The first thing you will notice about Roadkill is that it's a blatant rip-off of Grand Theft Auto 3. They don't even try to hide that fact. It's so copy-cat that it's almost embarrassing. But given that fact, I have to admit that Terminal Reality did a damn fine job of it. Copy-cat or no, this is a darn fun game.

Gameplay:

The cities aren't quite as expansive as GTA 3's are, and you can't get out of your car. But after playing this game for almost 70 hours, I don't want to get out of my car. The vehicle combat in this game is a blast, and at times had me laughing my ass off. There's nothing more satisfying than blowing the crap out of an armoured Sentinel truck with a salvo of cluster rockets and hearing the dying screams of the crew, or tagging a car for an air strike and watching it drive down the road completely unaware that in about four seconds it's going to be vaporized from above. Whereas in GTA 3 all you could do was run from those pursuing you like a wimp-ass and try to get to those stars that would get them off your tail, in Roadkill you face them head-on in all-out war with a vehicle modified to carry multiple weapons of destruction. And that's what this game is really about: war. Various gang factions fight against each other, you, and the cops for domination of their respective cities (the cops are really just another gang masquerading as police). You, a lone warrior of justice (sort of, when you're not killing and blowing up innocent people), lead a one-man crusade against the most nefarious and ruthless of the ganglords in three different cities. You do this by forming a temporary alliance with one ganglord in each city and helping him eradicate the worst of the opposition. But make no mistake; there is no moral posturing in this game. There are no ''good'' gangs battling the ''evil'' ones. All of them are composed of ruthless, lawless murderers who just want everyone else dead. But Mason (the main character, you) is a shrewd customer who sees the benefits of having an ally in this post-apocalyptic war zone. You know the saying: you've got to keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer.

Each city has a mission thread (the story) composing the backbone of its gameplay. You embark on each mission by driving onto a marker located somewhere in the city. But where the fun really lies is in the various mini-games and challenges each city offers, also represented as markers on the city map. There is jump, sniper, killing spree, delivery and race challenges to name a few. But undoubtedly the funniest and most appealing of the challenges is what is called Rioting. When you drive through a Riot icon or just start killing lots of people, the city goes into a Riot state, which means all-out war. It's you against the cops and pretty much everyone else in a war of survival that can go on forever as long as you don't blow up and don't let the Riot meter run down by slacking off in your death dealing. The challenge is in making the Riot last as long as you can in order to better your previous time. This is also the best way to earn money, since money is earned by collecting the salvage parts of the vehicles you destroy. Long Riots will increase your street reputation meter, which builds your private gang of thugs that hang out around your garage and help you in the fight. There is nothing funner in this game than zooming around the city, blowing the crap out of the cops, running over people, collecting salvage parts, and just generally raising hell. If you are killed, you loose all your weapons, but none of your cash, which is cool.

The missions are fun too, but I felt they were the one area of the game that was a bit lacking. Some of the missions are lifted right out of GTA 3. This didn't really bother me, but I often had the ''been there, done that'' feeling that kept the experience from being fresh. Also, some of the missions are ridiculously easy, some extremely difficult, and some leave you saying, ''what, that's it?'' But they do move the story along well and introduce the player to some truly hilarious characters. It is also in the missions that the player is shown what a dark and scary place the world has become. This is worse than Mad Max or Thunderdome, folks. The world of Roadkill is a place of pure insanity where you could receive a slug to the head any moment simply because you are there. There is absolutely zero respect for human life. It gave me a creepy feeling.

Aside from its fun-as-hell car combat, the one characteristic of this game that distinguishes it the most is its extreme adult content. Seriously folks, this game should have been rated AO for adults only. It is chuck full of hardcore violence, sexual references, and severe language. The f-word is used liberally. A couple of the talk radio stations get downright pornographic in their conversations. I heard stuff in this game that I never, ever thought I would hear in a video game. Surprisingly, there is no nudity save for a couple of blurry billboards. If I ever had any doubts that video games were moving in a more adult direction, this game shattered them. I'm surprised it hasn't caused a national scandal. Folks, it won't be long before we're playing games that are the equivalent of rated R movies, with complete freedom in the sex and language departments.

The game strives to offend in any way it can, so if you are of a delicate sensibility, be forewarned. From the blood that splatters the camera when you nail someone with your car, to the talk show host that rambles on about rounding up all the homeless people and killing them, to the donut shop sign that shows a picture of a leaky anus, this game pushes all the limits. It's all done in a tongue-in-cheek style that conveys the message that although the material may be offensive, the developer is giving you a smile and a wink and letting you in on the joke. In other words, everything is so over-the-top that you can't truly be offended, because it's just so ridiculous. This game made me laugh harder than I have ever laughed while playing a video game, and if it can do that, I know it's doing something right. If I actually saw a whole group of cops get electrocuted to death, I would be horrified. But doing it in this game with a car that shoots lightning bolts, while hearing the cops scream ''that's illegal!'' is just gut-wrenching funny, and worth my fifty bucks any day.

