Instead of ignoring the problems that were associated with Re-Volt on the PlayStation, Acclaim has decided to tackle them all head on and solve them. And for the most part, they have done exactly that. The frame rate is top-notch the entire way through, and RC Revenge actually has one of the best frame rates for a game of its type on the PlayStation. It’s impressive; the environmental detail is pretty up there, with enormous creatures and buildings towering around. Some of it might be attributed to the fact that the racers themselves are relatively low-polygon (yet still effective), but it is still a feat, nonetheless. In a nutshell, most graphical-related problems with the original game are basically a non-issue, so anyone who had a problem before can rest easy that they will not run into that major annoyance again.

Secondly, the control issue has been addressed and tweaked up a bit. In all aspects of control, RC Revenge takes Re-Volt and pounds it into the ground several times. Still, however, during my experience I was still continuing to spin out of control and lose my grip on the mini-racers easier than I should have, but it is nice to see that Acclaim really did put some work into fixing up this prominent complaint, instead of ignoring it and doing what they pleased (i.e. their wrestling titles - he he!).

While Re-Volt had the player controlling only land-based vehicles in a ton of wacky stages, RC Revenge takes it a step further by introducing water-based environments and vehicles that add another whole new dimension of play. In terms of control and gameplay balance it actually doesn’t significantly change very much, but it has allowed the designers to implement a whole slew of new ideas that would not have been possible before.

Despite the improvements made, there are still some unfortunate flaws. Thee worst go to the track designs that have been created so that not only are the extremely cramped and difficult to navigate with seven other racers zipping by at once, but sometimes there is little indication of where you are actually supposed to head. At times I would be barely keeping my 1st place spot when all off a sudden the game would come to an open-ended section where it seems like there could be multiple paths to follow – but there aren’t. This results in racing around an area in a desperate attempt to find the right area to follow. Of course, the computer always knows where to go, so you end up losing valuable time that could be spent battling the AI. Fortunately, RC Revenge makes up for somewhat by seemingly have the CPU “slow down” when they get ahead of you; no matter how confused I would get in the environment, it never took very long to at catch up to at least the stragglers.

Impressed by the “create-a” modes from other Acclaim titles, I was interested to see how the developers of RC Revenge would work out their version. Compared to the ease-of-use that was the Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000 editor, however, RC Revenge is more advanced, but harder to use. At first I went only by the on-screen icons and did not seek additional help, but I quickly found that it was basically requird. The track editor is actually quite a bit more complex than anything out there on the market now, and once you take the time to learn it you can put together some very cool creations. It would have made things easier from the start if there were a user-friendly interface, however.

The weapons available are anything but the standard fare, and while there are few that are simply new variations on already tried-and-true formulas (i.e. the battery is the speed boost, missile is a…missile), there are a couple that are truly cool that have not been done before. Two of my personal favorites include a mini-explosion that erupts from your location and causes all the cars in the immediate area to flip out of the way, and the other is a lightning grapple that begins by shooting out and slowing down the nearest enemy, but can eventually start zapping even five vehicles at once. Pure craziness!

There is no doubt; Acclaim has done an entire 180-degree turn with this semi-sequel to Re-Volt on the PlayStation. While there are a few nagging problems here and there that hold it back, when taking it all into consideration, RC Revenge is one of their best efforts on the machine so far (and probably one of their last releases), and fans of Re-Volt and racers in general should definitely get a kick out of the game.