Cartoons, but with more death

Cel Damage\nRating: T for Teen\nFor: X-Box, Gamecube\nBy: EA Games\nFor those of you who grew-up loving both video games and cartoons (and who didn't?) "Cel Damage," despite its frequent missteps, could be the game for you.\nQuite literally, it's a cross between "Twisted Metal" and the old Chuck Jones Warner Bros. cartoons, with a splash of "The Ren and Stimpy Show" boldly thrown into the caustic mix.\nGamers can choose from 10 characters, 36 weapons and 12 cartoony levels, as well as three different modes of play including Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Racing.\nEach of the characters is fairly entertaining ranging from a smack talking' gangster duck named Fowl Mouth (subtle, huh?) to a mawkish "Dungeons & Dragons" playing dork named Flemming. And it's equally fun to see these characters vanquished by means of wood chipper, axe, baseball bat, chainsaw and Tommy gun.\nThe gameplay is almost identical to that of the "Twisted Metal" series. Gamers select a given character with a specific vehicle and square off against AI opponents or their buddies in a head-to-head demolition derby of death. Whereas "Twisted Metal" accentuates the darker elements of the genre, "Cel Damage," despite its violent premise, is pretty much all love and light by comparison. It's a highly stylized cartoonish racing/combat game.\nHowever, unlike "Twisted Metal Black," the series' latest entry, "Cel Damage" is far too difficult because of levels that are entirely too small. The lack of large and complex levels makes gamers easy prey for their competition, and that becomes frustrating quickly and frequently. The small levels also prevent gamers from implementing much strategy into their game.\n"Cel Damage" is a good-looking (essentially it\'s a cartoon sprung to violent life) and original game, and is at least worth a rent to fans of the vehicular combat genre of video games. However, because of its annoying design it's not worth a purchase, unless of course you're a sadomasochist.\n

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