cardinalphoenix reviewed Skitchin' for the Genesis...

...and gave it a 10.0!!!

Electronic Arts (now known more commonly as EA) was the company that brought us the popular Road Rash series motorcycle racing games. The graphics were understandably rough, considering the Sega Genesis era of frame rates couldn't handle major speeds too well (you'd go around a turn and magically hit a chevron before you even had a chance to see it was there, plan a reaction and dodge it), but its hardcore nature of high speeds, loud music and mercilessly knocking other racers off their hogs while battling for the coveted money won at first place, earned Electronic Arts a number of sequels and remakes on other systems. With that success under its belt, Electronic Arts decided to try something slightly different in 1993 with Skitchin'.

A contraction of sorts of Skating and Hitching (not sure if it's a common contraction, thus the reason for the explanation), Skitchin' trades in racing quality motorcycles for rollerblades. While this may seem much lower in violent quality than motorcycles (seeing as how the majority of rollerblade owners probably haven't landed in jail, not to mention the likely age gap between an average rollerblade and motorcycle owner), the danger level is undoubtedly high. You start out holding the equivalent of the accelerator button and start skating. In your rear view, you can see traffic driving alongside you. Obviously, the average skater can't skate as fast as a car. That's where the hitching comes in the form of grabbing the back bumper of a passing vehicle and letting it drag you along. You're also able to slingshot off the vehicle for additional speed, to hopefully catch up to the front of the pack or even gain a farther lead should you already be there. The weapon selection in this game was sick, as you could hold at least five or six weapons that you could either steal from other racers or pick up alongside the road, including lead pipes, chains, nunchucks, I'm pretty sure a whip was in there, and the ever coveted cattleprod/stungun that could knock a rival down with one blow. The cash awarded at the end was believable, the bonus levels for each city were a great incentive to go for an extra bit of glory and coin, the music was (for its time) great MIDI-quality heavy metal with strange track names like Sniff and Spicy Placenta.

All in all, Skitchin' offered the same kind of fun that Road Rash once did, only upping the ante as far as danger and fun, and making the fantasy experience of skating down busy city streets and fighting on wheels as perfect as it could be!

EA? With the sheer amount of freaky games out there...do yourselves a huge favor and remake this glorious work of art!

Get the full article at GameSpot

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