Road Rash 3D (PlayStation)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.6 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Joe Fielder
• Reviewed on: 06/12/1998
• Updated on: 05/02/2000
• Released on: 05/31/1998
• Originally published on GameSpot: Road Rash 3D (PlayStation) Review

The mainstream press likes to trot out EA's Road Rash series as an example of what horrible games people are playing these days whenever the subject of video game violence is brought up. Why? Because the player must often punch, kick, or drive fellow racers or, going one further, pursuing policemen, into obstacles such as oncoming traffic to win the race. It's sensational cartoon violence almost at its best, and it's been with us for so long it seems almost a given, which goes to show that people who only observe the games will never understand how fun and perhaps innocuous they are to play.

And it's the gameplay, not the violence, that's noteworthy in the latest leg of the Road Rash order. This model boasts improved 3D graphics, more realistic handling, wilder and more varied tracks, better fighting, and improved animation, which it accomplishes with varied degrees of success. While the gameplay is much the same as before (avoid oncoming cars, signs, and other objects; hit people on the head, snag their crowbars or pipes, hit them on the head again; stay on the track, get money for winning, buy better bikes; and so on), it's a formula that's difficult to grow tired of and essentially works here, too. And a few of the characteristics have been recognizably brought to the next level.

The control, for example, is much more concise than before. With the basic Sony controller, it's solid, manageable control, while with the dual analog controller, it's a dream. It's so much smoother in fact, it's almost an entirely different game. The analog really excels on some of the more twisty mountain pathways, and when you throw in a bike with a better turning radius and superior handling, you're set. The racing controls are also very responsive to split-second reactions, which are occasionally necessary as you can jump moving cars and such by popping a wheelie at exactly the right moment.

The courses are formed from connecting points, or various stretches, in a large environmental grid. In one race, you might run from point A to C and then from C to F and F to I before the race is complete. Then in another race, you might race from I to F and F to E then E to A - using different stretches within the same grid system, though sometimes in a different combination and/or direction. This reusing of track sections doesn't end up as cheap as it might sound - since it melds different courses together, with a lot of bits to meld - and provides a fair amount of value in its overall variety.

But even though the graphics, track design, and just about every aspect of the title comes out well, it's still a PlayStation game, so of course there's pop-up. But with the careful placement of some nice graphical tricks, it's not overt or overwhelming and ends up being roughly as unobtrusive as in EA's Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. And while it's sometimes a strain to distinguish the cars from the visual noise in the cityscapes, the designers had the foresight to make oncoming cars honk when you're in their lanes - a treatment that corrects this problem most of the time.

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