine.

And as you may have already guessed, those are features are precisely what Scrap Metal is lacking. The game looks good in its own right, but it really felt like there was a distinct lack of variety in the levels. Everything felt very samey and the story mode has you playing the same levels over and over to progress; not the best strategy when they don’t feel very fun to begin with.

To add to my frustration, I found the physics fraught with glitchiness. I’m not sure how much of this was intentional, as an homage to past arcade racers, but every time I hooked myself on a fence, turned too sharply or was just plain hit by ANYTHING, I got completely turned around. This gets really annoying fast and made it harder for me to keep coming back to the game.

Also, the weapons are hindered by the environments too, as you’re always shooting into the ground or a hill, or unable to see who it is that you’re shooting at because they’re always offscreen.

That said, most of this is excusable in the Race and Derby levels, and there is some fun to be had. I was able to reminisce about many a quarter lost playing the stand-up Off-Road arcade cabinet near the Toys R Us in my hometown, but any kindness I felt towards the game was absolutely disintegrated by the boss battles. They only serve to highlight the failings of Scrap Metal. When you go one on one with a loaded boss character, not only are you chasing them around a confusing level where you’re rarely sure which way you’re supposed to be going, but also, no matter how many upgrades you give your car of choice, you are underpowered and outgunned.

Conclusion

I really wanted to like Scrap Metal, having seen a video of gameplay before getting into it but I can’t help feeling like it’s missing that last coat of polish that would really fix it as a game. Maybe a little aim assist, or some better designed courses. Tighter handling maybe? I don’t know. All I know is that it’s missing something and that makes it a hard recommend at $15. Please try the demo before you drop the points.