Similarities between Fatal Run and Roadblasters

[DamienC]

I just won Fatal Run on eBay (woohoo! set me back about $30 though) and I was reading the manual on the site and some reviews for the game when it occured to me that this game shares a striking resemblance to the Atari arcade game Roadblasters which I used to play a lot. The only differences were that in Fatal Run, you have to actually help people by giving the vaccine and you could buy upgrades for your car; in Roadblasters, your only objective was to blow stuff up and make it to the end. Perhaps this game was a prequel, or a template of some sort for Roadblasters? Just a thought.

[Cousin Vinnie]

I think the two games are similar in this regard only: You drive cars with weapons. Fatal Run is a quirky/boring game that may or may not make you smile with glee. Don't get too excited.

 

Cousin Vinnie

[Atari 7800.com]

All the reliable sources I have ever spoken with regarding this have basically told me that Fatal Run began development as RoadBlasters for the 7800 ProSystem, to compete with games like Nintendo's Rad Racer and Sega's Out Run.

 

However, from what I'm told (and I think they are right) RoadBlasters began its life as an arcade game at Atari Coin-Op in 1986. Atari Coin-Op (at that time called Atari Games) was NOT sold to the Tramiels in 1984 and was retained by Warner Communications until 1996 when they sold it to Williams. What this means is, even tho RoadBlasters was an "Atari game" it was not the Tramiel Atari, and Jack would have had to pay money to Warner to license RoadBlasters for the 7800.

 

Jack Tramiel as we all know was cheap. To port RoadBlasters to the 7800 it would cost money for the liscense, and even more money for the larger rom cartridges it would require to make the game the right way. (RoadBlasters would have had to have been a Super Game Cartridge... and jack didnt want to put that much money into a game)

 

So needless to say, the Tramiels cut corners, didnt liscense RoadBlasters, and didnt spend the time and money required to make a GREAT game...so they made Fatal Run.

 

Warner still owned a percentage of Atari Corp in the late 80's and early 90's and was pretty fed up with Jack's attitude and more or less forced him to release RoadBlasters on the LYNX, which I personally think is one of the best games ever made for a hand held system period.

 

It would definately have been nice to see RoadBlasters on the 7800. Maybe one day someone can program it for the 7800 =)

 

Justin

[DamienC]

A 7800 version definitely would have been nice.

 

I remember getting the NES version for my 8th or 9th birthday and I thought it was great... now of course I realize it's nowhere near the arcade version, and way too easy. The Genesis version is pretty cool looking, but impossible to control. If there were an analog stick or wheel of some sort for Genesis, it might be playable.

 

I'm becoming really interested in getting an Atari Lynx just because it has nice ports of arcade games I liked, like Raiden, Roadblasters, Xenophobe, and Double Dragon. I played Xenophobe for Lynx a LONG time ago and remember liking it.