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RoadBlasters | |
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![]() Arcade flyer | |
Developer(s) | Atari Games |
Publisher(s) | Atari Games U.S. Gold (ports) |
Designer(s) | Robert Weatherby |
Programmer(s) | Robert Weatherby |
Artist(s) | Mark Stephen Pierce Kris Moser |
Composer(s) | Brad Fuller |
Platform(s) | Arcade, Genesis, Lynx, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, NES [1] |
Release | 1987 |
Genre(s) | Vehicular combat |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Arcade system | Atari System 1 |
RoadBlasters is a combat racing video game released in arcades by Atari Games in 1987. [2] In RoadBlasters, the player must navigate an armed sports car through 50 different rally races, getting to the finish line before running out of fuel.
The objective is to complete all 50 rallies without running out of fuel. The player's car is equipped with a cannon that can be used to destroy enemy vehicles and roadside gun turrets for extra points. A scoring multiplier is set to 1 at the start of each rally. Each time the player successfully strikes a target, the multiplier increases by one, up to a maximum multiplier of 10. After missing a target, the multiplier drops by 1.
A helicopter occasionally flies overhead and drops a power-up item, which the player can pick up; these items have a limited number of uses. The player also encounters indestructible obstacles consisting of mines, boulders, floating "spiker" balls, and oil slicks, the last of which will cause the player to lose control for a moment if hit.
The player's car has two fuel tanks, a main tank and a smaller reserve. If the main tank runs empty at any time, the car begins to use its reserve. Red (dropped by enemies destroyed from a distance) and green (appearing at specific milestones) globes on the road add small amounts of fuel to the main tank when picked up. Reaching the halfway point of a rally resets the main tank to the level it had at the start of that stage, but does not affect the reserve. At the end of each rally, the main tank is refilled and fuel is added to the reserve based on the number of points scored in that stage.
Contact with any enemy, projectile, or obstacle other than an oil slick destroys the player's car, removes any power-up in effect, and resets the scoring multiplier to 1. The player loses a small amount of fuel while a replacement car is put on the road. There is no limit to the number of times that the player's car can be destroyed and replaced; the game only ends when both the main and reserve fuel tanks are exhausted.
The player may continue as many times as desired during the first 49 rallies, but is given only one chance to play the 50th and final one. Completing this rally awards a bonus of one million points and ends the game.
A promotional giveaway was accessible on the original arcade version, where players could send in their name and "personalized secret code" after completing rally 50 and receive a free RoadBlasters T-shirt. [3] [4] The promotion ended August 31, 1987. [5]
The game had a toy tie-in made by Matchbox. The toys were die-cast cars that could be customized with armor, lasers, machine guns, and rocket launchers and jet engines. There were two factions: Turbo Force and The Motor Lords. There also were play sets such as a mobile command base. [6]
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Publication | Score |
---|---|
Crash | 84% [7] |
Computer and Video Games | 5/10 [8] |
GamePro | 20/25 (Lynx) [9] |
IGN | 9/10 (Lynx) [10] |
Sinclair User | 81% [11] |
Your Sinclair | 8/10 [12] |
MegaTech | 72% [13] |
ACE | 654 [14] |
The Games Machine | 62% [15] |
Zzap!64 | 75% [16] |
Power Play (DE) | 75% [17] |
ST/Amiga Format | 58% [18] |
Amiga Action | 45% [19] |
Raze | 80% (NES) 84% (Lynx) [20] |
In a capsule review of the Atari Lynx version for STart , Clayton Walnum praised the game's massive length and combination of "standard racing with heaps of action." He added that "If you liked Roadblasters on another system, you won't be disappointed in the Lynx version." [21] CVG Magazine also reviewed the Atari Lynx version of the game, Julian Rignall went on to say "Roadblasters is a challenging game and is technically superb, with stunning graphics and great speech." He said it was fun but the levels were frustrating finally giving it a rating of 76 out of 100. [22]
In a review of the Lynx version, Robert A. Jung concluded, "This is a mind-blowing awesome adaptation. I'd recommend it to most video-game players -- fans of driving games, fans of shooting games, fans of action games, and fans of the arcade original. It's a challenging, well-balanced arcade/action game, faithful to the original, worthy of the Lynx and offering lots of hours of fun. This goes right up there with Blue Lightning as one of the best Lynx games around." He gave a score of 9 out of 10. [10]
The game appeared on the Sony PlayStation compilation Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 2 in 1998. It was also released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and PC as part of the Midway Arcade Treasures arcade game compilation.
A port can be played in Lego Dimensions via an Arcade Dock in the level "The Phantom Zone."
