Roads Edge / Round Trip RV
Xtreme Rally / Offbeat Racer
Round Trip is a more suitable title for these games or at least a subtitle on both. Because that’s exactly what it is, a round trip. You start at one end of the track, go to the other, and back again. There are a couple shortcut paths in each level and you can decide on which way to go on the track when the street splits. Since this is a round trip on the same road, the opposing vehicles become oncoming traffic. This also happens if you decide to go against traffic on one of the road splits. This can prove to be annoying but the computer cars follow the rules of the road, meaning they stay on the opposite side. So the computer cars are the ones in danger from your driving.
Game Modes:
In RE and XR there are 2 game modes (3 if you count multiplayer), Trial and Championship. In Trial you are timed on the track you pick. Championship allows you to run through the three courses. It doesn’t matter what place you end in, as long as you still have time on the clock. Whatever place you end on, you start on in the next level. I placed 3rd on a full XR run and didn’t get any reward other than a crowd camera pan and GAME OVER Try Again. Guess you have to be in 1st to get something worth seeing.
Tracks:
There are 3 tracks in each game. In RE, the first (beginner) track is America. Basically a San Francisco setting, not a bad track nice and bright level. The second (advanced) is Asia, a city type level. With the third (expert) being Europe where you go through a town, to a farm area, to a snow covered mountain. The snow sucks by the way.
In XR, the first track is Asia, a night time city level. The second is South America, rough terrain and jungle. Third is Europe, has much more character than the other stages.
SNK throws just a taste of SNK fan stuff in there, banners, signs etc.. It definitely could have used some more SNK love.
Vehicles:
There are 4 "RVs" in Roads Edge, 2 trucks and 2 SUV's. There are no stats on the performances, and honestly I cant tell the difference. If there is one, its minimal. You can customize the color of the vehicle you select. If you pick the Land Rover, it will add a roof rack and decals. Unfortunately only one of the trucks has the Neo Geo logo on it.
Double the amount for Xtreme Rally. None of the vehicles look to be sponsored by a company this time around, but you have much more choice on what kind you want to drive. From a little hatch back, to hummer-like, trucks too.. They look a bit nicer in XR and you can customize the color again as well. This time around, they have difficulty levels on each. Again, I really cant tell much of a difference between them all. Some seem to be a bit faster, but all feel about the same. More experimenting is needed.
As with most racing games, you can select Manual or Automatic. However in Roads Edge there is a third choice being "Automatic 2" that has auto brake.
Music/SFX:
I wont be buying the OST anytime soon, or ever. Both games suffer from a poor selection, the best music to pick is "Music Off" from the four Background Music buttons. OK, the music isn't too too bad, but a few are VERY annoying.
The sound effects are pretty standard racing sounds, nothing too fancy. In RE you will get other drivers yelling at you or when you hit a jump a "Wooo Hoooo". I hated the Wooo Hooo at first, but it kind of grew on me.
Graphics:
It’s a Hyper 64, so it will look like a Hyper 64 game. Its better than PSX quality is all I can really say. I think XR is slightly better in the gfx department. The vehicles are more detailed in XR than RE, but the backgrounds are a mixed bag. In both games, the Europe stages stand out the most for me.
Game Play:
Given I am playing it with a rigged PSX wheel/pedal combo I cant comment on wheel force-feedback or how the cab feels. The wheel and pedals pass the bios I/O tests and perform just like the dedicated arcade. The control is tight and feels just right for an off road game. Taking tight turns seems a bit difficult, but other than that I have no problems. The different vehicles in XR have slightly different handling. Hardcore racing game players may be able to tell the differences more than I can.
Some of the shortcuts in the levels provide a small cut in your overall time. As expected, some of the shortcuts can be a bit hard to get to if there are cars in the way and you risk hitting a wall and losing even more time. Once you get used to where they are, you can get to them pretty easily. Taking them is crucial in the last levels where you only have a couple of seconds before the checkpoint.
It is possible to drift in the game as well which is a necessity on the last levels. You have to have manual transmission and during the turn shift into a lower gear and you will drift.
Overall:
Being a round trip is a slightly different take on a standard racing theme, but not much else is unique. It may not be normal to rate both games in the same review, but they are basically the same thing. Xtreme Rally is more of an upgrade with the additional cars and different tracks.
I have always preferred off road type racing games over all others. Off road fans who are also SNK fanatics, will probably like the game. For everyone else, they will avoid it because of the Hyper's dated 3D graphics.
EDIT: Review Update
After playing Xtreme Rally a lot, I have to say the control is a huge improvement over Roads Edge. There is quite a bit of annoying uncontrolable skidding in Roads Edge that just isnt there in XR. After playing XR for several hours, I went back to RE and couldnt stand the control.