DESCRIPTION

Red Asphalt incorporates both racing elements and combat. Using a skillful combination of both, your objective is to overcome your opponents and face off against Draenek in the Arena of Death — the fifth and final world. There are 24 tracks in all, spanning apocalyptic city streets and other futuristic settings.

Before your dangerous journey begins, you'll need to choose one of six different characters to play as. Each comes with three varying abilities; the driving skill affects a character's handling ability and top speed, tactical affects weapon lock-on times and aggression is that character's strength. Among the characters is the dangerous Motormouth that thrives on death and annihilation; Thula Crimstone, a future leader of the Starian Empire; Jackal, a war-torn being that wishes to destroy all those that bring war against his people; and the spiritual Hiroki. Throughout the game, they'll earn experience points that increase ability points.

After selecting a character of choice, you'll want to purchase a vehicle (six in all). The car selection screen informs you as to who made the vehicle, the model name, how much money it costs, the weapons package it comes with and how much money is currently in your bank. The tank-like Tormentor is aptly named while the Aztek is highly balanced and affordable. As you earn money from competitions and winning races, you'll earn much needed cash; it can then be used to upgrade a vehicle with a better engine, armor, tires, suspension, offensive and defensive weapons.

You'll also win Chaos points from races. Chaos points allow you to advance through each racing circuit. With a total of five worlds, you'll need to earn two million points before advancing. There are six races per circuit in which to accumulate the needed points; if you fail to reach the points quota, you'll lose all your winnings and have to start again! Oh yeah — you have to finish in first, second or third place to earn any Chaos points.

There are a couple different gameplay options including the One Player and Two Player modes with the latter featuring Cooperative and Total Chaos modes. Outlined in the previous four paragraphs, the One Player mode is the whole enchilada — you against a group of bloodthirsty opponents vying to compete against Draenek. After each race, you're treated to an aftermath screen that shows you how many of deaths you caused, number of kills, cash prize, cash and lap bonus, total chaos points and how many experience points were earned.

In order to utilize the Two Player modes, you'll need a Link Cable and two separate PlayStation consoles. The Cooperative mode is much like the One Player mode, only you'll work together with a friend. The question remains: is the person next to you friend or foe? Total Chaos is a head-to-head deathmatch on any given track using any vehicle. ~ Jonathan Sutyak, All Game Guide