A fast-paced racing game with 3DFX Glide support.
Rollcage feels like one of those experimental racing games from the ’90s. There were quite a few of these back then, and I’d say Powerslide belongs in the same group. If you’ve ever seen a Ricochet RC car from the ’90s, you’ll know how this works: the car can flip upside down and still function just fine. It’s a fun concept for RC cars, but I’m not sure it translates well to a full racing game.
The first couple of races are enjoyable, especially the first one, which features a long, high-speed strip. During the race, you can pick up weapons from the track and use them to attack the environment or other cars. Damaging the surroundings can create roadblocks, which, in turn, cause opponents to crash.
As the tracks become windier and the corners sharper, the game gets more challenging, but not necessarily in a good way. The first problem is that once you crash, it’s incredibly difficult to get back into the race. The car behaves erratically at low speeds, and even though you’re trying to catch up as fast as possible, it just spins around, leaving you in last place. The second issue is that you can’t maintain the same speed anymore, which turns the game from fun into a frustrating struggle.
I think Rollcage would be a great multiplayer game, but the single-player experience isn’t as exciting. On the plus side, the visuals are solid, and 3DFX Glide delivers as expected. I’m not sure if I’d revisit it, but it’s definitely worth playing at least once.
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Hardware:
Compaq Garcia
Intel Pentium III 1Ghz
256MB SDRAM
3DFX Voodoo3 3000
Creative Sound Live!
40GB HDD (IDE)
