Carmageddon II
Encyclopedia
Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now is the sequel to the graphically violent vehicular combat computer game Carmageddon
, released on November 30, 1998. The game was developed by Stainless Games
and published by Sales Curve Interactive. It has been released for both PC
and Macintosh.
portrayed in the game. It is rated 15+ by ELSPA. In some countries, the pedestrians (and animals) are zombies, and blood is turned to green slime: In Germany, aliens replaced the pedestrians. Internet-released 'blood patches' restore the original human pedestrians. The blood pack was later released in the United Kingdom in 1999, earning the game an 18 certificate.
It features a heavy metal
soundtrack with songs from Iron Maiden
and instrumental tracks from Sentience.
Carmageddon II was one of the few racing games at the time to feature deformable models on its cars, making for more realistic dents and crashes. In fact, the player's car can even be bent in half, leaving the player to drive with only the front wheels on the ground. The car can also be sheared in half, causing retirement from the race if the damage is not repaired before the vehicle touches the ground.
As with Carmageddon, there are 3 ways to finish most levels:
As the player progresses through the game, sets of levels are gradually unlocked (10 in total), each consisting of 3 standard "Race, Wreck, or Wreak havoc among the zombie/pedestrian hordes/populace" levels, followed by a mission. Each mission has specific tasks that must be completed before unlocking the next set.
The time limit in the game is generous, and the player can kill pedestrians, crash into opponents, or do tricks to gain time as well.
The other games in the series are:
(1999), Nintendo 64
(Carmageddon 64, 2000) and Game Boy Color
(Carmageddon, 2001). The game titles suggest that they are ports of the original Carmageddon, but the maps and opponents are from Carmageddon II.
A PlayStation version of Carmageddon was released in Europe, adding elements from Carmageddon
and Carmageddon II to its own exclusive vehicles and tracks.
Carmageddon
Carmageddon is the first of a series of graphically violent vehicular combat video games produced by Stainless Games, published by Interplay and SCi...
, released on November 30, 1998. The game was developed by Stainless Games
Stainless Games
Stainless Games is a British video game developer based on the Isle of Wight that specialises in developing downloadable games for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade...
and published by Sales Curve Interactive. It has been released for both PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
and Macintosh.
Description
Like its predecessor, Carmageddon II was subject to criticism for the level of violenceVideo game controversy
Violent video game debates often center on topics such as video game graphic violence, sex and sexism, violent and gory scenes, partial or full nudity, portrayal of criminal behavior, racism, and other provocative and objectionable material. Video games have been studied for links to addiction and...
portrayed in the game. It is rated 15+ by ELSPA. In some countries, the pedestrians (and animals) are zombies, and blood is turned to green slime: In Germany, aliens replaced the pedestrians. Internet-released 'blood patches' restore the original human pedestrians. The blood pack was later released in the United Kingdom in 1999, earning the game an 18 certificate.
It features a heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
soundtrack with songs from Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
and instrumental tracks from Sentience.
Carmageddon II was one of the few racing games at the time to feature deformable models on its cars, making for more realistic dents and crashes. In fact, the player's car can even be bent in half, leaving the player to drive with only the front wheels on the ground. The car can also be sheared in half, causing retirement from the race if the damage is not repaired before the vehicle touches the ground.
As with Carmageddon, there are 3 ways to finish most levels:
- Complete the race, passing every checkpoint before the time runs out
- Destroy all the opponents
- Kill every zombie/pedestrian in the level
As the player progresses through the game, sets of levels are gradually unlocked (10 in total), each consisting of 3 standard "Race, Wreck, or Wreak havoc among the zombie/pedestrian hordes/populace" levels, followed by a mission. Each mission has specific tasks that must be completed before unlocking the next set.
The time limit in the game is generous, and the player can kill pedestrians, crash into opponents, or do tricks to gain time as well.
The other games in the series are:
- CarmageddonCarmageddonCarmageddon is the first of a series of graphically violent vehicular combat video games produced by Stainless Games, published by Interplay and SCi...
- Carmageddon TDR2000Carmageddon TDR2000Carmageddon: Total Destruction Racing 2000, more commonly known as Carmageddon TDR 2000 , is an action-racing-vehicular combat video game...
Soundtrack
- Sentience - "Finer Scale"
- Sentience - "Pressure Them"
- Sentience - "Machina Directa"
- Iron MaidenIron MaidenIron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
- "Aces HighAces High (song)"Aces High" is a song by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, written by bassist Steve Harris. It is Iron Maiden's eleventh single and the second from the 1984 studio album Powerslave...
" - Iron MaidenIron MaidenIron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
- "Be Quick or Be DeadBe Quick or Be Dead"Be Quick or Be Dead" is the first single from the Iron Maiden album Fear of the Dark, released in 1992. The song is about several political scandals taking place at the time of its release, including the Robert Maxwell banking scandal, European stock market crashes, and the BCCI case...
" - Iron MaidenIron MaidenIron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
- "The TrooperThe Trooper"The Trooper" is a song written by Iron Maiden bass player Steve Harris. It is Iron Maiden's ninth single, and the second from their 1983 album Piece of Mind. The single was released on 20 June 1983...
" - Iron MaidenIron MaidenIron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
- "Man on the EdgeMan on the Edge"Man on the Edge" is a single from the Iron Maiden album The X Factor. It was released in 1995. The song is based on the film Falling Down, starring Michael Douglas...
