This remains a game where you take a motorbike out on a series of point-to-point events, threading through traffic and slinging a fist, foot or whatever weapon that comes to hand at your opponents. Road Redemption adds all those things and more, but not before it nails the fundamentals of its inspiration. Wouldn't it be fun if that combat system was fleshed out with counters and critical hits? How about four-player splitscreen? And how awesome would it be if you were on one epic road trip, from bleached deserts to post-apocalyptic wastes, duking it out with various gangs? And how much more awesome would it be if it was a roguelike? And hey - how about jetpacks too? There are a variety of event types, from straight point-to-point runs to races to boss fights, though none of them ever feel like much of an event. So this can feel like a Road Rash filtered through the raw, unruly imagination of the infatuated teen. There are rough edges, for sure - and for that matter, plenty of rough surfaces to boot - but there's also a game that's come about from a handful of devotees who ask the same questions we all so often do of our favourite games. It's a game born of a fannish devotion, first sparked in a rental Louisiana rental store when Fisch and his brother got hold of a copy of Road Rash on 3DO, and Road Redemption feels - for better and worse - like a fan-made game.
