Road Rash

""Mommy, I'm having nightmares!" "What of?" "Of hills.""

Ah, Road Rash… the game where hills are your deadliest enemy. That’s right the hills. Not the cars moving in 2 directions. Not the sharp turns. Not the cops. Not the rival Rashers (bikers). Not even the invincible cows! It’s all about the hills. Why the hills you ask? (Thanks for asking, by the way.) It’s because you can’t see over them… well not really. That’s not too big. That happens in a lot of racers. It’s that you can’t see in front of at all when you climb a hill- up or down. You will hit something (Trust me; you will.) and ask yourself, “What the hell did I just hit?” And the worst part is that there will even be a few times that you never see what hits you. You can guess of course depending on the track, but it really leaves you upset when it might take 12 or more seconds to get back on your bike, while three other racers pass you, and you never see what knocked you off in the first place. It gets to the point where it doesn’t seem hard anymore, but just frustrating and even cheap. I even put the game down for a month to play other less frustrating games like Chakan.

Now after all of the hill bashing, there are plenty of good things about this game, such as:

Sound 7.9 (needs more effects)
Yes. I know this is early Genesis, and you can definitely tell, but the sound… sounds nice. Music is pretty good. It’s upbeat and doesn’t get annoying. Each course has it’s own style of upbeat music that adds- even more than the graphics do- to the feeling that each race is different. And if I’m wrong and you hate the music, you could always turn it off with a press of the button.
The sound effects are worth mentioning too. They are… nice. Nothing special and in no way hurt the game, but are overall good. The problem is that there are so few sound effects in the game. At least the one sound you will not get tired of is hearing “Ahhhh!!!” every time you knock riders on their ass. Although why deer go “Mooooo!” when you hit them is beyond me.

Control and playability 9 .2
These have to be fit into one category. They rely on each other here and this is what makes the game shine. For those of you who want to buy this at a Funco Land, cart only, here’s your instruction manual: A= brake; B= gas; C= attack. That’s all you need to know. It’s that simple.

You start each race in last place (out of 15) and have to punch, kick, sideswipe, and club (if you can steal one from a racer) your way to the front of the pack. You earn money depending on where you finish in a race, the higher the better. You use that money to purchase new motorcycles. Each moto has different attributes but you will only care about handling and top speed. In the long run (races) that’s all that matters. No matter which you use though, your motorcycle responds exactly like it’s supposed to. When you crash it’s never because of the controls.

All of that makes this game extremely playable. Have you ever played a game 10 years ago that just doesn’t seem as fun today? Road Rash is not one of those. If you enjoyed it 10 years ago, then you will enjoy it today. If you didn’t enjoy it then, then you will notice how playable it is now- even though it’s old. Each course has it’s own little quirks and hard points. No matter how difficult or frustrating it becomes (we’ll get to that next) it never gets boring. It’s just plain simple fun. There aren’t a lot of gauges to read- just a speedometer and 3 life meters. One life meter is for your guy (which you can name). He gets hurt from being punched and kicked. The next is for your bike. It only gets hurt when you crash. This is the one that you will need to keep an eye on. The last is life meter that belongs to a rival Rasher. Sap his life meter and watch him tumble to the ground in your rear view meters. It never gets old. J

Challenge 5
This game gets hard. I think.
You see, this game rewards skill but it does not encourage it. What I mean is that at the beginning the game isn’t too hard. It’s tough but that’s mostly getting used to the controls. And you might say to yourself, “If only I had more horsepower…” Soon enough you will have enough money to buy a better bike. You don’t even have to be good. You can finish in the bottom 6 every time and eventually you will have enough $$$. So you buy your new motorcycle and you can now blow past your opposition so that you don’t even need to be so skilled at the tracks. This continues all the way up to Level 5 (the final & hardest). However, at Level 5 the tracks and the Rashers get so difficult, that you need some advanced skill to win. The best bikes allow you to compete well. That’s all. So if you were able to buy your way past the first 4 levels, you are going to be in BIG trouble in this level- like me. But that’s only the first problem.

The big problem is those damn hills. They aren’t a big problem in the first level, but you they cause small problems in the second. Then it just gets worse. The hills cause too much severe breaking… but that can be considered good challenge. However the hills also cause WAY too many situations that you just can’t avoid, especially in the later levels when oil slicks and cars start appearing at very inconvenient times. For example, a car might appear and you try to pass left. The left lane is completely open, so with some good breaking it should be safe to pass, right? Well, maybe not if you are on a hill. Frequently a car will charge right at you, but you won’t see it until it’s too late if you are on a hill. CRASH! Bike gets damaged, everyone in the rearview mirror passes you, and now you have gone from 8th place all the way down to 12th in a matter of a few seconds. I don’t like to call games cheap, but…. These situations are not rarities either. It gets to the point where it’s hard to even finish a race at Level 5.

Overall 6.8 (8 if you are overly patient)
If you notice I didn’t mention graphics. That’s because they aren’t important in this game. This game moves fast! Things happen in split seconds. If you are noticing the graphics then you are probably crashing. The animations are slightly choppy, the lines are nowhere near smooth, and everything in a particular level looks the same but the bad graphics don’t hurt the game. You can make out your driver and the backgrounds use effective (but limited) coloring. Graphics don’t really deserve a score. Not in this game.

The overall presentation is excellent. It’s fun to listen to and play. The controls are simple as all get out. The action happens in fast bursts. And you won’t get bored. Unfortunately it all comes back to the damn hills. Arg. I’m getting annoyed just thinking about it. I’ve beaten only 2 of the Level 5 courses, and I’m pretty sure I won’t ever beat the final three. Not because I couldn’t if I tried, (it's not that hard) but because I don’t have the patience with this game anymore. It just gets to frustrating. Maybe I’ll just go back and play the 1st three levels. That should be fun.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/16/02, Updated 09/16/02