Road Rash II

Road Rash II is the second game in a series of motorcycle-racing video games by Electronic Arts. It was released in 1993 for the Sega Mega Drive. It is based heavily on the engine and sprites of the first game. Road Rash II introduced several new features to the series, including bikes with nitrous oxide injection and varied weapons. It is hailed as the greatest of the Road Rash series by many.

The races took place in the U.S. states of Alaska, Hawaii, Tennessee, Arizona, and Vermont, on progressively longer two-lane roads. Races would be won by placing first, second, or third in each of the five tracks (as opposed to the first game, which would allow a victory by placing fourth as well). After all five tracks were won, the player would advance to the next level, where the track would be longer, the opponents faster, and much more money at stake for a victory or a loss.

The second Road Rash game introduced two major features to gameplay. One is the fighting system and the addition of a second weapon—the chain. Where in the first game one strong hit would deplete the opponent's life bar, in this game each weapon's attacks dealt a set amount of damage. The other main addition to gameplay is of bikes containing nitrous oxide injection, which allows the user's motorcycle to accelerate beyond its top speed for a short amount of time. This addition would continue throughout several games later in the series.

Source: Wikipedia, "Road Rash II", available under the CC-BY-SA License.