Retro Game of the Day! RoadBlasters

Retro Game of the Day! RoadBlasters

RoadBlasters by Atari, original arcade release in 1987.

I have said this before, and I will say it again - Atari Games used to be quite a force to be reckoned with. Even as their console dominance was decreasing to nothing, their arcade machines were top of the line. RoadBlasters was just another example of their incredible work.

This game basically felt very similar to "Pole Position with Weapons." You race your rally care across 50 stages, and you must complete each one before your fuel depletes. To crank things up a bit, you have a whole lot of enemy cars gunning for you, as well as roadside gun emplacements and other hazards. It's rough out there!

Fortunately, you have stock machine guns mounted to your ride and you can collect a nice arsenal of secondary weapons if you live long enough to collect them from your little helper plane.

RoadBlasters was a kind of goofy-looking game which had a toy tie-in, and this originally turned me off - however I sat in that cockpit and was hooked! Mad Max would be proud! I eventually picked up the Atari Lynx version (they always did excellent arcade ports to that system) and sank many hours into it. I'd love to see a modern day take on this guilty arcade pleasure.