365//365: Day 076 – Road Rash 3D (PSX) [Quickie]

Road Rash’s initial entry into the 32 bit generation wasn’t a thud, but wasn’t as memorable as the Sega Genesis entries. A couple of years went by without any new sequels, until mid 1999, when a series reboot was released called Road Rash 3D. With Road Rash taking an obvious overhaul to the franchise, has it added upon the established formula, or was it a failed reboot of a once great series?

Don't hold the attack button down, unless you want the other biker to magically steer to the other side nearly 99% of the time.

There’s two major overhauls going on here – the obvious visual shift to 3D models, and the overall in game mechanics. Unfortunately, neither were done properly. The controls in particular have turned from a functional and comfortable system, to one where you’ll be struggling to consistently stay on the road. The handling is so stiff, you’ll be asking if these are motorcycles or 18 wheeler trucks? If you veer off the road, even the power of Greyskull couldn’t get you back onto the road without an epic battle. It makes the game more aggravating than it should be. While not as devastating, the revised graphics are a mixed bag. Character models and the bikes themselves look overly bulky and animate poorly. The scenery does look good enough, with the grass fields having different shades of green and the trees and other buildings you come by looking pretty well detailed. You won’t feel like you’re driving a tight loop of backgrounds like previous titles. That is until you hit the town areas.

It seems like the only good thing about Road Rash 3D is the audio. The music fits in with the game perfectly, and every sound you hear matches perfectly with the action going on. It’s a shame everything else has fallen apart. Even the combat has regressed into a painful exercise of frustration and nonsense. If you go charging in after someone 4 seconds away, holding the attack button, they’ll ALWAYS manage to steer themselves to your other side, rendering your charged melee attack useless. It turns into a racing game with poor controls, nothing more.

Get used to seeing yourself careen out of control and literally fly off the handle.

You can definitely say that Road Rash would have needed some sort of upgrade to compliment the power and features of a new generation of consoles. Road Rash 3D tries to do this, but ultimately takes the series backwards. Overly stiff controls, terrible character models and a lack of engaging combat steers this game into the brick wall of mediocrity.

Rating: 4.6