Critical Gamer writes: Smash ‘N’ Survive is a vehicular combat game, and is the first game to emerge from Indian studio Version 2 Games. The title is a PlayStation 3 exclusive that is available to download from the PlayStation Network. Taking inspiration from the Burnout and Twisted Metal franchises, can this new game emulate these classic games or should it have been scrapped long ago?
The game casts you as an unnamed street racer who is attempting to join a gang called the Necromancers. Throughout the game you are tasked with taking on rival gang the Hooligans in a turf war. The plot is paper thin and there are no cutscenes to speak off, with simple paragraphs of text used to lay out your next mission. The game starts you out in a regular car with no weapons, but as you progress you unlock a variety of vehicles with some being stronger, faster or easier to handle than others. Later vehicles also come equipped with different weapons like buzz saws, flamethrowers or pulse emitters that flip enemy vehicles over. With missions like team deathmatch, base defence or bombing your rival’s base, some vechicles are better suited than others for the mission in hand.
"This could easily be forgiven if Smash ‘N’ Survive was actually fun to play. Suffice to say, it isn’t. It's a shallow, repetitive, withering wreck that will not only bore and frustrate, but also make your ears bleed. "
Every now and then a downloadable title comes along and shocks you with its depth, ambition and technical expertise... this game is not one of those downloadable gems.
Liam Richardson writes: "“Is that… is that Greggs?” asked Ben, my housemate and fellow Gamer Nation writer, as he stared at the bizzare scene in front of him. “Yes” I replied, equally as bemused as he was, “It is”.
Smash ‘N’ Survive, a PS3 exclusive racing / destruction game, is an odd little title.
What we were witnessing was the first nail in the game’s frustratingly mediocre coffin. The very first level of Smash ‘N’ Survive is a city, populated with fictional shops such as “Pimp your car” as well as real ones such as Greggs the baker and Timpson the locksmiths. We initially thought that these were here intentionally, I mean product placement isn’t exactly an unfamiliar concept these days, but after watching the credits we realised that there was no reference to these companies ever agreeing to having their shops featured within the game. Bafflingly, they’re just there out of choice.
In a way, this was almost the high point of my entire experience with this game, and when I start a review with a humorous anecdote regarding possible copyright infringement, you know you’re in for a good time."
