While the graphics had been polished, the game just was not “next-generation enough” or fresh enough to stand out. The same videos were used for the 3DO version and most of the same art. Later, this version was ported to the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation in 1996, but all along, the gameplay was very similar to its roots, as a track-based racer with minimal physics. Sex and drinking! Road Rash had the right idea!
When a player unlocked new levels, they were treated to videos like this. Sometimes you'd get hit by other bikers or traffic on the way, further slowing you down. Crashing was part of the game, and after a wreck you'd have to run back to recover your bike. There were plenty of roadside obstacles to slow you down, including signs, trees, and animals. Occasionally the opponents had weapons such as crowbars and bats that they would use to beat you, and if you timed it right, you could steal these weapons to help you further dominate the field of other bikers. A couple jabs to the face or kicks to these opponents and they'd spill all over the pavement and slide hundreds of feet in your rear-view mirror while you chuckled with glee. There was Biff, Lester, and of course Gunther. Your opponents had names and seemed to develop personalities from their primitive AI. In a field of fifteen bikers, you started in dead last, and had to push and beat your way to the front of the pack, all while evading their counter-attacks and traffic. You began with a basic crotch rocket that was rather tame. It's true there were many racers before it including motorcycle racers, but this one stood in a league of its own. Road Rash offered a new type of gaming dynamic. Even the name kicked ass, and you knew when you purchased that cartridge that you were in for a whole lot of hell if your parents found it in your room. Electronic Arts' Road Rash had just what the world needed: sport bikes, speed, and best of all, a shit-ton of 'illegal' violence. At the time, realistic violent video games had only just started to blossom and it would be a couple years before we had Mortal Kombat in the home.
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