The Mame Club - This Week's Game is Rollergames by Konami!

[zektor]

This week's game was chosen by Flack. The next person on the MAME Club list will get to choose their game the coming week and must PM me with the chosen title by Monday night at the very latest.

http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/arcade/rollerg.png

When writing your review, post it right here in the sticky topic and include any thoughts you have about the game. It would also be nice to let us know other aspects of the emulation. Here are some things that would be good to know:

Did you like/dislike the game? Why?
What type of machine are you running it on? Specs?
What version of Mame?
How long did it take you to beat it? Score?

Again, YOU are the reviewer. Let us know anything and everything you think about the game!


A download for this game will be posted shortly!



Club Members

Gamereviewgod
Wisesalesman
scooterb23
ddockery
AlanD
digitalpress
IntvGene
NE146
jonjandran
*Flack
IGotTheDot
zektor (me!)
buttasuperb
chadtower
Sotenga
Stark
ECWSandmanECW
christianscott27
TripppsK
vespertillio
ghsqb
TheSmirk
anotherfluke
BHvrd
ManekiNeko
MarioAllStar2600
Ze_ro
slip81
Qbert
k8track

* this week's entry was chosen by this member, the next to choose is the one below!

[AB Positive]

I'm not a member of the club but... I'm shocked that this game includes the ACTUAL Rollerball teams. I remember watching T-Birds v. Violators as a kid :D

-AG

[Flack]

Rollergames, part extreme sport, part white trash obsession. I remember the real show, which used to be on right after Midsouth Wrestling.

The game basically mimics the show. Your object as the "runner" is to get around the track first. You have several teamates who will try and stop the other runner, as does he. The biggest difference between this game and the show is, in the show, you got a point for each person you passed -- in the game, it's a point for each person you knock down.

"Button masher" has never been more accurate. Your attack button causes you to punch, kick, swing, elbow, and otherwise bash your opponents. You can also combine these with jumps to expand your attacks.

There are four rounds per level (I think), then things start to really get tough. I don't know why I like this game so much, I guess mainly because it's easy and it's cheesy, just like the show it was based on.

[IntvGene]

Well, I gave this one a roll :P .. and here's what I think:

The game's cheese factor is really high, which is something that I like. It feels like the show, and I love the spiked hair, real teams and outrageous uniforms. Konami did a great job on translating the show to the game, (at least from what I can remember of it). The graphics and sounds in the game are well-done, but nothing extra-special for the time (is that Blades of Steel guy on voice?).

I like how the game plays... somewhat. Each cycle (or round) has two aspects to it. The first is the race/jump part, and the second is the beat-em-up part. The race/jump part is interesting (at least looks good), but it is really quite short. In the second part, you have to knock down as many opponents as you can before the time limit runs out. Also, there is the odd one-on-one fight that can happen after cycles or when you win. The reward for winning a cycle is bonus health, and you have to outscore your opponent at the end of the fourth cycle to continue on to the next city.

What I don't like is the apparent lack of strategy in the actual beat-em-up part of the game. The moves are limited, and I found myself just pushing left and hitting the attack button for most of the game. What makes things worse is that the cycles are too long at 99 seconds. C'mon, either shave some time off of it, or use accelerated time! And it is especially killer because you have to go through four 99 second cycles to determine the winner. I also would have liked to have had the ability to choose a Jetter with different abilities or moves, rather than the same guy each time... and maybe some noticeable team differences.

I played the game for about 45 minutes, and gave up when I barely lost in the fourth city, and decided I didn't want to go through another four cycles to try again. I played the team Bad Attitude, and loved that guy on my team with the goggles (why couldn't I play him). It definitely brings back memories, and worth a look, but I couldn't imagine myself spending tons of quarters on it back in the day.

[Gamereviewgod]

This one is great. I love the effect the graphics pull off. It really makes you feel like your going around in a track. This has the be the only "nearly real" representation of the sport in the video game world, right?

