Remembering classic games: Rogue Trip Vacation 2012 (1998)

If you’re looking at this PlayStation-exclusive arena-based vehicular combat game and wondering why the title above doesn’t have the words ‘Twisted’ and ‘Metal’ in there, then you’ve got a good eye. After a messy contract dispute with Sony, Twisted Metal developer Singletrac left to create this spiritual sequel. And the spirit in question appears to have been an unlicensed blend of moonshine, gunpowder and gasoline.

Set in a post-apocalyptic 2012, Rogue Trip turned a series of US locations into warzones as you tore around the place unloading a barrage of explosives at your opponents. Predictably, it played a lot like Twisted Metal, only with tighter, less drifty handling which made it easier to draw a bead on a rival car.

As you’d expect, there was a colourful collection of heavily armed vehicles to choose from. The loose connective tissue was a satire of Americana, whether that’s a Sunday school bus driven by a scantily clad nun, an alligator wrestler in a modified airboat or a 1967 Chevrolet Bel Air piloted by an overweight Elvis impersonator.

The pièce de résistance was a hotdog themed Weinermobile-inspired car called Meat Wagon, driven by a character called Dick Biggs, whose special ability was smashing opponents flat with a gigantic fibreglass sausage. Had he not died some 59 years before the release of this game, Freud would have had an absolute field day.

And if you’re still wondering about the slightly confusing vacation theming, it’s because the Rogue Trip added a unique wrinkle to the gameplay to keep you occupied. In every map there was a tourist who, once collected in your vehicle, could be ferried between photo opportunities to earn you extra cash, but made you the prime target. This is less Crazy Taxi and more Certifiably Insane Taxi.