Format: Cartridge
Genre: Racing
Developer: Electronic Arts
Publisher: Electronic Arts

Road Rash 3 veers from the art direction of the first two titles in an attempt to come up with something more akin to the look of the superlative 3DO title. The problem is that the Genesis' low amount of simultaneous on-screen colors means that digitized sprites tend to sometimes look downright unrecognizable. The game isn't ugly, but the development team should have focused on taking the more cartoonish look of the first two titles to the next level.

For the 3DO Road Rash, Rob Hubbard was replaced with Don Veca. Veca went on to do a sensational job with the 3DO version's in-race melodies, and was retained for this game. There is no doubting that he is less talented than Rob Hubbard, yet his edgy and attitude-filled style comes across well via the Genesis' sound chip. The races have added sound effects, such as cars honking, which makes them feel a bit more alive.

Where the first two games required great amounts of player focus just to keep the bike on the road, Road Rash 3 emphasizes combat. The developers appear to have implemeted some sort of rubber band effect, which means that even after a bike upgrade the player still finds himself working to the extreme to break out of the pack and into first place. That seems like it would lead to more interesting ludonarrative occurrences, but the title is still somehow trumped by the second game in that category.

Road Rash 3 is a fine game and a solid entry into the series, but as a 1995 Genesis release-- and one that was pre-dated by the amazing 3DO title-- it feels like a misfit title that came out in the wrong era altogether. The combat-focused gameplay has some neat new mechanics, such as police helocopters, but those novelties don't do quite enough to elevate the game to the level of either the second title or the 3DO entry.