Skitchin'

"Dont try this stuff at home kids."

Even for such an old system, it's highly overlooked. This buried treasure isn't that hard to find, and for a mere $5, everyone should own a copy. I don't play the genesis too often, but when I do take it out, this is always one of the games I take with it. For those that don't know what skitching is, it's made of two words, skate, and hitch. It's the act of Skating up to a car, and grabbing it, to let the car pull you along the road. It's quite the thrill ride, as I do it myself. I don't just blade up to anyone's car, like in this game though.

The graphics are great, for such an old system. Third person freeway rollerblading. It's all very smooth animation, with realistic movements and sight. It really is quite hard to see while skitching. You can go head to head with another player, or have up to two players in a regular race, where you an 8 other CPUs race to the finish line in Canada, and the USA. The higher place you're in, the more money you get. You use money to enter races, and buy better equipment.

The realistic value of this game is what I love the best about it. Not to mention the realistic movements again, but there's also the way cars can suddenly stop or switch lanes on you, and the slingshot move to swing yourself to a farther ahead car. There's also police that, like in real life, will pull you over if caught. Another thing to mention is that depending on where you're racing, the game switches between Kilometres, Miles in measuring distance. There are also the unrealistic parts of the game. If more then one player is holding onto the same car, they can whack each other off with up to 3 different weapons, or bare hands. The player can fall off a speeding car, get knocked forward by three more cars, and still live to finish in first place.

The sound effects are sweet. Car breaks screeching, the smack of a players back to the front wheel of a motorcycle, police sirens blaring. And the music. The selection of tunage is not only great, but you may get a laugh from the names of these songs. It's the kind of tune you would listen to while really racing a track like this. Not that I advise you to.

Now that you know the basics of this game, I say this is a must-have for any Genesis owner. I give it a solid nine out of ten points.
I also feel obligated to advise you not to try skitching in real life. It is VERY dangerous to your life, and also highly illegal. I don't want to be responsible for you buying this game, then trying it yourself, and dieing.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/06/05