Added to this, there are a few power-ups that will bring a smile to your face, like an earthquake bomb or launched anvil. Slamming into other player’s cars and seeing parts fly off as you literally dismantle them is a joy. To stop this feeling too negative (as I did enjoy my time with the game occasionally), the physics and destruction effects in the game need to be praised. This can be avoided by dipping into the online modes, which can be fun – but the lack of pedestrians seems like an oversight. As you progress further in the game, they either act like headless chickens or they just try to ram you with no other goal in their mind than trying to make you crash. In events, the computer-controlled drivers are pretty terrible also.

While pristine graphical fidelity is not required for an enjoyable game, this just does not look nice at all.

It feels like a PS3 era title in terms of the geometry on display and the texture quality. Carmageddon Max Damage is not a pretty game. However, after you do, that won’t help the other major issue in the game – the visuals. Despite this, you may find yourself getting used to, or compensating for the crap controls over time. Carmageddon: Max Damage for the PS4 and Xbox One is an enhanced version of Carmageddon: Reincarnation, which released for PCs last year thanks to a mix of crowdfunding and independent investors. This flaw alone taints the entire game as it is the primary gameplay mechanic. While the mechanics are standard enough, the fact that there seems to be a good half-second delay in analog stick inputs means you are already in the wall you were trying to avoid when the game decides to reflect your controller input. Driving around is simply not fun, largely due to the terrible controls. Unfortunately, the biggest crime committed by the game is one that sullies the entire experience. The cityscapes and arenas you are allowed to drive around are huge, with Freeplay mode allowing you to explore endlessly. This variety also spreads to the game’s environments.

To start positively, Carmageddon has a large variety of modes to try out, from standard races to modes that see you chase down pedestrians with a pack of pursuing cars. It turns out adult me probably had the right idea.

Carmageddon max damage split screen