Rock'n'Roll Racing
Driving you insane
Antique Code Show Having just reviewed the Steelseries SRW-S1 steering wheel on some pretty serious racing games, I was reminded that I have had a soft spot for a certain genre of racing game but it was a long time ago and involved some particularly severe riffs.
In my humble opinion - and yes I did go to Download and Sonisphere last year - Rock'n'Roll Racing is always going to be my favorite racing game. Battling revved up aliens in souped up cars equipped with projectile weapons while listening to Black Sabbath or Deep Purple just can't be beat.
Pick of destiny
The game kicks off with me picking a character - Olaf the Viking seemed like a good choice, in retrospect, as a nod to good old Norwegian black metallers Mayhem. I am a new racer in the intergalactic racing league, and I start by purchasing a vehicle and then tailoring it with weapons and armour so I can trek the solar system battling extraterrestrial racers in road duels to the death.
Metal on metal
Battling is a large part of Rock'n'Roll Racing and I need to invest in rockets, mines and oil-slick sprays to make sure I don't end up looking like Alice Cooper. But performance also counts, so shocks, nitrous-oxide and armour also need a look in.
Shout at the devil
I choose one of three cars at the beginning to race with and upgrade in game. Kicking alien ass in each race is vital to get money for new parts - and to score points.
Orcs with torque
One of the great things about Rock'n'Roll Racing was that at the end of each level I can obtain a password that allows me to continue with my souped up space ride from that point onwards.
Next page: Make mine metal
COMMENTS
As a young 'un...
I had saved up all my pennies for ages to buy Rock 'n' Roll Racing for the Sega Megadrive. when I had finally racked up the cash, I went to our local Woolworths only to find they didn't have it in stock. In one of the worst decisions I have ever made and still bugs me to this day, I bought another game instead of going home empty handed.
That game was Rise of the Robots, one of the biggest piles of cack that ever had the nerve to besmirch my Megadrive. When I finally got to play R 'n' R racing years later, I could not believe what I had missed out on (and buying ROTR instead stung all over again.)
About time
I was wondering when this awesome game was going to get some antique code show love. :-)
Rock 'n' Roll Racing remains my favorite racing game to this day. I'd love to see a remake, but I honestly don't see how they could improve on it other than by just updating the graphics. I'd be afraid of them ruining it with a remake.
One of the greats
This was one of my most played games of the SNES era, it was so simple to play, but so hard to fully master. Took me a while to beat, but it was well worth the effort.
I must dig out my cart...
Couple of points, though:
If you used Olaf, you're a great big cheater! You had to hold down L, R and Select to get him. And he was a character from Lost Vikings...
There was a 3D sequel on the PS1. It was rubbish
Re: This game cost me a fortune!!
I still play this bad boy at least once a week on my (cough) softmodded xbox running amongst others the snes emulator. Sometimes tempting to google the cheat codes though and roar round the tracks tooled up to the hilt!
