RoadKill

Added January 26th, 2004 by Tyler

Introduction:

When I picked up this game, I didn't know what to expect. In the back of my mind, I was thinking Vigilante8, which I'm sorry, didn’t get me too excited. I had heard some good things about it so I decided to give it a try. Needless to say, I was pleased with the game overall. Imagine if you will, the Grand Theft Auto series, along with the likes of Vigilante 8 and Twisted Metal were mixed together, along with drunken 40 year old humor, and you've got RoadKill.

Gameplay:

RoadKill takes place in the near future, as the world is on the edge of destruction. Earth has been devistated by a highly lethal virus, leaving minimal life left on our planet. The remaining population has drifted into gangs, fighting to stay alive. These aren’t your average L.A. street gangs however. These guys settle their differences with the heavy arsenal that they've attached to their cars, trucks, tanks, and what have you. You play the part of Mason, a simple kind of guy, who has been betrayed by a fellow gang leader. Instead of just letting it go, you decide to traverse across three different (and quite wild) war torn lands, known as Hell County, seeking out your revenge. What about anyone who stands in your way you ask? Target practice my friends. In order to travel further on in your quest, you'll need to complete missions ranging from taking out a single boss, to taking out an entire gang. You'll earn money and respect for completing these missions, along with getting farther along in the story. Not feeling quite up to completing a mission for some cash? Just go ahead and ride around, spraying bullets and collecting parts and pieces left behind to earn some money. With the money, you'll be able to upgrade your vehicle, or just buy a whole new vehicle instead. You can also upgrade your road warrior by finding blueprints. The free roam killing is fun, (think GTA), except you're not allowed to leave your vehicle. The car dogfights,for lack of better words, are pretty fun. They remind me of Twisted Metal a little bit, except for one key thing. For example: say you’re driving down the street and something goes wrong. Mason may let out a few words to express himself that may not be expectable for all ages. Note to the young: Don’t play this game when your parents are around, if you want to keep playing it anyhow. The language in this game is totally absurd and full or swearing and rude jokes, which I'm sorry to say, is one of my favorite features. Every time I'd hear "sh*t" I couldn't help but laugh. Not only is the language gruesome, but if you hit a pedestrian head on, they might join you along for the ride, being dragged on or under your vehicle. I drove around for hours just running people over to see what would happen next. That’s not to say the average Joe won’t fight back, seeing as an everyday normal person has a rocket launcher or some sort of extreme gun with them at all times. I think this is a pretty neat idea. Not only that, but your "reputation meter” lets you know what’s what in the gang world. It will tell you who your enemies are and who your allies are, though these will be changing all the time through out the game. The higher your reputation, the more gangs there will be out to get you. Luckily, that also means there will be more gangs out to help you. The big dog is never safe, yet never alone.

Graphics:

RoadKill’s graphics are a mixed bag. The car models are pretty awesome, though all are basically the same. You'll notice some blurry textures in spots through out the game. One of my favorite parts of Road Kill is the randomized weather patterns, which always kept things interesting. Rain will have you sliding all over the road, while a tornado might throw your car 200 feet in a different direction, only to have you land smack dab on a gang member, which might induce a fight. The character models left a bit to be desired from the lack of detail. The effects in this game are very intense with missiles whizzing past your head every second, and look good doing so. The environments are quite grand in scale, but overall aren’t that great looking. I’m not saying the graphics are bad; they are just all a little too similar.

Audio:

The sound in RoadKill is pretty standard for an action game. The sound effects taking part around you aren’t bad. The guns sound like guns of course, but you can’t decipher which guns are which by sound. The voice acting in Road Kill is quite at all times. Every other word is offensive, and it just sounds kind of corny to see it in motion. Luckily, the sound department is saved, thanks to the in game radio stations. Think Grand Theft Auto, only much more obscene. The music portion of the radio is greatly welcomed, playing over 15 licensed tracks. The talk shows in Road Kill are drop dead funny, except for some of the over the top rudeness played in between. I’m quite surprised that Gay Rights Activists and Woman's Rights Groups haven’t filed any complaints, seeing as the two types are greatly bashed and made fun of all through the game. Some of it is funny, but it gets old.

Controls:

The controls in RoadKill are decent, but do get the job done. They remind me a little of Grand Theft Auto, which I suppose might be a good thing for some people. The controls take some time to get a hold of, but once you do, you'll be a killing machine. The controls for RoadKill are:

Left Thumbstick - Steering
Right Thumbstick - Accelerate/Brake
Left Trigger - Handbrake
Right Trigger - Fire weapon
Black - Fire secondary weapon
White - Look back
A - Accelerate
B - Nitros
X - Brake
Y - Cycles through weapons
Start - Pause
Back - None

Replay:

Their is a lot of replay ability with Road Kill. Driving around, playing the various mini games can be fun, along with constantly upgrading your arsenal. When you've upgraded as far as you can, driving around causing mayhem doesn’t get boring, and there's always something new to find. There are a few multiplayer elements included, such as eleven different maps, which all support up to four players split screen. Also, there are a few upgrades that are exclusive to multiplayer. This is all hampered however, by the option of only one game mode, deathmatch. Xbox Live would have made this game shine!

Summary:

If you are a big fan of Twisted Metal, I’d recommend that you get this game. Its overall, a good game, but one that's not without flaws. There is a lot that you can do, so you don’t become bored with it right away. Driving past the store with a huge pot leaf on it was quite humorous, along with all of the other surrounding jokes. The foul language, though hilarious, does get repetitive and annoying, which most definitely hurts the score. RoadKill would be a great addition to any action game fan’s collection if not a rental.