Previous Next

Question: How do you get ahead in this game? Answer: You pick it up off the shockway.

Yeah, this is one game of really mindless, gutsy, bloodthirsty violence (so why did I score so badly?). It's all about spoiling innocent civilians' Sunday afternoon strolls on the moving walkways round the city. Not only spoiling them, but knocking seven kinds of whatever out of them while you're at it.

The overall effect is rather like rush-hour on the tube.

Some of the local yokels are just as bad as you are, noggin on the pavement. In true yobbo tradition, the opposition can be eliminated with uppercuts, bottles and bricks.

So can innocent bystanders. All disintegrate with appreciable clouds of naive smoke and appropriate guiltless noise, even the punks.

Some berks are dumb enough to sit in your way: they should get what's coming to them (...another one bites the dust, hey hey).

When the wrong one, that is you, gets decapitated (head hits the sidewalk, blood trickles in thick rivulets), all vigilantes present turn and do a creditable "Yar boo sucks" gesture in your general direction. This doesn't help us sore losers any

As you progress through the mess of freshly debodified heads, things get trickier. Some bright spark decides it's a fun thing to build razor-edged barriers across the shockway. Not being an exponent of the ancient art of limbo dancing, you get de-nutted on impact (that means yer head, mate).

In the demo, targets flash by on the higher levels. In practice, it takes a while to get that far. I didn't make it. Any way you do it, etiquette practically dictates that you make a complete circuit of the city, and if the devil doesn't take the hindmost, the shockway riders certainly will.

Sounds like the scenario of the walkways in Asimov's Caves of Steel, except more gruesome and there aren't so many cops. There only being all of three lanes, you don't get a lot of room to manoeuvre in, so you timing is critical. Mine is terrible.

Amazingly smooth scrolling on this; not a hint of flicker, even while changing lanes or passing people. And I love the spare heads, heavily garnished with tomato ketchup. Once mastered, this one is going to brighten up the lives of many a potential jaywalker, mugger, thug, punk...

Yuk! This game is sick, putrid, rank, foul and in the worst possible taste. If CRL's Dracula was awarded a 15 Certificate then this wouldn't pass an 18. The idea of half a skull laying on the moving walkway is horrid. And yet despite my revulsion I returned for more.

The catchy tune, bright graphics and addictive qualities had me going for days. I am ashamed to admit that I enjoyed playing this game. Buy it, if only to disgust your parents.

Imagine Infodroid in 3D and you get an idea of what Shockway Rider is about. Out goes the strategy and planning, in comes the gore.

Travel around the city of the future avoiding muggers but earning bonus points for lobbing the odd half brick at an unsuspecting granny. Later you graduate to mail bags and target practice. Throwing missiles across the tracks is a difficult skill to master, and not needed until the later levels. Ideologically unsound, actually very good.