Carmageddon 2020
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On the first day of Carmageddon, cyclists, joggers (and one DUI suspect) braved the empty 405 freeway - while the rest of L.A. February 21, 2020. Top 10 Ways to Raise a Glass on.
For most Angelenos, they remember where they were on the harrowing weekend eight years ago when Interstate 405 was shut down in both directions. They had been bracing for it for months, ready for the nightmarish hellscape that would undoubtedly unfold before them.
Then it happened.
Well, nothing happened because residents stayed off the roads and all was well.
California highway officials are hoping for a repeat performance at the end of April as Carmageddon 2.0 threatens once more to rear its ugly head.
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: All lanes of the 405 Freeway are empty except for construction trucks as crews continue to demolish a portion of the Mulholland Drive bridge along the 405 Freeway September 29, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty)
'This will be the largest freeway closure in Los Angeles since September 2012 when we closed Interstate 405 in both directions,' John Bulinski, the state Department of Transportation's local director, said Thursday.
The once-ominous 2012 event, dubbed Carmageddon, crippled the city with fear at the chaos it would cause. But like so many things, in the end, the traffic jams that officials predicted would gridlock the city never materialized, as Los Angelenos got word and stayed home.
Still, officials trotted out this year -- more than a month ahead of time on a hilltop parking lot in Burbank overlooking Interstate 5 -- to warn about what could be hiding behind the corner.
'There is a large potential to affect not only traffic in the Burbank area but in the greater Los Angeles area,' Capt. Tai Vong of the California Highway Patrol told reporters. 'So if you absolutely do not need to be on the I-5 Freeway in this area during the closure, please just stay away.'
'We've been through this .. with Carmageddon,' Vong continued, noting how in 2012 the hundreds of thousands of people who normally use Interstate 405 every day just went elsewhere. 'And the mass traffic chaos everybody predicted never materialized.'
As Interstate 405 was, Interstate 5 is being closed as construction workers tear down a bridge so they can widen the freeway and add a pair of carpool lanes.
The $350 million project will provide 13 miles of continuous carpool lanes through a notoriously congested roadway that 230,000 vehicles traverse daily.
Caltrans announced during a news conference in Burbank, Calif. on Thursday, March 5, 2020 the closure of the I-5 freeway through Burbank for 36 hours The closure will be done to demolish the Burbank Blvd bridge, pictured, which will be replaced to accommodate new carpool lanes on the freeway. (David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News via AP)
As they did in 2012, transit officials will be posting freeway signs 50 miles or more away warning people to exit the 5 before they get to Burbank. Officials rattled off a number of alternate routes that will get motorists around Burbank or even get them there, although it may take a little longer than usual.
If they don't take the routes, officials say, they could end up backing up traffic so far it will block all of them, making it difficult to impossible to get to stores, hospitals and even the Hollywood Burbank Airport.
“We are a little concerned,” said Jay Desai, one of the managers of Bob's Discount Furniture, which overlooks the section of freeway that will be closed. The store doesn't plan to close, however, but is getting the word out to customers to take other ways in.
CoolROM.com's game information and ROM (ISO) download page for Tonka Space Station (Sony Playstation). In Tonka Space Station the player controls Tonka Joe and has to take over space station construction and operations. The game provides nine Tonka space vehicles that can be used in nine different missions. Examples of missions include blasting mutant weeds in the biosphere, mining lunar Tonkonium, and racing down wormholes. 
Edgar Sanchez, who washes windows in the area, says he'll either stay away that weekend or plan another way in.
“It's always best to plan ahead and find solutions rather than problems,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Overview
You're sitting at the starting line, waiting for the checkered flag to drop. Engines race as each driver waits for the race to begin. Suddenly the car next to you surges forward, slamming the starter's body into the wall. You and the other drivers take off in fast pursuit, careening up onto the sidewalks, sending spectators running for cover.
If you've ever seen Deathrace 2000 you have a good idea of the story in Carmageddon. There are no rules; it's just you and your car against everyone. Your goal is to climb from 99th in the rankings to number one and if, along the way, you have to crush the opposition (literally), that's just fine. And if you're also willing to take out any pedestrians that don't run fast enough, that's even better. This is one racing game where your position in the pack doesn't matter as much as how much damage you do.
Each race does have a set course and you can successfully complete a race by going through the checkpoints and finishing the required laps, but you'll miss most of the fun if you do. You can also win by knocking the competition out of the race, and we're not talking about a wimpy game where you blast away at the enemy with guns -- in this race, it's just you and the car slamming into stuff while doing 95 mph. And if that's not violent enough, there is a third way to win: run over every pedestrian on the streets.
