Road Rash 64

"Road Rash 64-Awesome multiplayer game, and challenging single player game too"

Everybody loves Road Rash. It’s predecessors for the Super Nintendo, Genesis, and other systems were all big hits. Ya gotta love being able to race away from the cops with the rest of the biker gang while beating at an opposing gang member while hitting pedestrians. And now the multiplayer aspect has become infinitely more addicting with new modes. This is definitely a great game with plenty of replay value.

Gameplay: For the entire game you are riding various motorcycles(except in a single secret mode which I won’t reveal). You are able to pick up weapons to beat at your buddies with off the side of the road. They include: a baseball bat, a spiked club, a pool cue, a chain, nunchucks, a wrench, a tazer, a cattleprod, and of course, the ever-popular mace.

Story: You are a biker hoping to race with one of the two gangs, the Rumblers and the Thrashers. Or, you might go solo. You race across various courses hoping to achieve enough money to buy a new bike and advance to the next circuit. You have to watch out for cops, but hey, you get extra money for wrecking ‘em! And that’s basically it. So get out there and beat the tar out of some bikers.

Graphics: This game is compatible with the Expansion Pak. I own one and played Road Rash with it when I rented it, and it was a little better than when it was turned off. Kudos to the Road Rash team for such great detail. The pedestrians look realistic and the buildings and cars aren’t very repetitive. When an enemy gets a load of mace in the face, they quickly start rubbing their eyes, trying to get relief. It’s funny to see. Ironically, the Road Rash team should of worked on the bikes a tad more. They look great, but when you crash, no damage is shown. Which is weird, because in this game, you’re bound to crash A LOT.
GRAPHICS RATING: 9 OUT OF 10.

Control: This section varies, because depending on what bike you choose, you’re amount of control varies. There are four bikes in the game, but they can be upgraded as you progress. Two of the bikes have higher acceleration, but lower durability and control. The other two have lower acceleration, but higher durability and control. So it depends on what you like better. Personally I favored the bikes with higher durability and control. Overall, control for the bikes is good, but it takes a while to learn what to do in what situation so you don’t spin out.
CONTROL RATING: 8 OUT OF 10.

Music and SFX: Road Rash provides some great music tracks, but there are only a couple of them, so they get old very quickly. The great sound effects sort of make up for this. From the “Pull over” a cop says through a megaphone on his/her bike to the pitiful “Whoooooaaaaa” another biker makes when you’ve just stuck a pool cue in their spokes, the speech sounds are realistic and clear.
MUSIC AND SFX RATING: 6 OUT OF 10.

Difficulty: The difficulty on this game is not variable, but it provides a challenge nonetheless. The bikers get smarter as you go along, and there are more cops to chase you around. The traffic increases, and your foes get better weapons. Curves become tighter, and courses become longer. I beat this game in the five days I rented it, but I wasn’t playing the multiplayer part a lot either. I had more time to play the single player adventure.
DIFFICULTY RATING: 7 OUT OF 10.

Multiplayer: This game has some great multiplayer games. There’s Ped Hunt(my favorite), where you run around trying to take out the most pedestrians. Of course there’s the traditional racing, too. Although it’s not as addictive Goldeneye or Perfect Dark, it’s still okay.
MULTIPLAYER: 8 OUT OF 10.

SUMMARY: Road Rash 64 is an awesome game, but now that Perfect Dark rules the N64 empire, it won’t really get a lot of attention. There are a few hidden modes which make the game interesting, and with all the weapons, it takes a while for this game to get old. It’s just too fun beating at your opponents with a pool cue or paralyzing them with the tazer.
OVERALL RATING: 8 OUT OF 10.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/00, Updated 06/15/00