Road Rash 64
Reviewed by PlunX
Road Rash started off as a racing/action game released on
the old consoles. It did fairly good, and 3 of them were made
on the Sega Genesis alone. The point of the game is to race on
motorcycles through various types of terrain, all while trying
to hit others and avoid being hit. Knocking people off of their
bikes, hitting pedestrians, and finishing near 1st place is what will
let you advance through the game. Road Rash 3D was released
on the Playstation a few years ago, and it was a great success.
It actually brought 3D graphics into the world of Road Rash. The
point of the game, of course, stayed the same. Now, Road Rash
has come to the Nintendo 64, and quite a bit of it is changed. The
whole map is different, and there are more secrets and bikes.
Graphics 8 out of 10
The graphics are pretty good, but the fog really brings the
score down. I missed turns in this game all because of the fog.
It takes a long time for the fog to dissolve, and in my opinion,
that's not a very good thing. But, the regular graphics throughout
the game are well-drawn and very detailed. The only other problem
that I have with the graphics is that there aren't very many things
to see during the game. It's almost like everyone in the map is
either desert or plains, and the city is very small and spaced apart.
But, again, the graphics are pretty good.
Music and Sound 7 out of 10
I liked laughing at the tunes throughout the game for a while, but
they ended up getting annoying. Plus, they are the same exact
themes from Road Rash 3D (the Playstation version). I've only
actually heard one of the tunes outside of the game, which isn't
necessarily bad, but THQ and EA could have at least picked a few
more tunes that people actually knew. The sound effects in the
game are pretty good, but the small screams and yells when you
get knocked off of your bike are the same ones every time, and
they get annoying too.
Game Challenge 5 out of 10
I beat the game the first day that I bought it. Once you get the
hang of knocking others off of their bikes and avoiding being
knocked off, the game's a cinch. The only hard part is coming in
1st place. It seems as though you'll knock someone off of their bike,
and they'll catch right back up with you not 10 seconds after you
knocked them off.
Game Play-Fun 9 out of 10
Even though the game was fairly easy, the numerous multi player
games in Road Rash 64 were a lot of fun. Running over pedestrians
and knocking friends off of their bikes is really entertaining. Also,
getting a lot of air by jumping off of vehicles seemed to keep me
entertained as well. Sometimes I'd start a race, and go wherever I
please, even if it's not in the right race line (all of the races are
tied into each other, but are blocked off).
Frustration
The only frustrating part is that knocking someone off their bike
doesn't mean that they're out of the way; they come right back
just a few seconds later.
Replayability 10 out of 10
Even though I beat the game the first day that I bought it, adventuring
throughout the whole map, finding secret power-ups, and playing the
multi player games kept me playing. Also, there are some secrets and
cheats as you progress through the game that add to the replayability factor.
Game Value 10 out of 10
I got this game at Blockbuster under the "Used and For Sale" cart
for $2.99 ($3.24). Of course, this is an excellent price, but I
probably wouldn't pay more than $40 for it at a video game store.
Overall 8 out of 10
Road Rash 64 continues the "race and smack people off of their bikes"
theme of Road Rash, which is a really fun thing. But, I really wish that
the game's creators would have changed the game around a bit more
from the Playstation version, and added some more music. If you
think you might like Road Rash 64, I'd advise you to rent it before
you buy it... But, if you liked the previous Road Rash games, I'm
almost positive that you'll get a kick out of this one as well.