Ode to an underrated classic: RoadBlasters

Loopz

Loopz

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Fired this up today on Midway Arcade Treasures 1.
Holy shit I forgot what an awesome game it is.
It's fast, it's fun as hell to be precise with the cannon and jack your multiplyer up to 10x. Great music, good controls, a total old-school sleeper.
Too bad most of the console versions back in the day sucked.
Lynx version was actually quite good, nice scaling and voices.

BTW, has anyone reached the end? Is there an end?
 
Arcademan

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Round 50 is the final level of the game. In the arcade version, by passing the final level, you were given a code that you could mail in and win a free Road Blasters T-Shirt. Mine still hangs in the closet at my house ;)
 
E

Electroman

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Good call Loopz!

Roadblasters was my favorite road/driving game for the time. It was 1/2 of the reason why I got a Lynx (the other half was when I read Ninja Gaiden was coming out for it and was subsequently 2 years late). Lynx version was certainly the best Roadblasters port I've played. All other console versions were totall ass.
 
DanAdamKOF

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This is one of the arcade games I remember playing when I was in 5th grade or so that I played a lot and thought I was good at (the other being Bubble Bobble, both at a restaurant called "Original Eat's"). Road Blasters is in Arcade Treasures 1? This and Smash TV make me want to spend the $20 on it so bad.
 
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gmfuss

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I agree, this is one of the best driving games I have ever played, even tho I don't like many driving games at all. This game rocked in the arcade, and I still will drop a $1 or 2 in one if I see it anywhere. I have owned it in 2 versions, for some Midway comp on PS1, and Arcade Treasures for GC. Both are good but don't seem right, I guess it just needs that Spy-Hunter knock off steering wheel with the perfectly placed triggers. The control was perfection, and the new consoles just don't recreate it right. I don't have any arcade cabs, but once the old lady and I get a house, this is the third one I am going to buy, after a candy Neo and a Street Fighter II.
 
Curt

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Word.

Roadblasters really is the shit, I fucking love that game.

And to this day (the man who bought me my first NES when I was a youngin') it's my dad's favorite game.
 
Arcademan

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The sit-down cabinet:
sRoad_Blasters.jpg


Screen shot:

yRoad_Blasters.png


And the T-shirt offer in the arcade version:

rb_screen_4.jpg
 
M

Metal Slug

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Man I love that game!
Played it to death in the arcade!
One of the best games on the Atari Lynx (and it's clone 'Hydra')
 
galfordo

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Definitely a classic. For a while, I wasn't all that interested in games anymore and wouldn't go into the arcade all that often. However the one remaining game that I would stop by for is the old Road Blasters - great stuff.
 
N

Neo Ash

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This thread brings back some good memories of the old days at the arcade. I truly loved playing this game. If I'm not mistaken not too many arcades had the sit down version. This game is a true classic!

Has anyone played the Genesis version?
 
GunstarHero

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I too, am a big fan of this game. I had the Lynx version going way back. Atari ported all those great Atari Games titles on the Lynx back then. I actually kind of dig the Genesis port also, it's pretty good IMO.

The only downfall is that its really hard to play as well without that awesome Star Wars arcade controller that the coin-op uses. If they make MAT3, I would expect S.T.U.N Runner and Hydra to be on there....both great games but they use that same controller...hard to get the feel for the games without that thing.

p.s. Nitro Booster is the best weapon if you can use it and not die right away.
 
Curt

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I met an ATARI Programmer who worked on STUN runner at the Airport once.
 
Loopz

Loopz

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I too, am a big fan of this game. I had the Lynx version going way back. Atari ported all those great Atari Games titles on the Lynx back then. I actually kind of dig the Genesis port also, it's pretty good IMO.

The only downfall is that its really hard to play as well without that awesome Star Wars arcade controller that the coin-op uses. If they make MAT3, I would expect S.T.U.N Runner and Hydra to be on there....both great games but they use that same controller...hard to get the feel for the games without that thing.

p.s. Nitro Booster is the best weapon if you can use it and not die right away.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the Genesis port actually wasn't that bad...at the time I was such a militant arcade whore, I wouldn't accept anything less than perfect ports (hence the Neo jones).

An arcade full of machines I love would definitely include that RB sit-down cab and a Star Wars cockpit for sure. Paperboy too. Those old Atari coin-ops just had incredible graphics for the time, and really awesome sound. Too bad they all had really unique control mechanisms that are mighty hard to duplicate.

The XBox pad/Midway comp does a reasonable job though. Paperboy's pretty easy to play on it, as is RB...720 remains a bitch to play though.
 
Arcademan

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The unique controls of Atari's past games is what made them really stand out from the others. The Star Wars/Firefox controllers, the 720 joystick, Paperboy's bike control set a high standard. Atari also invented the knob controller, trackball and feedback steering. Many of the modern feedback steering games made by Midway have controls made by HAPP Controls under exclusive agreement from Atari Games Corporation ;)
 
chimpmeister

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DanAdamKOF said:
This is one of the arcade games I remember playing when I was in 5th grade or so that I played a lot and thought I was good at (the other being Bubble Bobble, both at a restaurant called "Original Eat's"). Road Blasters is in Arcade Treasures 1? This and Smash TV make me want to spend the $20 on it so bad.
Click to expand...

MAT1 for PS2 was 9.99 at Best Buy for the Thanksgiving weekend. The bb site lists it at 19.99 so that was only for three days (a bunch of other games were 9.99 each too, I got Max Payne 2 for XBox at that price).
 
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