Rock n' Roll Racing

Rock n' Roll Racing

Publisher: Interplay Entertainment

Developer: Silicon & Synapse (now known as Blizzard)

Consoles: Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis

Blizzard is known for a lot of things; World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, the Warcraft series, even the Lost Vikings. Very few, however, remember Blizzard made a racing combat game back in 1993 that fused space, futuristic rides, missiles, and classic rock and heavy metal. Back when they were known as Silicon & Synapse, their second title was Rock n' Roll Racing, a racer that combined R.C. Pro-Am style driving and controls with combat we saw in titles like Twisted Metal or Mario Kart, but with the latter on steroids.

Why Rock n' Roll Racing, though? Why not "Space Race Extreme," or "Shoot a Fucking Missile at Everyone?" Because the soundtrack included a 16-bit style to some of classic rock's best power jams: Paranoid by Black Sabbath, Highway Star by Deep Purple, Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf, Bad to the Bone by George Thorogood, The Peter Gunn Theme by Henry Mancini, and the Genesis version got an exclusive version of Radar Love by Golden Earring. It's fun to race around and blow people up to a somewhat chiptune version Paranoid or Highway Star, even if there aren't any lyrics.

R.C. Pro-Am on space crack!
Speaking of lyrics, though, there WAS voice acting in the early Blizzard title. An announcer, Loudmouth Larry (who can be turned off if you so wish), rambles on and on throughout the race, announcing who's about to blow up, who's dominating the race, who's pitifully lost on the track, and more. I never found a problem with him, but then again, Navi doesn't bother me anymore either, so it's nice to have the option to turn him off.

There's several drivers to choose from, and most of them are based on rock or metal bands. Snake Sanders is based on the vocalist of Whitesnake, David Coverdale. Katarina Lyons is from Panteros V, a play on the band Pantera. Jake Badlands is based on Jake E. Lee from band Badlands. You get the picture. Also, Olaf, from The Lost Vikings, is a secret playable character, only accessible through a code.

The in-game menu, before each race
Six worlds, each with their own boss racer, make up the game's tracks. There are a certain number of races per season per world, though the races are each repeated, so there are four tracks in the first world for a total of eight races, five in the second world for a total of ten races, and so on. Even re-racing some of these tracks and with a map in the upper corner, the track can be confusing, and hitting a jump at a slight angle can cause you to fly off the track and put you very behind. The game can be unforgiving.

You can not only earn money to select new rides, but you can also upgrade your rides as well, from the engine to the shocks to the armor and capacity of your weapons. While the game can be a bit tough, a few simple upgrades and it becomes incredibly simple and way too easy to win. It's certainly fun, but at times it feels repetitive and redundant when you beat the opponents by half a lap or more.

"Rip is in another time zone!"
I enjoyed this game years ago, and found myself enjoying it all over again when I replayed it recently. It's got a two player option, as well, so a friend can join in and race against you, but whether it's alone or with friends, the game has a fun soundtrack and plays great. A great start to what Blizzard would soon become.