Well yes, and they have. Great graphics that capture the real robots perfectly, realistic looking flames, smoke and steam in tandem with state of the art lighting effects and shadows bring the game to life. The control could be more subtle, but you do get used to the over-responsiveness with practice. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this game much to be honest, but it won me (us) over with its excellent tournament mode and robot builder. You can buy any one of a huge selection of ready-built robots if you wish, but with the limited funds that you start the game with designing and building your own destructo-mech is the best way to go. And what fun it is as you earn more cash and unlock more sophisticated and devasting weapons and add-ons of all types. Tracks or wheels? Two, four or six wheels? Electric or Petrol engined? - The decisions are all yours, and the incentive to continue and win tournaments is strong as you earn cash to improve your robot, or build another, or buy one of the famous TV celeb robots like Chaos 2, Panic Attack, Razer or Hypnodisc...

   

Minor gripes stem from the game's dizzying speed. The frame rate stays steady most of the time, with only the most hectic of battles causing significant slow down (the fourplayer mode struggles a bit though). At times the house robots butt in and get a bit too active (just like the real thing then), and they also tend to move at unrealistic speeds, which is a shame as the game otherwise immerses you in the world of RW so well. The sheer fact that you can't damage the house robots (despite being able to destroy any of the others) is also a major let-down (although you can push them into any of the many arena pits/traps). If you don't immobilse, pit or flip your opponents you'll also witness some simply TERRIBLE judges decisions, which is annoying in the extreme when you clearly beat the crap out of a robot only to be told he scored more style points than you and so won.

   

It's a shame there isn't one, because a replay mode would have been a logical addition to an otherwise superbly presented game which includes excellent menus and a remarkable commentary by the loud, annoying but essential Jonathan Pierce.

For fans of the TV series, or just lovers of vehicular combat games, Robot Wars Extreme Destruction will provide entertainment by the truckload, and the ability to build your own destinctive machine provides some surprising depth.