Road Rash

The Good
Oooh mama! Now , I don't usually do racing simulation games...and under normal circumstances I avoid them like the plague. But this little beauty is my little secret. It's not just another simulation racing...I really hate those kinds of games where it's just racing. Well Road Rash has a bonus. It has acceptable levels of violence in it...

This is not a race for boys. This is the mean streets! Rules? There are no rules. You all pump up your engines in the start line but what happens on the streets stay on the streets. It takes pure skill when racing at 160 RPM and still have the time to knock the living daylights out of your fellow competitors. Give them a kick and watch'em fly! Birdwatchers, eat 'yer heart out!

This would be the motor version of Grand Theft Auto. This game simply has no morals. Sometimes you intentionally hit that slow moving granny crossing the street. Real-time melee with the local cops is always a must, may it be with chains, kicks or good ol' fashion punching...when playing multiplayer, the melee combat is so much more important than the race itself. It's a matter of pride. Pure male ego.

When not comparing macho levels playing against fellow human wannabe's, I spend most of my time playing the campaign mode. This game kinda introduced me to some hardcore metal music that was still understandable enough for my age (high school was it?). The corny cartoon graphics still appeals to me come to think of it but you can never forget the sound of those engines running.

The campaign mode has a fairly simple concept. Enter races, win cash, buy faster bikes. The ending cutscenes are always a bonus...

The Bad
Well sometimes you race to fast...next thing you know, your the target of the birdwatchers. Boy, when you fly your really fly. Sometimes it's a long walk back to your bike (or what's left of it)...and when your having a bad day...there'll be a cop waiting just for you on the crash site.

The Bottom Line
Hardcore racing...a must for boyz growing up to be men.

The Good
This game is a lot of fun. It looked horribly dated when released, but it had a certain simple charm. The music in the menus is excellent, as are the cartoony graphics and the general attitude of the game. There's also a certain sick sense of satisfaction in beating cops around the head with an iron bar.

The Bad
The in game graphics are pretty lousy, even for 1996. You pretty much sit still while the world rolls by - like being on a treadmill (anyone remember the 1982 coin-op Turbo game?). Nothing appears quite to scale, and the other traffic is laughably poorly drawn.

While the menu music is pretty cool, the in-game music is truly awful. Really feeble Ad-Lib type music which screams out to you "Oh... please turn me off." Also the controls are a bit of a handful, with various ways to actually steer - lean, fast steer, slow steer, plus three ways to attack - kick, punch and swing.

The Bottom Line
Do not take this game seriously and whatever you do do NOT waste good money on it. However, if you can get it for a bargain price it may be worth it. It is a lot of fun in a simplistic sort of way, and can easily dispose of any spare half hours you have knocking around the place.

The Good
This is a simple game of racing while beating your opponents senseless. There no frills, no complex story lines, no cheesy voice acting, just upgradeable bikes and lots of tracks to beat the other bikers on. The quirky art style on the between race screens lends a cartoony yet gritty feel and the Grunge Metal soundtrack fits the game nicely. It's also fun and a bit of welcomed realism that you must beware the cops while doing 90 in a 25 mile per hour zone and being caught results in humorous quips on the "Busted" screen.

The Bad
The tracks are too short to hear all of each song so often you end up listening to only the first minute or two of a three to five minute song. The backgrounds during races can get a little repetitive, but that's expected on a game of this age. The handling on the bikes can be a little wonky sometimes, but it's forgivable.

The Bottom Line
Are you looking for a simple arcade-style race and bash 'em up game with nothing to bog you down? Then this is your game! If you are looking for something with plot, characters and maybe full motion video sequences, you should look into another more recent racing game.