~ MOTO ROADER II ~
NCS/Masaya
HuCard
1991
Faster from the start and offering many more options and much more variety in general, Moto Roader II immediately comes off as an obvious upgrade over its excellent predecessor.
The first cool new element you're likely to notice here is that you have a choice to make regarding the type of vehicle you'll be using. No longer relegated to traditional race cars, MR2 players can opt to pilot tanks or hovercraft instead. I must say that I
still prefer the speedy little autos to the bulky war machines and wafty hovers in most situations, but the presence of these new entities means you have a wider variety of opposing vehicles to concern yourself with. And since each type can be built up numerous times and in
varying ways, you're bound to run into lots of different contraptions out on the tracks.
The courses themselves are no longer enclosed by typical green-field-type areas. Now you can tour volcanic regions, ice zones, cities, and savannahs.
There are plenty of new hazards about, including boulders that come rumbling across the road and birds, helicopters, and UFOs that assail you from above.
The overall improvement is clear as day, yet I hesitate to say that I rank MR2 above its predecessor. The original has better music (not to say that the tunes in 2 aren't very good), and for some reason I view it as being slightly more enjoyable (likely
because its incredibly high fun factor took me by complete surprise, whereas I expected excellence from 2). Surely, most players will view the sequel as the superior episode. Regardless, this is one of those situations where buying both is undoubtedly the best course of
action. They both rule.
