Gameplay is quite exhilarating. Note that this is a combat racing game, so you’re not just racing, you’re also trying your best to eliminate your competition and avoid being similarly eliminated yourself. You do, however, have the option of disabling the weapons option, so that you can play Dethkarz as a “normal” racing simulation in a futuristic setting….but where would be the fun in that? Enabling the weapons option is highly recommended for the optimal gaming experience. This will give you two basic weapons –a pulse laser and a plasma cannon. The former is a rapid-fire, low-damage weapon, while –as may be expected- the latter inflicts much higher damage but takes longer to reload. 
 

Later on, there are heatseekers, homing missiles, torpedoes, and cluster bombs for offensive action and antimatter shields, stealth protection and damage-repair pickups for defensive action.  And most enjoyable, none of the cars are coffins on wheels as in some other games of this type. One shot won’t disable or destroy any car. A sustained attack will destroy a car in one spectacular explosion. There aren’t any of those quiet areas for you to drive through in peace,  take stock of your damage and gather your scattered wits- the game is frenziedly fast-paced from beginning to end.

As for the cars themselves, these come in four different types -the Anassi, the Astor, the Hyperon and the Blitzwagon - each in three different levels, the introductory Platinum Class, then Iridium Class and finally Titanium Class, with the cars becoming faster and deadlier with each new level. This gives you a total of twelve cars in four types, each with it’s own distinctive characteristics. The Anassi are the speedsters of this game- they look and function like rockets. The Titanium Class “Lightning” Anassi is easily the fastest vehicle in the game, the drawback –there’s always one- that it’s comparatively low in armor and firepower. The Astor, meanwhile, has the best handling and is a solid performer. It may be telling that the Titanium Class Astor is dubbed the “Reliable”. A more all-rounder vehicle is the Hyperon, which balances speed and handling against firepower and armor, while the belligerent Blitzwagon is a monster of a car, it’s Titanium Class “Hammer” model being the best armored and most heavily armored vehicle in the game. You race these cars in four different types (again!) of tracks, which come in three different levels (again!) of track length- quite simply, short, medium and long. The four basic environments consist of a futuristic megalopolis dubbed Metro City, a wasteland called the Red Planet, an Antarctic environment called the Pole and Grand Keys, a network of bridges and transparent underwater pipes connecting a series of tropical islands.
 

Single player mode features an impressive 19 computer-controlled opponents in Arcade, Championship & Time Trial modes. A rear-view mirror would have been helpful when these opponents get behind you and open fire.  Actually, there is a conceptual contradiction here. In a racing game, the object is to get in front of your opponent. In a combat game, you place yourself in jeopardy by doing so, since you’re then directly in your opponents line of fire. The solution is simple: shoot first, overtake the  rubble later.

Speaking of rubble, there is a distressing lack of multiple-somersault car crashes. If you skid off the track, you’re simply teleported back on. No suicidal runs here, more’s the pity.

While Dethkarz supports keyboard, joystick and gamepad controls, a steering wheel with force feedback is recommended for the optimal gaming experience. Dethkarz is a challenging game, where even the lowest level of the three levels of difficulty will require good co-ordination and quick reflexes. 
 

Whether you prefer to race your way past your competitors or to blow them away one by one, this game will take you back to the days of classic arcade gaming. Realism is not the Holy Grail here, but pure enjoyment. The environments and vehicles are fantastically weird and wonderful–they are not meant to be otherwise. Keep that in mind when you play. While it is unlikely you will be addicted to Dethkarz for a considerable length of time, you can rest assured: it will be good while it lasts.