Control for the cars in Roadkill is dead on. Roadkill offers perfect arcade-style vehicle control, and there are multiple control configurations to cater to different preferences, including one which enables the player to use only the analog sticks. Some of the vehicles are so lightweight that their control can be a tad frustrating, but that's the price you pay for speed and mobility. The only gripe I have with the default control configuration is that the black button is used to drop your rear-mounted weapon. It's not a big deal; it's just that the left corner of my right thumb started getting a little sore.

Roadkill offers a decent variety of weapons, but the problem is that many of them are useless, because there are a chosen few that are so effective. For example, the game offers several rear-dropped weapons, but one of them, a regular bomb that looks like an orange soda can, is so effective at clearing your six that it's pointless to use any of the others. There are various mines you can drop, but they require a few seconds to arm themselves, and when you've got a pig right on your ass, that does you no good. Of the forward mounted weapons, cluster rockets, twister rockets, and the cluster gun do the job so well that I pretty much find myself ignoring all the other forward weapons. The homing missile is cool, but it takes too long to fire. The air strike is awesome, but difficult to obtain and has a delay of about five seconds. The BGM, a camera guided missile, is fun to use but you forfeit control of your vehicle when you fire it. I'm not saying the weapons in the game are dumb, I'm just saying that there are a few that are so effective and easy to use that in practical terms it leaves the others out of the picture.

Graphics:

I found the graphics in the game to be very satisfying. Where you will notice the quality of the graphics the most is in the detail of whatever vehicle you have chosen to drive. Buildings are just buildings, and streets are just streets, but the vehicles look good, and so do the weapon and explosion effects they give birth to. There is a surprising amount of detail in the pedestrian models, which you will notice when you get the sniper rifle. I did notice some pop-in with police blockades, but it's nowhere near as bad as the pop-in was with GTA 3, and it doesn't hinder gameplay. The damage that occurs to your vehicle as you fight through a Riot looks surprisingly convincing. In this day and age, graphics are getting so realistic that it's not really an issue worth talking about anymore. You can just assume the game is going to look good.

Sound:

Roadkill offers an excellent audio experience to back up its visual display. The various radio stations you can listen to are enough to give the game an A in the audio department. There is much more material than GTA 3's radio stations offered, and it's funnier. The game offers a truly awesome musical soundtrack, catering to most tastes. But sorry, country bumpkins, nothing for you. The talk show stations are a blast to listen to as the hosts ramble on about sex, cars, weapons and politics. I often turned the sound effects of the game way down so I could hear the radio stations better as I played.

All three cities are alive with sound. The pedestrians you pass have plenty to say. The sound of stray gunfire is a constant. Sounds effects for firing weapons and explosions are well done and help to deliver the experience. The lightning bolt weapon has no sound effect, but I think they did this on purpose so you could better hear all the dying exclamations of the peds you are electrocuting. The WHOOSH of a rocket flying by your ear tells you that you're being shot at by some idiot with a rocket launcher. A good example of how the sound in the game really enhances gameplay is when you are being pursued by cops. You don't even need to use the lookback button because you can always tell when a cop is right on your ass from the sound of its engine and the hollow thunk of bullets bouncing off the body of your car. You can drop that rear-mounted bomb and continue on your way without even glancing behind you, and the massive explosion you hear will tell you that cop is no longer on your tail. I love games that use audio cues to help you play them.

Longevity:

Roadkill offers a truly impressive quantity of unlockable vehicles. Some of the vehicles are unlocked by finding blueprints and parts stashed throughout the city; others are unlocked by completing challenges. They're not all worth it, but the selection is large and everyone is bound to find a few cars they really like. They range from the slow and heavily armoured to the extremely fast and lightly armoured, with some nice compromises in between. Personally, I really like the Sanford, which is a modified version of a classic Chevy truck, probably '56 or '57. It's not a very fast vehicle, but it looks cool as hell and can take some punishment. Certain vehicles have certain gang affiliations, so if you take one of those vehicles into the territory of a rival gang, you're going to get attacked. But don't worry, there's none of that one-rocket-hit-and-you're-dead bullshit that plagued GTA 3. You will have ample opportunity to fire back and smear the road with their carcasses. If you're really a glutton for punishment, hop in one of the vehicles the cops drive. You'll find that suddenly nobody likes you very much. There is a shop in each city that offers several upgrades to your vehicle, and the upgrades get more expensive with each city you visit. This is why it's important to start Riots and collect as many salvage parts as you can, which translate into cash.

Round up:

So how much gameplay value does Roadkill have to offer? I'll put it this way: I've been playing the game for over 70 hours, and I still haven't completed it 100 percent (the game tracks your time and your completion percentage). I'm not sure what I have left to do, but I know there are a few cars I have yet to unlock and at least a couple of weapons I haven't found yet. There is a lot to do, and some of the challenge lies in figuring out what you need to do to unlock stuff. I guess it's time to hop in my Sanford and do some more cruising, and maybe kill some old people along the way! According to my stats, I've killed 346 old people, 850 prostitutes, and 13,988 cops! If that doesn't say fun, I don't know what does.