whatever happened to...

[noobish hat]

Rollcage!? That game was awesome! while everyone else was wanking themselves stupid over ****e like gran turismo and ridge racer, I was actually having fun rocketing along at 300 miles an hour, driving upside in tunnels and blasting over futuristic landscapes doing backflips. It was like an even more over-the-top Wipeout, but with more than a 3cm leeway before you nudged the side of the track and ground to a complete halt. It was all the brilliance and style of Psygnosis space shooter, but in a racing game. I must have played the PSM demo a hundred times before it was released. Why can't we have a Rollcage sequel on PSP?

[Kaladron]

My biggest memory of Rollcage is how much Biffo used to bang on about it on Digitiser. Only ever played the demo myself but thought it was quite good fun.

Incidentally, Archer Maclean's new studio is working on a Wii racer called Speedzone. It's not really the same but I think it might recreate some of the thrills of Rollcage. They're calling it "Wipeout with wheels" at the moment, which should give you some indication of what to expect.

[Baseley09]

My biggest memory of Rollcage is how much Biffo used to bang on about it on Digitiser. Only ever played the demo myself but thought it was quite good fun.

Aha totally.

Great game tho to play and look at.

[wakka]

Yeah both the Rollcage games were brilliant, and highly addictive. A PSP sequel or compilation would be awesome. In fact I may put the first game on my PSP.

[Flabio]

I'm not sure who actually owns the IP these days. Psygnosis published it, so if it was their IP then it would belong to Sony now. But I suspect the IP rights stayed with the developer, and they closed down years ago.

[muddy]

Mad, I was trying to remember the name of this game a few days ago, as I was cruising Ebay. Wanted to pick up a cheap one to rip onto my PSP.

I really enjoyed it at the time.

[Mad Gear]

Brilliant game. Stage 2 is much better imho.

[Wools]

My biggest memory of Rollcage is how much Biffo used to bang on about it on Digitiser. Only ever played the demo myself but thought it was quite good fun.

My memories excatly.

I really enjoyed the Demo but never played the full game. I grew up during the early PSone era and it was a revelation that every month I could just about afford a PSone magazine and get the chance to play 10 or more games.

I played a lot of enjoyable racing game demos on the PSone like No Fear Downhill Mountain Bike Racing, Porche Challenge, Motorhead and of course Rollcage. All of which I never brought!

I don't think it was that they were bad, it was just their were so many quality games on the PSone espically in the racing genre such as Gran Turismo, WipEout, Ridge Racer, Driver and Colin McRae. That list pretty much covered all bases so the former list did not get a look in by me during the 90's!

[Flabio]

Brilliant game. Stage 2 is much better imho.

Quoted for truth.

There was a PC version of this released in the states, bizarrely they renamed it 'Mad Tracks Racing' or something like that. But the name change was literally only the boxart.

There was a simplified third game released for the PSOne called 'Firebugs'. It was meant for a younger audience playing on hand me down PSOne's around the time the PS2 was really picking up the pace.

After that, the team ended up doing Lego Racers 2 and Lego Drome Racers (the former of which I worked on, and the prospect of being on the latter was what led me to quit). I still think Racers 2 is one of the most fun things I've worked on.

[sj33]

I never got to play Stage 2, but I also played the demo of the game to death, presumably the same demo you all played. It was awesome stuff.

A few years later, my friend got the full game for his PC, and we played it using 3DFX Glide, the visuals were as good as you could get.

[mekanor]

After that, the team ended up doing Lego Racers 2 and Lego Drome Racers (the former of which I worked on, and the prospect of being on the latter was what led me to quit). I still think Racers 2 is one of the most fun things I've worked on.

why quit if the second was so much fun? not played either but the first is right up there with mario kart and diddy kong - one of the reasons i have such high hopes for the conduit

[Flabio]

In terms of being fun to play, not fun to work on. There were other reasons too, but those are more personal.

[moonwhistle]

I seem to remember the controls being awful.

[sj33]

^You did have to get used to the physics, especially given the cars were designed to drive up the walls, drive upside down etc. It always felt like the perfect companion to WipEout.