Rock and Roll, and Combat Cars Racing - Originally published on 1UP - March 30, 2009

In the early 90's I was finishing high school and looking for new challenges in gaming. The arcade scene was still growing steadily but some of the best times I had were on the consoles. The Super Nintendo and Genesis split my time evenly. Two of the more memorable racers were in the combat genre, years before Twisted Metal was even announced. Rock and Roll Racing (RnRR) had a number of things going for it. The characters were a mashup between mutants and heavy metal gods. The cars they drove were equally intimidating, sports cars with monster truck tires or jet cockpits on tank treads. The game was established around an intergalactic competition so the rides could be as eccentric and intimidating as any science fiction movie. Tracks consisted of grades and jumps, not really explored in RC Pro Am or most other console racers. The mix of rock music, bright graphics and monstrous protagonists said this was a boys game. Even "the voice" of motor sports, Larry "Supermouth" Huffman lent his talents to this 1993 title by Silicon & Synapse, before they became Blizzard Ent.

Rock and Roll Racing was an isometric car combat game. Not quite as fast paced and frenetic as RC Pro Am but whose graphics and sound effect were absolutely top-notch. The digital covers of many rock standards made it stand out to many gamers.

A year later the Genesis saw its own car combat game named, what else, Combat Cars. The game by Accolade seemed kind of dated. It was presented in the overhead view rather than isometric. The characters seemed like the usual assortment of ugly guys and mutants. The music was some odd type of electronica, rock music was out. There was no air of authenticity to this game, no connection to the racing world as there was with Rock and Roll Racing. That was with the exception of the cover art. Car art legend Ed "Newt" Newton was the person that designed the box art. That little detail was enough to get me to pick up the title.

These differences between this game and Rock and Roll Racing didn't amount to much as the game was very well made. The racing element in particular was very solid. In addition to being mindful of the track players had to line up shots and avoid opponents. The tracks were diverse, upgrade options numerous and the gameplay very fast paced. The design of the combat buggies even grew on me, more so than the three basic car types in RnRR. To many it was graphically inferior to Rock and Roll Racing but the play experience was anything but lacking. It was proof that a studio could create a fun experience with the overhead format. Make the player handle multiple elements in a racer and they will step up to the challenge. Provided that the balance is there, the controls are dialed in and the multiplayer mode isn't lacking. Combat Cars had all of the above.

Ten years earlier I would have never thought that a memorable overhead racer was possible, let alone on a console. Bally published a racing game, not one year after the amazing Spy Hunter, which almost killed the momentum of the overhead genre. I hope to see you back tomorrow to find out which game it was.

Were there any rare games that you enjoyed? Let me know in the comments section please. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!