The game made an appearance in Disney's Wreck-It Ralph as the game the film's main antagonist, Turbo, initially tries to take over, as shown in his backstory. Acting out of extreme jealousy from his players simply turning around and investigating the new game, Turbo enters RoadBlasters during arcade hours and drives around in front of the players. He accidentally ends up causing a massive glitch and crashing the game the moment that his car comes into contact with theirs. This results in both this game and his own being unplugged and removed from Litwak's Arcade. [23]
Lethal Xcess, also known as Lethal Xcess: Wings of Death II or just Wings of Death II, is a shoot 'em up game developed by two members of demo crew X-Troll and published by Eclipse Software in 1991 for the Atari ST and Amiga. It is a sequel to 1990's Wings of Death, in which its wizard hero goes into the far future to fight the descendants of the evil witch that he had defeated in the first game. Despite having been acclaimed by critics, the game was a commercial failure.
Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja, also known simply as either Bad Dudes or DragonNinja, is a side-scrolling cooperative beat 'em up game developed and released by Data East for arcades in 1988. It was also ported to many computer and game console home systems.
Artworx was a Naples, Florida software company that produced and supported a line of computer games from 1981 to 2015. It is named after the founder's given name. At first the company published a variety of games, including titles in adventure and arcade-action genres, but were later best known for a strip poker series.
California Games II is a sports video game released by Epyx for MS-DOS in 1990. Versions were published for the Amiga, Atari ST, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992, then the Master System in 1993. This game is a sequel to California Games. An Atari Lynx version was announced and previewed in several magazines but was never released.
Double Dragon is a 1987 beat 'em up video game developed by Technōs Japan and distributed by Taito for arcades across Asia, North America and Europe. It is the first title in the Double Dragon franchise. The game's development was led by Yoshihisa Kishimoto, and it is a spiritual and technological successor to Technos' earlier beat 'em up, Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (1986), released outside of Japan by Taito as Renegade; Kishimoto originally envisioned it as a direct sequel and part of the Kunio-kun series, before making it a new game with a different cast and setting.
Fire Power is a military tank action game developed by Silent Software for the Amiga. It was released in 1987 and published by MicroIllusions and Activision. Ports were released for the Apple IIGS, the Commodore 64 and for MS-DOS in 1988. An Atari Lynx version was planned but development never started due to internal conflict with Epyx.
Time Bandit is a maze shoot 'em up written for the TRS-80 Model I by Bill Dunlevy and Harry Lafnear and published by MichTron in 1983. It was ported to the TRS-80 Color Computer and Dragon 32, but enjoyed its greatest popularity several years later as an early release for the Atari ST. It was also released for the pseudo-PC-compatible Sanyo MBC-55x with 8-color display. Amiga and MS-DOS versions were ported by Timothy Purves.
Outzone is an action strategy game developed and published by Lankhor and was released in 1991 for the Atari ST, Amiga and Commodore 64.
E.S.S Mega is a space simulation game published by Tomahawk and developed by Coktel Vision. E.S.S. Mega recreates ESA's space vehicle concepts of the early 1990, specially the Hermes Shuttle. The game was released for MS-DOS and Atari ST in 1991, and Commodore CDTV in 1992.
Axel's Magic Hammer is a platform game developed by Core Design and published by Gremlin Graphics in 1989. The game was released for the Amiga and Atari ST.
Matrix Marauders is a 1990 racing video game, published by Psyclapse.
Federation of Free Traders is a space trading video game released in 1989 for the Amiga and Atari ST. The game is similar in scope to Elite, involving space simulation and exploration tilted towards trading. The player is tasked with exploring and discovering the billions of procedurally generated galaxies and planets. The game was developed and published by Gremlin Interactive.
Theme Park Mystery is an adventure video game developed by Brian Howarth and Taeman Irmak released in 1990, for the Amiga published by Konami. It was also released to the Atari ST and MS-DOS later in 1990. The game features themes and activities surrounding a haunted and gruesome amusement park.
Gravity is an isometric game for the Amiga and Atari ST published by Image Works in 1991. It combines action and strategy elements in a science fiction setting.
StarRay is a video game developed by Hidden Treasures and published by Logotron in 1988. Released for the Amiga, Atari ST, and Commodore 64, the game is an update on the concept of 1981 arcade game Defender, with faster gameplay and more detailed graphics and sound. The game was published in 1989 by Epyx as Revenge of Defender for the American market.
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Hydra is a 1990 arcade vehicular combat video game developed and published by Atari Games. In Hydra, the player pilots a hovercraft, trying to deliver top secret items while avoiding mines, other hovercraft, and logs. The player can collect money and fuel to continue. X-Y yoke control.
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