While the PC version looks great, the Genesis one doesn’t fair quite as well. Road Rash 3 tries to be more like the PC version of Road Rash by using digitized graphics. While Road Rash 2 isn’t much of a face lift over the original, the third installment altered everything. The graphics department is where the most changes were made. If you keep failing at a race, go back and play a race you know you can win to get more money and buy better parts or newer bikes.
They’ll smash into cars and make mistakes just as much as you will and if you beat somebody up, they’ll hold a grudge and come after you. You and other bikers also have health bars that show how close you or your opponent is to falling off their bike. Your bike also has a damage meter and when it runs out, your bike blows up and you’d better hope you’ve got the money for repairs. Sometimes getting back into first place is more difficult than others depending on how far the accident launches your biker away from your bike.
When you crash your bike you have to run back to the bike, hop back on, and try to get back into the race instead of just resetting your racer on the road like nothing happened. The control is still fantastic and Road Rash 3 is one of the easiest racers for beginners to just jump in and play. Some people feel the controls are a little tighter but I think the game runs a little bit choppier at certain times. It controls about the same as the previous two titles. Road Rash 3 takes the game international as you travel around the world instead of the United States though this doesn’t really do much to change the gameplay.
The game uses a password system for saving so don’t worry about losing all of that hard earned cash. The goal of the game is to play through five tiers of levels while constantly buying and upgrading new bikes with the money you win. There are three classes of bikes, the rat, sport, and super sport. If you’ve played the previous two titles then the third will be instantly recognizable. You can even hold more than one weapon and switch through your arsenal. A new feature in this title allows you to keep the weapon you stole and use it in the next race.
Your punches also allow you to swipe a variety of weapons from the enemies including the club and chain from previous games, and the new nunchucks, cattle prod, and crowbar. You’ve got access to a punch, a backhand, and a kick. Unlike similar racing games there’s no time limit, no checkpoints, and you can beat the tar out of your opponents. Since you’re driving on roads and not race tracks you occasionally you have to fly through busy intersections. Like previous Road Rash games you’re part of an illegal motorcycle racing league, a group of tough-as-nails bikers who usually refer to each other as “Rashers.” Like similar racing titles the view is behind your racer and you race over pseudo 3D tracks which twist and turn and rise and fall up hills that can grab you a little airtime.
Road Rash 3 was the last entry of the series on the Genesis and the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. Road Rash is one of those franchises that was huge back in its day but like many other early EA franchises it has fallen into relative obscurity today. Genre: Racing Developer: Electronic Arts Publisher: Electronic Arts Players: 1-2 Released: 1995