Road Rash - Jailbreak

The Road Rash series from Electronic Arts has always been a good combo of standard racing and ass-kicking violence, and Road Rash—Jailbreak takes it up a notch by including a storyline. Spaz, the nastiest rasher of all time, has been thrown in the clink. You have to bust him out. Of course, whether or not you give a roadkill’s ass about poor Spaz is irrelevant—it’s really just an excuse for you to hop on your bike and cause all manner of highway mayhem. The graphics are so detailed you practically see the characters wince when they get run down, and the soundtrack is suitably metal-heavy—just what you want to hear when you’re going head-to-fist with crazed bikers. There’s so much going on, however, that the game controls get tricky. You’ve got punches, kicks, weapons, and turbo boosts to deal with, all the while dodging other bikers, cars, and the cops. It can get nuts, but that’s probably the point. If you’ve had enough of being a public menace, Jailbreak also offers “5-0 Mode” where you jump on your CHiPs bike and bash some heads for The Man. Invite your buddies over (check out “Skull-to-Skull Mode”) and play while downing some brews. Just don’t drive home afterwards.