Title: Rollcage
    Genre: Action/Racing
    Publisher: Psygnosis
    Developer: ATD
    Platform: Playstation
    Dual Shock Analog Controller Compatible: Yes
    MSRP: $49.99

Some of you may recall me mentioning in my Rogue Trip review last year that the car combat genre has become quite viable in the past few years. For the most part these car combat games have basically been the same as far as gameplay is concerned. You select a vehicle, drive around, and try and destroy your opponent. You do much of the same in Rollcage, but the manner in which you do it is what sets Rollcage apart from all the other car combat games currently available.

To begin with, Rollcage has an impressive FMV intro, which is fairly standard these days. Nonetheless, it's nice to watch. After watching the intro you come to the main game screen. Big surprise, huh? The mode headers on the main screen are also very straightforward and, for the most part, self-explanatory. There's a Time Attack mode, a Practice Mode, an Options Mode, and a League Mode. Most of you know what a Time Attack, Practice Mode, and Options Mode are. The League Mode in Rollcage is made up of three different leagues. The three different leagues are the Gemini League, Scorpio League, and Taurus League. Each league has three races of three laps each. As you might expect, each subsequent race is more difficult than the last. After winning each league you get a password that you can enter in the Options Mode which unlocks one of the many secrets of the game. Among the hidden secrets are mirror tracks, hidden vehicles, and deathmatch arenas for multiplayer games.

There's also a plethora of options available. In the Options Mode you can customize the audio, choose whether to have weapons or not, adjust the brightness of the on screen displays, select weather conditions, and customize the split screen mode for multiplayer games among other things. There's also an option unique to Rollcage called Motion Blur. The Rollcage press release describes the Motion Blur mode as giving the game a more "filtered look" while also making it play faster. As far as I'm concerned the game just looks grainy with the Motion Blur mode on. I also found that the game plays fast enough without Motion Blur on, and I really don't think there's a very discernable difference in speed between the game with Motion Blur on and without it on.

The graphics in Rollcage are very nice and have a real polished look. Those of you who have played WipeOut or WipeOut XL will find that Rollcage's graphics are very similar. The light sourcing in the game is excellent and the stages are well designed. My only gripe as far as the graphics go is that they're very dark, and the darkness did impede me on several occasions. It's not so dark that you can't see, but a little more brightness would've been nice. There are a total of twenty stages, and while the stages are well designed, they are a bit too short. It takes less than five minutes to finish a three-lap race. Also, every track has at least one hidden shortcut, and they're definitely hidden well as they're very hard to find. When you come down to it though, the darkness and short tracks are minor points and don't detract much from the overall quality of the game.

Rollcage's music is very fast and it suits the game well. Among the artists providing the soundtrack are Fatboy Slim, EZ Rollers, Pascal, and Aphrodite. The sound effects aren't anything new, but again, they suit the game very well. Both the sound effects and the music sound crisp and clear, so the overall audio quality is very good.

Rollcage's gameplay is what really sets it apart. There are six vehicles available not counting the secret ones, and each vehicle is made up of a car chassis and huge, monster truck wheels. This enables every vehicle to drive anywhere, including tunnel ceilings, the sides of walls, and up buildings. This is a great feature and really accentuates the control. Every car controls very well, although not identically because each vehicle has different attributes. Because you can basically drive anywhere, the control can be a bit tumultuous when you first start. However, after just a bit of practice it should become second nature. There are eight different weapons available to you, among which are a homing missile, ice sheet, shield, and a wormhole. The wormhole weapon projects a hole in front of your nearest opponent when used and complete engulfs them at which time they are teleported behind you. The ice sheet weapon causes your opponent's vehicle to lose 80% of its traction which, as you might imagine, really impedes control. The other great gameplay feature in Rollcage is the destructible environment. Many buildings and other structures line the sides of the various tracks and by shooting them you can cause them to come crashing down on a nearby competitor. As we all know, blowing up an opponent in a multitude of ways is a lot of fun. The overall gameplay is simply fantastic.

Once I began playing Rollcage I was totally immersed in it. For me, that's the most important part of any game. It has to be fun and it has to keep you coming back to it. Rollcage definitely delivers on both counts. Not only is it a blast to play, but it has plenty of replay value so you'll be playing it for a long time to come. I would recommend Rollcage wholeheartedly to anyone, but especially so if you've got someone else around to play it with. It's just one of those games that's great to play by yourself and even better when playing with a friend or anyone else. If you like vehicular mayhem with a heavy dose of intelligence then Rollcage should be at the top of your must buy list.

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Copyright © 1998 Ian Johnston

IRMJ@Compuserve.com

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