RC Revenge is a racing game released for the PlayStation in 2000, developed by Acclaim Studios Cheltenham, and is the sequel to Re-Volt. It is set in 5 different movie worlds in which the player races remote controlled cars across many varied tracks.
Gameplay
There are four games modes in RC Revenge: championship mode, single race, time trial, and multiplayer race. RC Revenge has boat and race car effects and an options mode where the player can see the credits, track records, adjust music and sound volumes, brightness, and more. The gameplay was revised from Re-Volt to be more arcade based and like other kart racers at the time. Cars can still flip over like in Re-Volt. Like Re-Volt, the game also features a basic track editor where players can create their own courses or play randomly generated tracks which can also be edited.
Weapons
There are eleven different weapons available to the racers, which are picked up and chosen "randomly" when a racer drives through a floating blue icon. There are 4 new weapons in the game. The rest return from Re-Volt.
The Battery is essentially a turbo, giving cars a temporary burst of speed.
The Rocket can lock on to targets, this weapon also comes in a pack of 3.
The Heat Ray emits a beam from the car's aerial, directly ahead of the vehicle. Any opponents hit by the beam are burnt and slowed down drastically.
The Electric Pulse attacks any opponents close to the vehicle, and temporarily cuts their power.
The Oil Spill weapon spills oil on to the track behind the car, which will affect the handling of any opponents unlucky enough to drive over it.
The Bouncing Mines are dropped from behind the vehicle and will bounce around the track for a short while, until hit and detonated. They can also be thrown forwards with a press of the UP key when firing. This weapon also comes in a pack of 3.
The Shield makes the vehicle invulnerable from all weapons for a short while. It also gives a vehicle more brute strength and enables a smaller car to push a larger car off of the track.
The Water Balloons can be fired from a car's aerial. Upon impact with an opponent, the opponent is trapped within the resulting bubble until it bursts. This weapon always comes in a pack of 3.
The Shockwave Is emitted in all directions of a vehicle. Any opponents within the radius of the circle are hit.
The Fake leaves a false weapon icon on the track. Any unsuspecting opponents driving into the icon will find that not only does it not contain a weapon, it actually detonates.
The Ultimate Weapon has a similar effect to the Electric; however, it short circuits every opponent on the track.
Development
The game was originally developed under the names of Re-Volt 2, Re-Volt 2: Pocket Rockets and Re-Volt 2: RC Revenge, but the name was changed simply to RC Revenge for the final release. The original name is still used for the Memory Card block when the game is saved onto the Memory Card. It was the first title developed by Acclaim's Cheltenham development studio.
RC Revenge Pro
RC Revenge Pro is an enhanced port of RC Revenge released for the PlayStation 2 in December 2000 in Europe and January 2001 in North America, once again developed by Acclaim Studios Cheltenham. The game features improved graphics, sound and framerate, as well as the same vehicles as the original. Additions to this version include dynamic animations within the environments that were not present in the race tracks originally, as well as the addition of a new Pirate World with 4 new tracks. The Track Editor was also updated to feature small themed elements based on the game's 6 worlds to be added to the player courses.
Reception
RC Revenge received "average" reviews, while the Pro version received "generally unfavorable reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. John Gaudiosi of Next Generation said of the original, "Fun for gamers of all ages, this kid-friendly game serves up some serious racing challenges." Tom Russo of the same magazine later said that the Pro version was "Not without some merit, but there are far better uses for your new $300 hardware." In Japan, where the original game was ported and published by Acclaim Japan on November 9, 2000, followed by the Pro version on June 28, 2001, Famitsu gave it a score of 25 out of 40 for the former, and 22 out of 40 for the latter.
