QuadSmash was developed by Creative Patterns and retails for 400MSP. A copy of the game was provided for review purposes.

QuadSmash is a 2D car combat game. You drive around in quads and, not surprisingly, your goal is to smash them, or at least smash your opponents. This game is pure multiplayer madness. It is one of the rare games that actually defaults to the multiplayer content on the opening screen. The gameplay consists of driving very fast through insane obstacles and using the terrain and special moves to beat your opponents to a pulp.

Here’s what we liked:

Polished appearance – At first we were tempted to say that QuadSmash looks great for an Indie game. But in truth, it looks great for any game. It uses tried and true 2D graphics and makes them look great on an HD display. The visuals are impressive.  They move well and are imaginative too.

Tons of gameplay options – QuadSmash has a surprising amount of modes to choose from. Tons of multiplayer deathmatch and cooperative modes make for a wide variety of experiences. There is also a single player campaign mode that serves as a sort of primer for all of the moves that your quad has to offer.

Collectables and accomplishments – The single player mode has stars in each level that you can collect. They’re a real challenge to get to, and a nice addition. There are also lots of multiplayer accomplishments to unlock which serve as achievements for those that feel that particular itch.

Awesome sense of speed – When the quads get out in the open they build up enough speed to make Sonic the Hedgehog jealous. Its fun to be able to really open up the throttle. It gets so fast that the quads are actually able to run straight up walls and make huge jumps.

Here’s what we didn’t like:

Controls are too touchy – Perhaps it isn’t fair to blame the controls here. They’re very sharp and the quads accelerate extremely quickly. This makes doing precision jumping and moving very difficult. Still, the slightest tap of the control stick can send your quad flying where you didn’t want it to go. It only really sticks out in the single player campaign which requires some tough maneuvers. It can be rather frustrating.

Too multiplayer heavy – QuadSmash is really a multiplayer game only. That’s fine if you have a few friends to come over and play. But for the lone player the game really isn’t that much fun. It is a shame that online multiplayer is not an option (a true rarity amongst Indie games).

QuadSmash brings a lot of neat ideas to the table and executes on them very well. Its the kind of game that any player will be able to enjoy. Unfortunately it alienates a lot of its potential audience by being almost exclusively a multiplayer game. The value someone can get out of QuadSmash will largely depend on how many friends they have at hand to play with. It’s also worth noting that we felt the 400MSP price point was a bit high for the game. These factors bring this otherwise excellent game down a bit. Indie game enthusiasts should give a try, others should as well if this feels up their alley.

Score: Try it