Gameplay
Carmageddon is less of a racing game than a destruction derby and while the premise is pretty straightforward, there are many extra touches that make it a lot of fun to play. Each race pits you against 5 of the 25 opponents who have their own car and style. The AI behind the drivers is fantastic. Not only do they take advantage of their car's abilities and quirks, they also remember how you've treated them in previous races. If you trash one driver too many times, he'll be after your throat the next time he sees you. And when you manage to waste another racer completely, there is a chance that their car will be stolen, making it available for you to use in future races.
The best thing about all the cars is that each one handles differently. Driving a tricked-out sports car feels vastly different from driving a monster truck, and Carmageddon has captured the essence of the various cars extremely well. Every vehicle has a different response to acceleration, braking and cornering, making each one a challenge to drive. But after a little practice you can do quick handbrake turns and spins in almost all of them. You can even do stunts like jumps and flips that can earn you bonuses.
There are over thirty tracks and each one is a complete 3D environment. You're not tied to the set race course; in fact, most of the powerups and many of the pedestrians can only be found by leaving the set track. One course will have you roaring through the streets of a big city, and in the next you will be cruising along a coastal highway. Each track is unique and has secret areas to find and exploit.
The points earned from mowing down pedestrians, skillful maneuvers, style, combo collisions and powerups can be used to make on-the-fly repairs or recover the car if it is stuck upside-down.
Graphics
The 3D environment in Carmageddon is top-notch. The car animations are smooth and damage to your car shows up clearly -- it will even catch fire and spew black clouds of smoke. Sparks fly from collisions, pedestrians run screaming from oncoming vehicles, and light poles, trees and other scenic objects break off and bounce across the landscape when you smash into them.
The default screen mode is 320x200 and most systems will perform best at that resolution. There is a 640x480 high-res mode, but even on a top-end Pentium 200 it was too choppy for comfortable play. A 3Dfx patch is promised soon, which should provide smoother high-res graphics.
Audio
The audio ranges from good to really annoying. The various engine noises and crashes, bangs, screams, and crunches of the cars smashing into walls, pedestrians, and each other are very realistic. They even fade in and out and shift in pitch as the cars race past each other at top speed. If the effects had been left here, they would have been fantastic. Unfortunately, there is a small inset animation of 'you' that reacts to your driving with screams and swearing that became annoying after a short time. This can be turned off, but the game doesn't remember the setting between sessions, so you have to toggle it off over and over again. The game also has a pulse-pounding rock soundtrack that provides the perfect background to the mayhem, but to hear it you must do a full installation, which requires 250 MB of drive space (this isn't mentioned during the install process).
Multiplayer Support/Experience
Carmageddon's multi-player options are fantastic. The game supports up to six players on an IPX network, and there are several modes ranging from a free-for-all destruction derby to complicated games of tag. You can set the game so that all players are using similar cars, have the computer randomly assign cars for each race, or allow each player to select from the available cars. I personally like the free-for-all mode with randomly selected cars. It can be a real challenge to take out someone in a huge front-end loader when you're driving a dune buggy, but it makes for great gameplay. There are even special multi-player tracks, including one where the race takes place on the top of a plateau — it's lots of fun to push your opponents off and watch them fall. The only drawback to the multi-player options is the lack of support for modem or Internet play.
Documentation
Carmageddon's documentation provides a solid overview of the game, including background information on the opponents you will face. It also covers tips and tricks for the unsafe driving practices you'll need to develop to win the game.
System Requirements
Required: MS-DOS 6.2 or higher, P90 or faster, 16 MB RAM (24 MB RAM required if running under Windows 95), 4X CD-ROM drive. Multiplayer play requires an IPX network.
Parental Warning
Carmageddon has been rated M (Mature, ages 17 and up) for violence, gore, and language. Unlike some other violent games, there is no parental lockout mode that turns off the blood -- this game is simply not intended for kids.
Bottom Line
This is one fantastic game -- it's demolition derby with a body count. If you're looking for a racing game that tosses the rulebook away, this is it. The variety of tracks and opponents, combined with the freedom to go anywhere and run over anything, makes this game a great stress reliever. The only drawback is the lack of modem or Internet support for multi-player games. This has quickly become one of my favorites -- I would definitely recommend Carmageddon to anyone looking for a little uncontrolled mayhem.