1980s
Road Blasters
1987 · Racing / Shooter · Arcade
Overview
Road Blasters is a classic 1980s racing / shooter game developed by Atari for Arcade.
Deep Dive
Road Blasters is a classic 1980s racing / shooter game developed by Atari for Arcade.
Developer Story
Road Blasters was developed by Atari Games in 1987. Players drove an armed car through 50 levels of increasingly difficult traffic and enemies, collecting fuel to continue. The game used a combination of sprite-scaled graphics and a fixed horizon to create a convincing sense of speed. It was one of the last major games developed at Atari before the company's decline.
Did You Know?
- Road Blasters offered 50 levels — an unusually large amount for an arcade game, designed to give location operators weeks of sustained play.
- Fuel management was central — missiles and bombs from enemy aircraft reduced fuel, while refuelling cars provided it back.
- The weapon attachment system — collecting UZ Cannons and Nitro Injectors that attached to the car — gave the game a customisation element.
- The game's forced perspective road was a technical achievement using Atari's hardware to maintain frame rate across 50 distinct environments.
