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The violent and aggressive nature of the Road Rash series, a game where you participated in illegal motorcycle races and desperately tried to knock your opponents off their bikes, made it feel right at home on the Sega Genesis. They were, after all, consistently trying to push themselves as the more mature console of the 4th generation. So if you wanted to knock people off bikes and watch them fly a quarter mile down the road, skipping along the pavement, Road Rash was a viable option.

But who wants to do that alone? The '91 release was shockingly absent of any sort of multiplayer option, and beating up on computer opponents just isn't the same, you know? Well, players wouldn't have to wait too long for their dreams to become a reality; the appropriately named Road Rash II would release the very next year, with its main draw being its split-screen, two-player action. Well, it had to be—Road Rash II brings very little else to the table.

That's not to discredit the game's split-screen mode—it's by and large the best part of the game. You can both race against the pack or make it a one-on-one battle, which provides nice options for both more casual and more competitive players. It allows you to have your fun with the chaotic and crowded streets of the typical race before deciding to get "serious"; you know it's on if your friend throws down a mano a mano challenge. And given the nature of Road Rash II's arcade-like racing style, it's likely that both players will have been thoroughly flattened while attempting to dodge oncoming traffic and weaving down each course's windy streets. It therefore fulfills the base need for a multiplayer title of its time, and it's hard not to laugh when you successfully guide your friend and rival into a telephone pole.

The multiplayer enjoyment of Road Rash II is predicated on the assumption you will be partaking vigorously in the combat side of the combat racing game. This falls apart for single players, though, because it is so rarely beneficial to actually engage with computer opponents. The game is certainly against you—fine, it's an arcade game, what do you expect?—but you will find yourself consistently on the receiving end of questionable crashes as you engage in fights with your fellow riders.

There are 14 of them, after all, and only 1 of you. A crash will damage your bike and send you plummeting back in the race at best and end your race prematurely after the cops catch you at worst, so why bother engaging with it at all? You aren't favored in any confrontation unless you happen to steal the chain weapon from another rider, and even if you do, you're almost certainly better off just overtaking them the normal way. Is it fun to knock other riders off their bikes? Sure, once or twice. But Road Rash II's biggest design flaw is that it actively discourages you from engaging in its sole unique gameplay mechanic. If you want to win, your best chance is to drive as safely as possible.

But if you're looking for danger, Road Rash II can provide plenty of that without the need to even engage in combat. It's an unfortunate mix of a few game design choices—a pretty low camera angle, unclear terrain, and a bad-even-for-its-time frame rate—that makes for a pretty dangerous race, even if you were only racing against the clock. It's a bit of a paradox; the game gets better at faster speeds, as you're maneuvering more challenging courses and making more daring moves.

The game's final levels are also the only ones where you can't just win by virtue of having a faster bike. But they are also vastly more frustrating. Road elements where curves and hills are combined whip your racer around the screen; some hills will hide cars or obstacles right over their crest that you can't avoid until it's too late (or unless you happen to remember they are there), and when more than one racer is on screen, the frame loss is so bad that oncoming cars can sometimes seem to spawn in front of you right in time for you to crash into them.

There are at least some road signs, which can give you an idea of what to expect; it's a neat little feature that will help you with some quick decision-making. But aside from the aforementioned split-screen addition, every problem that Road Rash II has was present in its predecessor. These are, functionally, the same game. Sure, this one has some different colored backgrounds, some more bikes...one new weapon? But this sequel feels more like a first outing than the original did.

Getting through 5 levels of 5 palette-swap courses, which grow increasingly longer as you progress, is going to feel like a chore if you can't even partake in the simple joy of knocking someone off their bike every so often, but every time you try, you'll probably remember why you stopped in the first place. Beyond its use as a chaotic bit of split-screen fun, Road Rash II joins the long list of mediocre 4th-gen racers, and it so often feels like it's pulling you in two different directions.

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