"
Movie and real life influences
Themes, cars, and ideas from many popular movies are present in the game:- The title "Carpocalypse Now" is most likely a reference to the movie Apocalypse NowApocalypse NowApocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
. - Death Race 2000Death Race 2000Death Race 2000 is a 1975 cult action film directed by Paul Bartel, and starring David Carradine, Simone Griffeth and Sylvester Stallone. The film takes place in a dystopian American society in the year 2000, where the murderous Transcontinental Road Race has become a form of national entertainment...
is the source of much of the ideology of the game. A game character "Silvester Stallion" was named for Sylvester StalloneSylvester StalloneMichael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
, and a powerup in the game, "Oil slicks from your arse" is one that Sly's character can be seen using in the movie. - Back to the FutureBack to the FutureBack to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
is the inspiration for the inclusion of the otherwise rare DeLorean "DeGory'un" car. - The Blues BrothersThe Blues Brothers (film)The Blues Brothers is a 1980 musical comedy film directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a musical sketch on the NBC variety series Saturday Night Live. It features musical numbers by R&B and soul singers James...
is the source for the cop car, and features a quote from the movie to describe the car: "It's got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant. It has cop tires. Cop suspension. Cop shocks..." Additionally, a level requiring the destruction of 12 cop cars - the number of BluesmobileBluesmobileThe Bluesmobile is a 1974 Dodge Monaco sedan that was prominently featured in the 1980 film, The Blues Brothers. In the film, it is described as a used Mount Prospect police car that replaced a Cadillac, which Elwood Blues traded for a microphone. The Bluesmobile was equipped with the "440 Magnum"...
s used in the making of the movie - exists, with the level description "Trashing that donut shop was a big mistake...". One of the pickup items in the game causes all your car's panels to fall off, in much the same way as the Bluesmobile toward the end of the movie. - Herbie the Love Bug is undoubtedly the source of the VW with the curly-lettered "Hate" emblem on its side.
- The purple TVR CerberaTVR CerberaThe TVR Cerbera is a sports car manufactured by TVR between 1996 and 2003. The name is derived from Cerberus the three-headed beast of Greek legend that guarded the entrance of Hades....
in the game was based on the car driven at the time of development by Stainless MD, Patrick Buckland and was used without the permission of TVRTVRthumb|right|240px|TVR No.2, the oldest surviving TVR, located at [[Lakeland Motor Museum, Newby Bridge, Cumbria]]TVR was an independent British manufacturer of sports cars. Until 2006 it was based in the English seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, but has since split up into several smaller...
, much to their irritation. - Two cars featured on the game are based on real life racecars: the Porker 2 is based on the Konrad MotorsportKonrad MotorsportKonrad Motorsport is an auto racing team initially from Austria but now residing in Germany. Founded by Austrian racer Franz Konrad in 1989, the team has mostly run Porsches, although they have also run Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Saleens over their existence.-History:Initially competing in the...
Porsche 993 GT2Porsche 911 GT2The Porsche 911 GT2 is a sports car built by the German manufacturer Porsche since 1994. It is based on the 911 Turbo, and uses a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but features numerous upgrades, including engine upgrades, larger brakes, and stiffer suspension calibration...
from the BPR Global GT SeriesBPR Global GT SeriesThe BPR Global GT Series was a grand tourer-based sports car racing series which ran from 1994 to 1996 before becoming the FIA GT Championship in 1997...
, and the Tashita2 is based on the Hasemi Sport Unisia JECS Nissan Skyline GT-RNissan Skyline GT-RThe Nissan Skyline GT-R is a Japanese sports car based on the Nissan Skyline range.The first GT-Rs were produced from 1969–1973. After a 16 year hiatus since the KPGC110 in 1972, the GT-R name was revived in 1989 with the Skyline R32. This car was nicknamed "Godzilla" by the Australian motoring...
from the Group AGroup AIn relation to motorsport governed by the FIA, Group A referred to a set of regulations providing production-derived vehicles for outright competition. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, the Group A referred to production-derived vehicles limited in terms of power, weight, allowed...
era JTCCJapanese Touring Car ChampionshipThe Japanese Touring Car Championship , is a former touring car racing series held in Japan...
series. The latter competed between 1991 to 1993 and was driven by Masahiro HasemiMasahiro Hasemiis a former racing driver and team owner from Japan. He started racing motocross when he was 15 years old. In 1964 he signed to drive for Nissan. After establishing himself in saloon car and GT races in Japan, he participated in his only Formula One race at the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix for Kojima...
. - Twin PeaksTwin PeaksTwin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
is the inspiration for a game map depicting a mountain town called Twin Shrieks. All the major elements are there: the cafe, the inn, the mill, the bridge, the pines, and the mountains. There is also a hidden "Red Room" Easter egg located by jumping into a seemingly solid mountain wall. The room, has minimal furniture, red curtains on all walls, a black and white zigzagged floor and driving physics comparable to driving underwater. Most references only slightly resemble elements of the show, but the sign identifying the town is clearly inspired by it.
Ports
Carmageddon II has been ported to the MacintoshMacintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
(1999), Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
(Carmageddon 64, 2000) and Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
(Carmageddon, 2001). The game titles suggest that they are ports of the original Carmageddon, but the maps and opponents are from Carmageddon II.
A PlayStation version of Carmageddon was released in Europe, adding elements from Carmageddon
Carmageddon
Carmageddon is the first of a series of graphically violent vehicular combat video games produced by Stainless Games, published by Interplay and SCi...
and Carmageddon II to its own exclusive vehicles and tracks.