Reader Reviews
Rock 'n' Roll Racing, the Game Boy Player, Star Wars: KOTOR, James Bond 007: EON and something called Samorost all caught your eye this week.
Star Review: Rock 'n' Roll Racing (SNES/Mega Drive)
by Virgil Scott
Videogame sports commentators have a habit of being infuriatingly repetitive ["That's an enormous one!!" -Ed]. Larry, the commentator in Rock 'n' Roll Racing, is certainly repetitive. Yet somehow his comments are so ridiculously enthusiastic that they transcend normal rules of analysis. Totally devoid of insight, when he's not stating the patently obvious he seems to pick a corny catchphrase out of a hat then tag your name in front just to provoke a reaction. Thought you were rapidly gaining ground after the misfortune of blowing up on a mine? In Larry's eyes you "look lost out there!"
It won't be long before you start reeling off his comments at opportune moments with adept mimicry. There's nothing quite like rubbing salt in the wounds of a mate who's just slipped over your oil slick and is now soaring out of control over a barrier during the chorus of a cut down midi version of 'Born to be wild'.
Finish first and you end up with a nice wad of cash. Aside from the simplistic beauty of the racing, the tactical aspect is revealed when you visit the upgrade store to spend this cash. Do you take the aggressive route and buy more rockets and mines so you can take out your opponents? Or perhaps stick with the nitros and armour upgrades so that you can endure the hostility and pull ahead when it counts.
There's great scope for different styles of play but when you start looking at upgrades it's a good idea to take into account the skill bias of your preferred character. You probably shouldn't choose Snake Saunders just because you wanted to hear Larry utter, "Snake unleashes hot fury!" whenever you shoot off a load of rockets.
As you advance through the five available planets the tracks get more and more complex. Although the steering is very simple and braking is not necessary, by the time you get to the later tracks it can be very challenging. The AI is sufficient to keep single-player fairly interesting, but the appeal of two-player campaign or versus modes lasts much longer. I used to play it for hours on end back when it was originally released and I still find it a real blast.
You'd be doing yourself a big favour if you picked up a SNES or a Mega Drive with two controllers and a copy of Rock 'n' Roll Racing. It's one of the best 16-bit games in existence - standing shoulder to shoulder with Mario Kart.