You know the setting, you have seen it a hundred times; it is a chaotic, post-apocalyptic world where it is just you, your vehicle, your guns and a desire for revenge. That is the setting for Roadkill, a game that is equal parts vehicular combat and mission based driving.

There are three locations in this game, and they are huge and complex (far more massive then what I have seen in most other vehicular combat style games). The maps are well laid out and the locations of different places make sense. Basically, it doesn't feel like the level designers decided to just put the various buildings and locales wherever the dice fell. The highly detailed 3D landscapes really help to pull you into the harsh world that is Roadkill.

There was no skimping on the individual models either - well, the vehicle models anyway. The in-game people appeared to be a bit too low-res for my liking. The 35-plus vehicles that are seen (and unlockable) throughout the battlefield are amazingly modeled with great attention to detail.

As far as music is concerned, there are several radio stations that you can listen to while you roam the streets, each with a wide assortment of songs. Though I have to admit, most of the time I needed to turn the radio off just to be able to concentrate and hear what the other guys were saying. So while the radio was a good feature, it was mostly ignored.

Like I said earlier, Roadkill takes place in the future where most of the world's population has been killed by a virus called 'The Rot', and those who have survived are either members of brutal gangs, or people just trying to live another day. You are a lone wolf named Mason Strong and you are traveling to a place known as Paradise City - a pristine place that doesn't appear to have been touched by the disease that has forced the world into chaos. Of course, there are also gangs fighting over control of this city as well.

Mason is on his way to Paradise City, not for the glory of the city but for revenge -- cold, hard revenge. You see, years ago Mason had worked his way up in the ranks of one of the Paradise City gangs. Eventually the leader of this gang didn't like all the questions Mason was asking, so he left our hero for dead in Python Canyon -- but now he is back and doing everything in his power to take down the leader of his old gang.

Along the way, you will travel through Lava Falls and Blister Canyon. While there, you will work for local gangs, unlock many vehicles and buy upgrades for these vehicles. Each vehicle has a primary weapon - a machine gun, but you can buy upgrades and additional armor at the shop with the money you collect by picking up scrap from other fragged vehicles.

Most of the time, while employed by these gangs, you will have missions to run -- you know, kill this guy, destroy these objects, the basic stuff. But one of the best parts about this game is that you don't necessarily have to do these missions (well you do if you want to advance the story, but if you don't, then that's okay too). Many times, I got frustrated with a mission and instead of taking it up, I went on a killing spree destroying any vehicles and people I could (mostly because it took my mind off the fact that I wasn't able to do some little, annoying task in the last mission). Doing this typically paid off in a lot of scrap -- thus a lot of money and upgrades for my vehicle.

Mind you though, you won't have to go to the shop for every upgrade. There are various boxes throughout each level -- each contains part of a vehicle or a weapon. Collect all four boxes and the object's corresponding blueprint and you have yourself a new weapon or vehicle at your disposal.

There is also a Deathmatch Mode available where you can go head-to-head against up to three other vehicles in an attempt to get the most kills the fastest. There are five power ups on the field as you ride the roads in search of your next victim. These bonuses will increase your firepower, allow you to fire twice as many shots in a given amount of time, turn invisible, increase you armor or add a wingman to your turret gun.

The difficulty in Roadkill was at a good level. The smaller and lighter vehicles were easier to take down (when you hit them) than the larger ones. The missions weren't overly difficult, just a bit frustrating at times. Most of the time I didn't have a lot of trouble going through a mission and typically when I did, I made sure to stop by the shop and see if I could afford something to even the odds a bit -- and poof - no more problems.

Roadkill's controls are pretty intuitive. A lot of elements are similar to those in other driving games, with a few additions for those features unique (or nearly unique) to Roadkill. The Left Analog Stick controls the wheel while you can use either the Right Stick or the X and Square buttons to accelerate and brake. You can hit the nitrous (when you buy it, of course) with the Circle Button and fire your primary and secondary weapons with the R1 and R2 buttons (respectively). The L buttons are the handbrake (L1) and the primary weapon select (L2). You can also use the D-Pad to change the radio station.

With elements of both mission based driving and vehicular combat, this game is a solid title for the lover of either genre. The controls are smooth and handle well, while the action and carnage are in abundance.