Rock 'N Roll Racing

"This game rocks...literally!"

Rock N' Roll Racing was released by Interplay in 1993. Interplay, famous for several unusual games such as the Clay Fighter series, released this in, well I guess an attempt to be different. It essentially plays like a 2-D Twisted Metal of sorts, or perhaps more accurately (For you old-timers) R. C. Pro-Am. So how does it stack up?

Graphics: 7/10- Not great, but not bad. The texture of the track changed with whatever planet you were on--from the grid of Chem VI to the off-road looking Bogmire. The cars don't animate except to jump, but the wheels move. The backgrounds have some nice touches if you bother to pay attention--check out the ads for Viking Cola on Bogmire (An inside joke--Interplay also released the Lost Vikings series!)--but these are in general pretty average.

Sound: 10/10- Undoubtedly the game's strong point. Though it's fairly common nowadays--games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Road Rash 3-D, and some others have it--to have real music by real bands in 1993 was just about unheard of. This game had it. The renditions, though they didn't have lyrics, were in fact amazingly accurate, especially given the fact it was released on a 16-bit platform. And I don't mean music by no-name bands either. You got such classics as ''Paranoid'' by Black Sabbath and Steppenwolf's ''Born to be Wild''. Though there's only 5 songs, you won't care. Really. Another thing that this game just about pioneered was real commentary. This came in the form of Larry ''Supermouth'' Huffman (Who's a real announcer! I don't know what he does now though). This guy is funny, though he repeats himself alot. When you blow up by hitting a mine for instance, he yells ''(Your driver's name) should AVOID mines! great stuff all around. Final note: There's a Genesis version of the game, but it's an absolute desecration in the sound department, due to its inferior hardware.

Control: 9/10- Nice. The cars respond very well, and react to the ice on one of the later planets as they should--slipping and sliding around. This game really takes advantage of all the SNES controller's buttons. One button obviously makes you go. A second fires your frontal weapon, a third fires a rear weapon, and the fourth gives you your boost item. The cars are also quick to turn, unlike some other games. There are several drivers to choose from--including one hidden one--and in you can actually tell the difference between the drivers stat-wise, especially in the jumping department (Cyberhawk and Ivanzypher don't slam into the ground after every jump, unlike everyone else).

Story: N/A/10- Race around, get money, blow up other cars, win trophy. Whether you call that a story, well.....

Challenge: 7/10- The game is pretty tough, and unlike alot of other destruction games, you have to use a bit of strategy as well on the higher difficulty levels (Note the emphasis on ''bit''). The passwords ensure you can start from the last division you raced, though it doesn't save anything after the start of that particular division. You also have to wisely choose how you spend your money to upgrade your car (Another rarely seen feature in the day), or else you'll be ill-prepared to take on the later-planets.

Replay Value: 8/10- There are three difficulty levels, and six drivers (Plus the hidden guy). That's alot of times to go through the game. The two-player mode rocks as well. You can either play the game straight--meaning going through the planets in order, as in a 1-player game--or, if you really wanna get messy, go to the Vs. Mode, where you get unlimited cash and maxed-out cars. Besides all this, the concept of blowing other cars up always serves to keep me coming back. :P

Overall: 9/10- Another of the great things about this game that I barely touched on was the upgrading concept. While it is flawed--you have to go through each grade of equipment one by one rather than skipping to the Atlas equipment right away--it adds a whole other dimension to the game. This, plus the always good combination of classic music and blowing stuff up (What can I say? It's fun!), as well as funny commentary, make this a game that shouldn't be passed up by anyone who loves racing games.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/20/00, Updated 04/20/00