I grew up playing tony hawk’s american wasteland on an original xbox. i was pretty young, so i wasnt very good, i spent most of my time off my board and spraying graffiti, hitting cars and other people with my skateboard when i could. it was definitely a low stress experience, and its the most experience ive had with skating games. but something about rollerdrome caught my eye, and i cant remember if it was the artstyle or the gameplay, but i ended up buying it (i believe it was $20 at the time) and beating the campaign in the same week. its rollerskating with guns, done very well with its tick system, its shooting, its arena and enemy design, and its soundtrack. i played it again about a week ago because i remembered that i never completed its harder, post-campaign mode that i was struggling with originally. before i returned, i replayed the main campaign because i wanted to revisit the lore of the game, the nuanced storytelling of putting the main character, Kara Hassan, in empty rooms filled with notes, magazines, schedules, and email terminals that tell enough of a story that left me satisfied by the end of the game. A game about playing in a bloodsport during a revolution against a company trying to privatize a police force.

I ended up beating the game’s harder mode a day after i returned. i played for a while, the game constantly produces feelings of high octane, high energy from the second you drop into an arena, and i blame part of it on the strong soundtrack. one of my only gripes with the game is that, after spending a week or two listening to the whole ost, some of the game’s remixes are kind of weak, especially compared to the original tracks, but what an amazing soundtrack nonetheless.

It is such a shame that the studio that produced this game was laid off earlier this year. i think it would’ve been hard to produce a sequel that could top this game, but i think i would’ve liked to see them try, and especially see if they continued the game’s story at all. this is a game made at just the right time, and will never be made again or followed up upon. A list that will continue to grow so long as people aren't valued as the artists they are.

-gopher