Road Rash

Road Rash is the name of a motorcycle-racing video game series by Electronic Arts, in which the player participates in violent illegal street races. The game was originally written for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, but was ported to several other systems. more...

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Six versions of the game were released from 1991 to 1999, although a 2004 licensed port for the Game Boy Advance exists. Road Rash was the first racing game to allow actual combat between racers.

Overview

Presented in a third-person view similar to Hang-On, the player competes in road races, and must finish in the top 3 places in every race in order to proceed to the next level. As levels progress, the opponents ride faster, fight harder and the tracks are longer and more dangerous. Placing in each race gives a certain amount of money which increases considerably subsequently as levels progressed. This money allows the player to buy faster bikes which are needed to stay competitive. The game is over if the player can't pay for the repairs when their motorcycle is wrecked, or can't pay the fine for being arrested.

Game play

Road Rash was highly innovative in the fact that it introduced a smoothly-rendered vertical element to road racing. In most traditional older racing games, the player's vehicle remained on the same horizontal plane, negotiating turns essentially by going right or left (see Pole Position). In Road Rash, players had to contend with grade changes, and the physics, though rudimentary compared to today's games, reflected the act of going up or down a hill, as well as turning while climbing, etc. This resulted in the ability to launch one's motorcycle great distances, resulting in often amusing crash animations. Road Rash also introduced an interactive race environment, with street signs, trees and poles, as well as animals (livestock for example) which could interact with your vehicle. This was also one of the earlier games to feature active traffic, which created a more immersive and realistic environment, as the player had to contend with slow moving station wagons and the like while racing against other bikers. Aside from high speed, big-air and spectacular crashes, what separated Road Rash from other racing games was its combat element. The player could fight other bikers with a variety of hand weapons. The player would initially start off with just his hands and feet, but if the gamer timed a punch right, they could grab a weapon from another rider. The weapons themselves ranged from clubs, crowbars, nunchakus, cattle prods and even police batons. Fights between riders to knock each other off the bike would often go on at high speeds through traffic, pedestrians and roadside obstacles, with the victor gaining place and the loser sustaining bike damage and losing time.

The motorcycle police officers have dual antagonistic roles. They fight the player as another opponent, and they also serve as game play enforcers by policing the back of the pack and culling players who fall too far behind or choose to explore the world rather than race in it. The stakes are higher for losing a fight with a police officer than for losing to another player: Losing a fight with an officer would cause the player to be fined and "busted" and the race would end. You could also be "busted" by getting caught by an officer while off your motorcycle.

Read more at Wikipedia.org