Remembering classic games: RoadBlasters (1987)

Released by Atari in 1987, RoadBlasters was a sci-fi racer that recognised the arcade video game staple of shooting absolutely everything in sight could be handily applied to driving games as well.

In addition to the traditional driving controls, you had a pair of triggers to fire lasers and thumb buttons to launch your special weapons. Rather than a steering wheel, the arcade cabinet, both in its upright and sleek sit-down incarnations, featured a yoke that was instantly evocative of Knight Rider’s KITT. And if you played it at the time it was released you probably had the bouffant 1980s Hasselhoff haircut to match.

The most immediately striking thing about RoadBlasters was the impressive animation of the cherry red player car that sat front and centre in the screen. The sprite had a slightly exaggerated perspective, but the rotation as you turned the vehicle was buttery smooth and totally convincing.

You needed that responsiveness as well, because you had to accurately point the nose of the vehicle directly at the tangerine coloured enemy cars and roadside turrets in order to score a successful hit. Miscalculate even slightly and the car would detonate in a lavish explosion.

The sci-fi theming lent the game a unique atmosphere, with futuristic bubble cities visible on the horizon and a dropship that swooped down to deposit special weapons onto the roof of your car, even at speeds in excess of 200mph. If that sort of delivery is the next evolution of the fast food drive through, we’re here for it.

There’s little to criticise about RoadBlasters, but we do feel duty bound to point out the fundamental inaccuracy of the title: you’re not blasting the road itself, you’re blasting things on the road. Still, we’ll forgive it, you didn’t fight any streets in Street Fighter 2 either.