Road Rash

"Motorcycle Racing with a Twist"

Road Rash finally brings the first motorcycle racing game to the Game Boy Color. Road Rash, created by Electronic Arts, is not you basic racing game. In Road Rash, you can race while using weapons to deter your opponent.

The game title is familiar to the video gaming market. The most common known version of this game was on the Sega Genesis. Racing mixed with brutality appealed to some of the Genesis players of this game, so a version of this game was created for the Game Boy Color.

The game features fifteen different bikes, from types such as Banzai, Shuriken, Diablo, and Panda. Five tracks are available, which range from Alaska to Vermont. Three weapons are available such as a nightsticks and crowbars. You can also save your progress with a password save option.

Graphics and Control (8/10)

The graphics are the high point of the game. There is one view in the game, which is the “outside” view where you can see your rider and other riders. The tracks are remarkably drawn, and the color is just right. The background scenery is colorful and adds to the track. The objects such as road signs and houses look realistic enough. The only thing that is left to be desired on graphics is the riders. The riders are all the same color that you are, except the police cop which is always blue. The riders are also the same color are always the same color as their bike, which makes the riders look really boring.

The game engine made by 3D6 is good, and the game handles well. The game runs amazingly smooth. The frame rate is decent enough for the game. The controls are responsive, and steering is actually realistic. Steering is neither too hard nor too easy. The controls are simple, A is to accelerate and B is to punch or use your weapon. The graphics and controls in this game are good, but they are nothing too special.

Game Play (2/10)

The game play is what makes this game a loser. The game play seems fun at first. The ability to punch or use weapons starts to make the game appealing. But as the game goes on, you realize that the game gets astoundingly dull.

Since the tracks get long in this game, it gets extremely dreary riding across them. The game is not difficult at all. The riders do have weapons, but it easy to dodge them and to steal their weapons. Most of the time, you can just pass up motorcycles and burn them without using weapons or your fist. Even though there are obstacles are everywhere which cause you to crash, they are still not too hard to avoid. The only time it is tricky to dodge the obstacles is when you are jumping. Even if you have trouble dodging the obstacles, the game still gets increasingly boring.

All you have to do is win the top third in a race to complete the track. The higher you place in a race, the more money you receive. The money can be used to buy a better bike. You might think that it would take strategy to pick which bike is good to buy, but it is actually just common sense. In one level, if you beat all five tracks you move on to the next level. The only difference between the last level and the previous level is that the riders are better and the track becomes longer. Racing on the same tracks again and again becomes lackluster.

You might think that the game play could get better with a link cable mode, but the link cable mode is not very thought out either. The races done in link cable mode are not really competitive. When my friend and I played together, usually the person with the better bike would always win. The regular mode is not fun, and playing against another person does not make it any better.

Sound (3/10)

Some sound effects should have been added to make the game more exciting when on the road. There is practically one tune that is played through the races, and it eventually get annoying till where you have to adjust the volume down on your Game Boy. With more sound effects, such as a crashing noise when you crashed into an obstacle would make you feel more like you were riding a motorcycle. Without sound effects, the appeal of racing wears off faster.

Replay Ability (1/10)

This game has a very bad replay value. First of all, you probably would not even complete the game once because it gets so boring. If you do complete the game, then there is nothing else to do. The only slight reason you might want to play this game again is to get the best bike, but probably no one would want to ride through the lengthy and tedious tracks just to ride a new bike.

Rent or Buy?

I would not recommend buying this game at all. This game would not even appeal to motorcycle or bike riders. Beating the game takes about two days. Also since the game has no replay value, you will probably throw this game deep into your closet. I would not even think about renting this game. There are some much better racing games on the Game Boy Color. For BMX riders, I would recommend Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX. For motorcycle riders, try Harley Davidson: Race Across America.

The Final Word

Electronic Arts needs to return to the drawing board if they even consider making a sequel to this game. The graphics at first seemed to make the game good, but they ruined the game with horrific game play. Making the game more challenging and adding some more game modes would make this game better. For now, let’s hope some other company can come and create a better motorcycle game to erase our memories of this game.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 09/23/01, Updated 09/23/01