[Sotenga]

First words I need to get out of the way: OY GEVALT!!! This game's constant background revolutions made my stomach turn more than F-Zero GX! :puke:

It's a damned cool game, though. Like Flack said, it primarily comes down to "button mashing" after the racing bit had passed. I can't complain, as I enjoy a workout for my machine-gun digits. The graphics are realistic, dazzling, and as I mentioned before, quite sickening. Dig the Mode 7-like rotation in the background... x_x

The core of the game lies in slamming the attack button as many times as possible, so victory comes down to a struggle of attrition. There isn't too much variety to this title, but it is quite fun for a while. Konami creates another good liscensed title... which I didn't know was liscensed st first because I'm not a child of the 80's. :(

Didn't Konami make another Rollergames title for the NES, but it was more of a sidescrolling beat-em-up that was hardly realistic compared to its source material?

[Ze_ro]

Anyone got a download for this one yet? This is the first MAME Club game in a while that I didn't already have sitting around.

--Zero

[IntvGene]

Anyone got a download for this one yet? This is the first MAME Club game in a while that I didn't already have sitting around.

--Zero


Hey Ze_ro..

I've put a temporary download on my page here:

intellivision.ca/rollerg.zip

I'm sure that Zektor or DP will get one up sooner or later. But, I just want to give you a chance to play it if you need it.

[TripppsK]

Definitely a game that my kids and I can play together. Skating and bashing with no thought involved. Finally a game to bring the kids down to my level.

[Ze_ro]

I've put a temporary download on my page here

Ah, thanks a lot :) I'll give it a run through later today.

--Zero

[zektor]

Anyone got a download for this one yet? This is the first MAME Club game in a while that I didn't already have sitting around.

--Zero


Hey Ze_ro..

I've put a temporary download on my page here:

intellivision.ca/rollerg.zip

I'm sure that Zektor or DP will get one up sooner or later. But, I just want to give you a chance to play it if you need it.

Thank you for that. I have no access to DP's ftp, or I would have uploaded it. I think Joe has been quite busy lately, so I apologize for the delayed updates.

[Ze_ro]

Interesting game, although it seems a little TOO mindless to me. Is there anything to the fighting beyond tapping buttons? I've managed to get some odd moves like suplexes and holds and such, but I can't seem to do them consistently... are they random? I seem to get double teamed really often, which is hard to get out of at times.

Honestly, I don't remember much of the original show, since I was just a kid at the time. All I remembered was the huge wall, and I always loved seeing people get knocked over the side of that.

I really like the effect they use for the background though... it doesn't get in the way, yet it conveys a nice sense of speed that makes the game feel more intense than it really is.

Is there an actual ending to this game? I only got up to the second cycle of the second opponent before I gave up.

--Zero

[Ze_ro]

Does this game ever really get any different? I noticed the background changes once you face a new team, since you're in a new arena and all... but is there anything to make any of the matchup's different at all?

I'm wondering if there's much point in beating more than the first opponent...

--Zero

[scooterb23]

Fun game...my only nitpick with it (here's to show my true Rollergames geekdon) is that you don't have the ability to call off the jam. That was a great strategy point, to try and call fo the jam once you can't get any more points, but you don't want your opponent to score any more :)

A little mindless, but great dizzying scrolling effect.

[Zubiac666]

damnit
I thought you meant "Rollergames" for NES which was also done by Konami.
One of my fav action games on NES.
:embarrassed: :( :embarrassed:

[SoulBlazer]

Yeah, I was confused also. You mean Rollergames for the NES is a PORT of the arcade version? Which I never heard of till this minute? BOY, does this look differnet on the old NES! @_@

(BTW, the NES version was another game I could never beat back in the day, but finally did thanks to save states and emulators.... ;) )

[Chunky]

I'm not a member of the club but... I'm shocked that this game includes the ACTUAL Rollerball teams. I remember watching T-Birds v. Violators as a kid :D

-AG

wow this is the exact sentence i was going to say. That blonde was hot.