Seeing as Megadrive games are only now playable on Acorns, I thought I'd better feature a game from our new favourite system. I toyed with the idea of doing something on the Sonic series, but thought that was a little cliched, so I've decided to look at a game that has consistently stopped me revising for exams these past weeks, Rock 'N' Roll Racing. I have to mention that I've been playing it on a PC under Genecyst, but it works fine under MESS too.
Choose you vehicle with the pitiful funds you get to start the game.
It may feel a bit like another naff isometric racing game to the uninitiated, but the gameplay's in another world. You start off in a pap little car with no cash, and no powerups, having to take on 3 opponents in a race to complete 4 laps of an off road track. Depending on where you finish, you might get enough cash prize to buy some extra powerups for your car. These could be mines, lasers, missiles, extra armour, better tires, shocks, or nitros, and now the fun really starts! From here on, if an opponent gets in your way, you can blow them away with a couple of blasts of your laser, or when a challenger comes up behind you trying to blast you from behind, you can drop a mine in their path.
Another one bites the dust, with a little help from my lasers!
You have limited numbers of mines and shots, which do recharge gradually (over about the time it takes to do a lap) so you have to use them sparingly and can't just blast away. To make it more interesting, as you're dashing round the track, pouring smoke from your dying vehicle, watching your power meter get blatted by opponents, you can try and skid over randomly appearing armour powerups to restore your health just before that incoming missile hits you. Cash bonuses are also up for grabs, and while you're trying to dodge oil patches on the road (which make for incredible spin outs at top speed), as well as mines your opponents have dropped, and have a challenger right up your behind with his lasers getting to full charge, the game is very hectic. You start becoming very good at taking corners at high speed and skidding round them without taking your finger off the accelerator.
The cars leap over the dip, but if they're not going straight you can go flying over the edge.
The tracks can get a bit repetitive at times, but all of a sudden just when you feel like you've raced one before, the next track become startlingly original. Alternative routes, overhead jumps, crossroads, dips, and the ability to fall off the edge of the track if you land badly all make the levels great fun. If you do get blown up by an opponent, or fall off the side of the track you simply reappear on the track a few seconds later, just praying you can reappear in front of the other competitors and maintain your lead.
The car in front isn't a toyota, but it's launching missiles at the race leader.
Having played a certain number of races in the first division, you then move up to division A, where the opposing drivers get more talented and more nifty with their weaponry, even learning how to fire missiles from off screen, across the course to hit you on the other side! When you've done division A, and have gained enough points to continue, you blast off to the next planet to take on other competitors. On each new planet, there's also the option to buy a new car. Unfortunately when you do upgrade your vehicle you lose all the previous powerups, but it's probably a good job since the new car gives access to new types of powerups for example with the battletank you can get dispersal mines that spread out over the track orbiting a central mine for maximum devastation.
It takes a while to master the controls of a hovercraft, personally I loved my battletank.
One of the greatest things about this game on better megadrive emulators is the sound. The music really is rock and roll, and I've been able to clearly make out the song 'born to be wild' and the rest of it's very good too. There is also a very good quality commentator screaming out, "Snake's about to blow", "Snake's dominating the race", "Snake roars into first place", and at the start of the race, "Let the carnage begin". This is very encouraging and can get you very worked up. More than once after several attempts at a difficult course I've shouted ,"Yes!", as I pass the finish line in first place! The game is that good that having completed the game in rookie mode, I then took it on at veteran level. I suggest that once you've got a handle on rookie mode go straight to veteran since rookie only has 3 worlds to play on and therefore limited features and cars (plus a naff end game sequence). Truly a great game that leaves you wanting to play just one more track. This is the first game I've played to completion under emulation (let alone twice), it's that good!
One last hint, the nitros work by jabbing at the B button twice - it took me ages to figure it out.
Post-review note:
I've discovered that Rock 'N' Roll Racing was also released for the SNES,
and there is a ROM image for it floating around on the web. The SNES version
has slightly better graphics, and much better sound than the megadrive
version, so that is the version to play if you can, other than that they're
largely identical, i.e. superb!