Rock n' Roll Racing
This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2017) |
Rock n' Roll Racing | |
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Developer(s) | Silicon & Synapse Additional work by:
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Racing | |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Rock n' Roll Racing is a
Rock n' Roll Racing was initially developed as RPMII, a sequel to the company's SNES game RPM Racing. At the end of the project, Interplay marketing added licensed music and changed the name to Rock n' Roll Racing. It is also similar in gameplay to Racing Destruction Set where it got its logic/AI engine and the NES game R.C. Pro-Am developed by Rare in 1988.
Gameplay
The game pits four racers against each other, with up to two of them being
While it is a racing game, there is heavy emphasis on attacking competitor's vehicles; since the cars always reappear with full
Players are updated on the race by commentator "Loudmouth Larry" (Larry "Supermouth" Huffman), who makes enthusiastic comments like "The stage is set, the green flag drops!" (or "Let the carnage begin!"), and "[player name] is about to blow!" at appropriate moments during the race.
Between races, players can spend the money they have earned on more advanced equipment for their vehicle (engines, tires, shocks, and shielding) or on increasing their capacity for the frontal weapon (energy blasts or missiles), rear weapon (slip sauce or mines), and
The first three drivers to complete a race are awarded both money and points according to the final standings. Points are required for advancement to the next racing division or the next planet, with two divisions on each planet. A player who has not obtained enough points during a division's racing season must repeat the division, again starting with zero points, but all changes to the player's money and car remain in effect. In two-player mode, when only one player has sufficient points, the character in charge of advancement asks "Leave your loser friend behind?", allowing the leading player to continue alone by removing the other player from the game. The dropped player can continue from that point later by using their most recent
Music
Rock n' Roll Racing is widely known for its soundtrack. Originally, Silicon & Synapse wanted to use songs by ZZ Top but the fee was too high. They instead enlisted a company that provided low-cost licensed music in public settings.[3]
The songs were uncredited but included:
- George Thorogood and the Destroyers
- Highway Star by Deep Purple
- Paranoid by Black Sabbath[a]
- Peter Gunn by Henry Mancini
- Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf
- Radar Love by Golden Earring (Sega Genesis and Definitive Edition only)
- Breaking the Law by Judas Priest (Definitive Edition only)
- Red Barchetta by Rush (Definitive Edition only)
- Power of the Horde by Elite Tauren Chieftain (Definitive Edition only)
Passwords
The password codes only allow the player to save a maximum of $999,990 (six digits); if there are more than six figures in the bank account, the password truncates the leftmost digits over six (e.g. if there's $1,002,000 when the player quits, there will be only $2,000 when using the password to continue later). Due to the two-player password function, it's possible to "cheat" by entering the same password for both players or by entering passwords for players who were at entirely different points in the game. The password with the lowest difficulty setting and on the earliest planet and racing division will be used as the basis for play from then on, which allows a Warrior-skill character with a maxed-out vehicle to race against Rookie-class
Though a password-generator
A second password generator has been written in JavaScript and limits the available planets to reflect the chosen skill mode while retaining the ability to customize any other aspect of the data stored in the password.[5]
Release
A 3DO Interactive Multiplayer version of Rock n' Roll Racing was announced to be in development and slated to be published by Interplay during E3 1995, but this version was never released for unknown reasons.[6]
In 2003, Blizzard released an Adobe Shockwave-based demo version of the GBA port featuring one track on its website.[7]
In 2014, a demo version of the game featuring three tracks was added to Battle.net, emulated through ZSNES.[8] This version has all rock music tracks changed to simple MIDI music, because the music license expired.
Blizzard Arcade Collection
In celebration of the company's 30th anniversary, Blizzard Entertainment and Digital Eclipse released a compilation called Blizzard Arcade Collection in February 2021, for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. The collection includes three Blizzard's classic video games: The Lost Vikings, Blackthorne and Rock n' Roll Racing, with two additional games: The Lost Vikings 2 and RPM Racing. Some of the modern features for the Definitive Edition include 16:9 resolution, 4-player split-screen, rewinding and saving of game progress, watching replays, and adding graphic filters to change the look of player's game in the SNES and Genesis versions, as well as a togglable option between the SNES soundtrack and the master recordings of the soundtrack in CD quality.[9] Larry "Supermouth" Huffman re-recorded lines from the original game, as well as recording brand new lines, for this release in the Definitive Edition.
