Crash Time 2 Xbox Views

General Goods

Crash Time: Autobahn Pursuit (known in the United Kingdom as Crash Time and in the rest of Europe as Alarm für Cobra 11: Crash Time) is a mission based driving game released for the PC in 2007 and Xbox 360 in 2008. It is based around the German television series Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei, and features several characters from the show working their way through criminal cases based around the road network of a small area of Germany. The developers created a Pathfinder to ensure that the AI vehicles do not always follow the same path during a pursuit. It was not received well by critics, with graphics and plot being of concern. Two sequels have been released on Xbox 360 and through online content provider Steam.

The game engine used in Crash Time: Autobahn Pursuit is an improved version of the engine that Synetic developed for Mercedes-Benz World Racing.[3] Synetic also developed a pathfinder system to allow the AI controlled vehicles to choose their own route to a destination, so no two pursuits are the same, according to Andreas Leicht, product manager at Synetic developing the pathfinder system was the most difficult and time consuming part of the game's development.[3] The scenery runs at a polygon count of 1,200,000 triangles per scene.[3] The damage model works on the basis of physical impulses during a collision, in which the vertex basis is deformed. In addition, the visual damage to the animated model is triggered if the deformation exceeds a specified limit. This means that the cars are not only deforming but parts can break and fall off.[3]

The IGN Xbox Team placed Crash Time: Autobahn Pursuit as one of the five worst driving games on Xbox 360, mainly referring to the German police setting to the game, and the poor voice acting in the English language versions.[11] In a review for IGN by Ryan Geddes there was criticism that what could have been an exciting game has been reduced to the mundane.[6] The difficulty curve was labelled inconsistent , with cakewalk levels being followed immediately by nearly impossible ones .[6] The Cases mode was criticised as the player cannot tell how many missions are left until the case is completed, making the planning of a game session impossible. The missions have been described as boring and dull.[5]

On February 27, 2009, IGN reported that a sequel to Crash Time: Autobahn Pursuit is to be released for under the names Crash Time: Burning Wheels in Europe and Crash Time 2 in the United Kingdom. This game will feature more open world environments where the first game is more linear.[13] An overhead map will be included for the first time in the series, as demonstrated in the demo available on Xbox Live Marketplace.[14] New escort missions have been confirmed by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), as has the feature that players can drive onto a field and plow into cows, which shatter into 'cartoony' t-bone steaks upon impact . The ESRB has also commented on mentions of drugs, prostitution and one instance of sexual innuendo in reference to the new escort style missions.[15] Crash Time 2 was released on Xbox 360 in Europe on 27 November 2008,[16] and on Steam on 27 August 2009.[17]