Rollcage

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Review: Rollcage

Quite a bit, actually, if we base our racing reckoning on Rollcage. Created for Psygnosis by British developer ATD, this inventive new racer takes everything you thought you knew about arcade rubber-burners and turns it upside down--figuratively and literally.

The cars in Rollcage look like doorstops fitted with monster-truck tires. These flying wedges attain speeds as high as 300 MPH over 20 tracks in four scenery-rich environments. But what makes them really distinctive is their ability, by virtue of big wheels and thin chassis, to flip, tumble, and continue driving while inverted.

Not to worry: The cars are indestructible. The landscape is not. Once you've loaded up weaponry and power-ups, you can blast away at adjoining buildings and structures, bringing huge chunks of rubble crashing down on your opponents. The splendid pyrotechnics involved in this process are some of the most impressive I've ever seen in an action/arcade game. The lush scenery looks fantastic at rest or at speed, and the explosions are amazing--especially when buildings come crashing down around your car in a slow-motion avalanche of flaming rubble and debris.

Rollcage also has a nice run of features. Six different vehicles offer varying degrees of speed, grip, and strength as you play in practice, time attack, multiplayer, arcade, and league modes. The latter two pit you against five computer-controlled opponents in a free-for-all of up to 50 laps. Success in the three league championships unlocks new tracks--including mirrored tracks and specialized multiplayer deathmatch arenas.

That multiplayer component is surprisingly deep for an arcade game. In addition to split-screen, four-player deathmatch (shades of the N64) and head-to-head competition on a single machine, Rollcage supports a full complement of linked-play options, including modem play and six-player LAN and TCP/IP connections. (However, after a lengthy Internet session with a buddy who was using a 33.6K modem, I found the last mode all but unplayable due to excessive lag and "warping"--a phenomenon in which competitors appear to jump instantaneously from one position to another.)

Graphics and sound in the game are both impressive. The Direct3D and Glide versions each feature remarkably smooth, detailed graphics. Additional eye candy like lens flare and light sourcing is also used to good effect, but it's a toss-up as to which earns the highest kudos--the graphics or the sound. A high-energy soundtrack featuring bands like Fatboy Slim and Aphrodite joins with raucous sound effects to perfectly complement the game's frantic pace.

Still, while driving along walls and ceilings may be a critical component of gameplay, it can also be a recipe for disaster. I lost count of the number of times I flipped these exceptionally twitchy cars during such maneuvers, and the act of re-orienting myself and rejoining the flow of traffic inevitably cost me even more time.

I hope ATD and Psygnosis iron out these small problems when they get around to the sequel. Rollcage is a breath of fresh air--and proof that the arcade racing genre hasn't been exhausted.-- Andy Mahood / GamePro