You're right, I liked the series back before they decided to add powerups and stuff to it...but it still looks a lot better than the last few Road Rash games I played.
The 32-bit Road Rash was really great, too. The graphics were a little bit too "cardboard cut-out" at first, like Road Rash 3, but eventually you got used to it.
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I'll brave the storm to come, for it surely looks like rain...