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
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GameRankings | 82.67% (SNES)[10] 82.29 (GBA)[11] |
Publication | Score |
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Nintendo Power | 3.775/5[b] |
Official Nintendo Magazine | SNES: 88/100[13] |
GamePro gave the Genesis version a mixed review. They praised the Vs. mode and "rockin'" soundtrack with driving-appropriate tunes, but criticized the weak sound effects and remarked that the graphics and digitized voice are noticeably worse than in the Super NES version.[14]
Super Gamer reviewed the SNES version and gave an overall score of 90% writing: "Awesome rock soundtracks, plus plenty of vehicles, firepower, tracks and planets. A bit repetitive in one-player though."[15]
Accolades
Rock N' Roll Racing was awarded Best Driving Game of 1993 by Electronic Gaming Monthly.[16]
GameSpot named Rock n' Roll Racing the best Game Boy Advance game of July 2003.[17]
IGN placed Rock n' Roll Racing 72nd on their Top 100 SNES Games of All Time.[18] In 2018, Complex placed Rock N' Roll Racing 84th on their "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time"[19] In 1996, GamesMaster rated the SNES version #96 in its "Top 100 Games of All Time."[20]
Sequels
Rock & Roll Racing 2: Red Asphalt
A sequel to the original Rock n' Roll Racing was made for the 32-bit PlayStation console by Interplay in 1997. The game was sold in Europe as Rock & Roll Racing 2: Red Asphalt and in the United States as just Red Asphalt.[21] It features a comic book art style in the character's profiles and ending videos, and a system to upgrade each character's driving/combat skills like RPGs.
Motor Rock
In December 2013, a game titled Motor Rock (development title Rock n' Roll Racing 3D) was released on Steam by Yard Team. It's an unauthorized 3D remake of Rock n' Roll Racing. It was in development since 2009.[22] A week after release, the game was removed from Steam.[23]
Notes
References
- ^ "Rock 'N Roll Racing". GameFAQs.
- ^ McWhertor, Michael (2021-02-19). "Three classic Blizzard games come to PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One today". Polygon. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
- ^ Blizzard Entertainment. "BlizzConline 2021 - Where It All Started: The Blizzard Arcade Collection". YouTube. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ "Rock 'n' Roll Racing cheats, hints, FAQs". GameWinners.com. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
- ^ "Rock n' Roll Racing Password Generator". BarcodeBattler.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
- ^ "E-3 The Biggest And Best Electronic Entertainment Show Ever! – '95 Next Generation Software Listing". GameFan. Vol. 3, no. 7. July 1995. p. 41. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- Gamasutra. Think Services. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- ^ "Blizzard Arcade Collection: Games, New Content, Release Date and More". gfinityesports.com. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
- ^ "Rock N' Roll Racing SNES Review Score". Archived from the original on 2019-05-13.
- ^ "Rock 'N Roll Racing GBA Review Score". Archived from the original on 2019-04-30.
- ^ "Now Playing". Nintendo Power. No. 52. September 1993. pp. 100–105. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
- ^ Rad; Tim (October 1993). "Rock 'n' Roll Racing". Nintendo Magazine System. pp. 80–82. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ^ "ProReview: Rock n' Roll Racing". GamePro. No. 74. IDG. November 1994. p. 86.
- ^ "Rock n' Roll Racing Review". Super Gamer (2). United Kingdom: Paragon Publishing: 123. May 1994. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
- ^ "Electronic Gaming Monthly's Buyer's Guide". 1994.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ The Editors of GameSpot (August 1, 2003). "GameSpot's Month in Review: July 2003". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 8, 2004.
- ^ "Top 100 SNES Games of All Time". IGN. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
- ^ "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time". Complex. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
- ^ "Top 100 Games of All Time" (PDF). GamesMaster (44): 74. July 1996.
- ^ "Protos: Red Asphalt". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 98. Ziff Davis. September 1997. p. 37.
- ^ "About Us". yardteam.org. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- ^ "The rarest Steam games". PC Gamer. December 1, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
External links
- Rock n' Roll Racing at Blizzard Entertainment
- Rock n' Roll Racing at MobyGames
- Red Asphalt Archived 2014-11-16 at the Allgame