Road Rash

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. (Discuss)

Road Rash

Developer(s)	Electronic Arts
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Release date(s)
Genre(s)	Arcade Racing
Mode(s)	Single player, Two Player Multiplayer
Platform(s)	Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Sega Master System, Game Boy, Game Gear, 3DO, Sega Mega-CD, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, PC, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance
Media	Cartridge, Optical CD
Input	Game controller

Screenshot of Road Rash for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis

For the common abrasion injury caused by high-speed contact with rough pavement, see 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. Six versions of the game were released from 1991 to 1999, and a 2004 licensed port for the Game Boy Advance exists. Road Rash was the first racing game to allow actual combat between racers.

1 Overview
2 Game play
3 Differences
4 Trivia
5 Sound
6 Releases
7 Difficulty
8 External links

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

Players could choose between 3 categories of motorcycles in each price level: Sport/GT bikes, Race replicas and Cruisers. The Sport/GT bikes were designed after European Grand Touring bikes- they handled well, were of moderate weight and had moderate power. Race Replicas were the Japanese style super bikes- Very quick, very light. The cruisers are American style- a little heavy, don't turn too well, but lots of straight line power. The 32-bit versions introduced a 4th type called a Rat bike which was a stripped down Frankenstein-style bike which was nimble and had a lot of durability. Select bikes at the higher levels had N₂O boosts.

In addition, later editions of Road Rash became some of the first video games to include licensed music tracks from major recording artists in gameplay. Soundgarden was one such artist included.

[edit] Differences

In the initial versions each race locale consisted of a single road. As the player progressed through the levels the finish line would be placed farther down the road. When the technology moved to a single interlocked road network the race routes were pieced together from branching road segments. The four corners of the world had distinctly different geographic features. Once past the first level the races would be between or through different locales.

The initial 3 versions of the game were based upon individual racers against individual AI opponents. The concept of gangs in the 4th and later versions introduced alliances amongst the AI. Depending upon each gangs tolerance the opponents in the same gang would only have moderate aggressiveness towards the player whereas an opposing gang member would have a high degree of aggressiveness. Regardless of which gang, attacking an AI opponent increases their aggressiveness towards the player and each character had different tolerances and decay rates of aggression. As the series evolved combat became a more integral part of the game. It was possible to win a race without landing a blow in the early versions but the AI's persistence and latent aggressiveness in the later versions made this impossible. In most versions of the game, if knocked off the bike, it was possible for the player to run to the finish line and complete (or even win) the race.

The 32-bit versions of the game featured cut scenes professionally filmed in San Francisco and Los Altos Hills that were notable for a wry sense of humour. For example, if the player was arrested, then the game would show a brief movie clip of a motorcyclist being handcuffed to a police officer's motorcycle (which would then start moving), or a clip of the arrestee being placed in the trunk of a police cruiser. The actors were both professional stuntmen and the games designers and featured the company bike- a red Ducati which is still on display at EA headquarters. The 16-bit versions featured animations as cut scenes. The possible game triggers for cut scenes in all the versions are: race win, race lose, level progression, game win, wreck, and busted.

Perro: Sports bike, one of the motorbikes available to the player

[edit] Trivia

The game's title is based on the slang term for the severe friction burns that can occur in a motorcycling fall where skin comes into contact with the ground at high speed.

Even though attacking and knocking other racers and police officers from their bikes is encouraged within the game, Road Rash received little attention in the video game controversy of the 1990s. The game consistently garnered a "Teen" rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board, with a warning of animated violence.

A billboard in many of the maps has an EA logo, the company that published the game.

[edit] Sound

The original Mega Drive/Genesis version featured a Rob Hubbard soundtrack, however later versions released on CD formats featured music tracks from bands such as The Tea Party, Soundgarden, Swervedriver, and Therapy?. Months before Road Rash was even released for the 3DO it received 3DO's 1994 "Soundtrack of the Year" award. The last version featured garage and unsigned bands who got a chance to be in the game by sending in their tapes.

[edit] Releases

Road Rash debuted on the 16-bit Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. When Road Rash debuted on the 32-bit home game consoles they were initially ported from the 3DO version of the game. All of these games were called Road Rash despite being 4th in the series. Derivative works were reengineered up for Microsoft Windows and Nintendo 64 platforms or reengineered down to Sega Mega-CD and the handheld consoles.

In 2000 due to a restructuring at EA the key design, technical and artistic forces behind the Road Rash series left EA. At the time of its demise, Road Rash was EA's second most profitable franchise as it didn't have significant 3rd party royalty or licensing fees. EA attempted to resurrect the series with a PlayStation 2 version but was unable to complete it.

In August 2006, GameSpot reported that Electronic Arts would be porting Road Rash I, II and III to the PlayStation Portable as part of EA Replay. It is slated for release in the United States on November 7, 2006. Also, Road Rash II will feature wireless multiplayer. [1]

Version History

Road Rash 16-bit
- All Races took place in California locales on progressively longer 2 lane roads.
Road Rash II 16-bit
- All Races took place in U.S. states (including Alaska and Hawaii). Two player mode introduced.
Road Rash III 16-bit
- All Races took place in 5 of 7 countries: Brazil, Germany, Kenya, UK, Italy, Japan and Australia (country selection varied per level.) 15 bikes, bike upgrades, night racing (in Japan), 7 Weapons including mace, taser.
Road Rash 32-bit
- All Races took place in California locales (The City, The Peninsula, Pacific Coast Highway, Sierra Nevada, and Napa Valley) on multi-lane roads with brief divided road sections.
Road Rash 3D 32-bit
- All Races took place on routes laid out through a single interconnected road system- hence the title 3D.
Road Rash: Jail Break 32-bit
- An interconnected road system and 2 player cooperative play- with a sidecar.

Titles and release dates

Road Rash
- V.1
  - Mega Drive/Genesis, 1991 original
  - Atari ST, 1992 (Peakstar Software)
  - Commodore Amiga, 1992 (Peakstar Software)
  - Sega Master System, 1994 (ported by Probe, published by US Gold)
- V.2
  - Game Boy, 1994 (The Code Monkeys, Ocean of America)
  - Game Gear, 1994 (US Gold Ltd.)
  - Internet- AOL Games Channel, 2001
- V.4
  - 3DO, original 1994
  - Sega Mega-CD, 1994
  - PlayStation, 1996
  - Sega Saturn, 1996
  - Microsoft Windows PC, 1996 (Papyrus Design Group)
  - Game Boy Color, 2000 (3d6 Games)

Road Rash II
- V.2
  - Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, 1992 original

Road Rash 3: Tour De Force
- V.3
  - Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, 1995 original

Road Rash 3D
- V.5
  - PlayStation, 1998 original, PC, ?

Road Rash 64
- V.5
  - Nintendo 64, 1999 (THQ)

Road Rash: Jailbreak
- V.6
  - PlayStation, 1999 original
  - Game Boy Advance, 2004 (Destination Software, Inc)

[edit] Difficulty

The game's difficulty level increases as the player progresses through the game, and naturally the requirement for the minimum specification of motorcycle to be competitive also increases. Bikes competitive in one scenario might not be in others. The Perro is a sports bike that is naturally competitive in congested tracks like the City and Peninsula where its great handling is a natural asset and its lower top speed is not noticed.

On the other hand the Kamikaze and Corsair superbikes are better attuned for relatively quiet tracks like the Sierra Nevada and Napa Valley as their higher top speed is highlighted in these tracks. The Diablo is a rare superbike that has a fabulous top speed and an equally impressive handling, making it the undisputed best bike of the game, ideally suited for all scenarios.