Rock 'n Roll Racing

Overview

Rock 'N Roll Racing came out in the US on June 4th, 1993 for the Super NES and was developed by Silicon & Synapse (now known as Blizzard). The game puts four racers up against each other racing around tracks on various planets. Up to two players can play together while the rest is AI controlled. The game is viewed from an isometric view.

Although the title indicates that this is mainly a racing game, the emphasis on attacking the competitors is huge. There are many different weapons in the game (such as rockets and mines). Although players re-spawn rather quickly, the cash bonus that is being handed out to an attacker is always a good reason to fire that last rocket. From the start, the tracks are littered with various things such as oil slicks, mines, and health & money packs. Sometimes, depending on the planet the race is being hosted on, various obstacles like lava or snow, can appear.

Commentary is given by Loudmouth Larry (Voiced by Larry "Supermouth" Huffman) who makes various comments throughout the race on the appropriate moments such as:

• The stage is set, the green flag drops!
• Let the carnage begin!
• Rip is about to blow!
• Hawk should avoid mines!
• Olaf lights him up!
• Holy Toledo!
• Olaf Unleashes Hot Fury!

Between the races, players can spend their hard earned money on outfitting their cars with more weapon charges, better parts (like improved bumpers or tires), or just buy a new car. The races always last for four laps and a nice cash and point reward is split between first, second, and third place. Players need to win a certain amount of points to be allowed to enter the next division on that planet, which features tougher opponents and a higher point requirement to advance. Completing the second division will allow players to proceed to a new planet.

Racers

• Cyberhawk
• Ivanzypher
• Jake Badlands
• Katarina Lyons
• Snake Sanders
• Tarquinn

Olaf the Stout from The Lost Vikings is a secret character with great stats and is accessible either through entering a secret code on the character select screen or through password manipulation. Another (possibly unfinished) secret character with higher than normal stats is also available through password manipulation, but there is no sound files or name attached to the character. Some people have nicknamed the character "The Phantom" due to his/her pure black character portrait.

Music

There are five rock and roll classics that play in all their MIDI-no-vocals glory. They are:

• "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath
• "The Peter Gunn Theme" by Henry Mancini
• "Highway Star" by Deep Purple
• "Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf
• "Bad to the Bone" by George Thorogood and the Destroyers

A sixth track was added to the Genesis port and is exclusive to that version:

• "Radar Love" by Golden Earring

Critical Reception

When the SNES version was released Electronic Gaming Monthly's Mike Weigand gave the review score of 8 out of ten writing, "...Music makes all the difference with this smash-and-destroy racing game. The two-player mode is a real blast to play! The several tracks and alien planets on which you can race add the variety the game needed to stand out".