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	What do Cara Loft and Lassie both have in common? Easy... you get to drag their bloodly carcasses along the street after they get stuck in your rear wheel well.

One of the things that made Carmageddon so successful/addictive/disturbing was its blatant disregard for human life and its sequel isn't about to stray from those tried and true homicidal traditions. Carmageddon 2 offers a plethora (yes, a whole plethora) of new fodder-like pedestrians to soften your grill with. Among the unlucky civilians to take their place on your hood ornament are gang members, race car drivers, pilots, bikini-clad chicks, assorted tramps and hobos, office workers, airline workers, mechanics, circus performers of all shapes and sizes, buck-toothed rednecks, and even Cara Loft (I'll be buying it just to crush that one over and over and over...).

The biggest improvement in the pedestrians is graphically. Whereas in the original, pedestrians were simple two-dimensional sprites, the sequel presents us with fodder in three dimensions of polygonal glory. What this allows the designers to do is not only give an added sense of depth and realism, but add multiple "running-in-terror" animations, as well as a dynamic injury model. Picture it (Sicily, 1928...), you're driving along and you catch lassie out of the corner of your eye marking some territory over by the mall. You cut the wheel, but at the last minute the little bugger spots you and makes a run for it. In a homicidal rage you kick open the door, catching lassie in the back of the head, and watch with giddy laughter and childish glee as his near lifeless corpse gets caught in your rear wheel well, which spins the hapless mongrel to death. Not only is a scenario such as this incredibly fun, but it's near commonplace with the intricate physics of the enhanced game engine.

Pedestrian AI has also gotten a new coat of paint. Pedestrians and civilian vehicles foolishly obey most traffic laws, like stopping at stop signs and traffic lights, and citizens stick to the designated sidewalks, paths, and cross walks. Of course, they're scatted all over the place in parks and malls, but no one ever drives there, right? Right...?

While you're at it, why not torture the populace while you decimate them! A multitude of powerups scattered throughout the levels add humiliation to death by allowing you to do such oddities as enlarge all the pedestrians heads, fill their dying bodies with helium and watch them float away, even shocking dozens into submission at once with the new and improved electro bastard ray! The list of powerups for pedestrians includes such favorites as Fat Pedestrians, Skinny Pedestrians, Greased Pedestrians, Turbo Pedestrians, Frozen Pedestrians, and my personal favorite Suicidal Pedestrians. Upon grabbing that last powerup I decided to park for a bit and nurse my aching fingers. Suddenly a loud thumping averted my attention back to the computer as I saw at least a dozen people slam dancing into my vehicle. Rocking back and forth I felt like the city I was in must have just won the Stanley Cup or something. A quick power-turn later and I was on my merry and blood-soaked way.