Moto Roader

"Yes, yes, yes!"

OVERVIEW

I got this game in a bundle of about 30 other games 10 years ago, and upon giving it a quick go, I threw it away into my massive pile of Turbo games. It wasn't until a party of friends demanded to play the five-player games that I found the brilliance of this game. It's a futuristic racer that pits five cars in an overhead view that scrolls with all cars on screen, always (a strange constraint that works well, read on).

VISUALS/AUDIO

Fast scrolling, simple but colorful graphics, really cheesy music, and standard 8-bit sound quality gets the job done. That's that! These factors are not at all in issue in my evaluation of the game!

GAMEPLAY

It's an overhead racer featuring five cars at once. Tracks are fairly long, the roads go through many twists and turns. Random obstacles get in your way, like mud puddles, ice, ramps, walls, etc. Since there's always one car of the five that is distinctly faster, the rest drags behind in races: what's nice is that the slow one never strays too far behind, because you keep warping in bubble right behind the front car to prevent from going off screen. Only problem is each warp takes away a point of gas, which you have limited amounts of, so you better get a spare gas tank if you plan on getting burned.

You have about five tours to choose from, and each has 8 heats. Each heat is pretty long; after the heat, depending on placement in the race, you get money to spend in the shop: this is what makes Motoroader so great. You can upgrade your engine, body, brakes, handling, get turbo boosters, and a bunch of random power-ups, like bombs, grenades, warp, jump, etc. I found the jump power-up especially fun because I found a way to ''grind'' buildings in the game.

It really is quite pathetic how much mastery my friend and I gained over the game, but basically, with the jump power-up, and having all maxed vehicles by the last two heats, we would just ''grind'' over everything and destroy competition. You remain at top velocity this way and get the edge at turns. Simply jump onto a long stretch of buildings when you're at your max speed to fly!

Anyway, the upgrading aspect is where the fun in Motoroader lies. Playing the first heat for your first time can be frustrating and boring because of the slow pace, but be patient and persistent on getting first place finishes (to be able to afford the best gear), and by heat 5, you'll be blazing.

Handling is really straight-forward and precise when you are in the early, slow stages. As your car speeds up, the handling becomes more drifty: just what I like. Sliding around sharp corners at top speeds and trying to still stay on road is where the fun and challenge comes in.

OVERALL

A must-buy for TurboGrafx owners, especially if you have a multi-tap. If you have at least one player to compliment you, the game is a blast! Definitely one of my favorite racers ever, along with Super Mario Kart and Daytona.

MotoRoader -- 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/20/03