There is something to be said about a good bottle of wine, especially one shared between soulmates. Sadly, that wine loses some of its luster when one of those soulmates has been told they’ll never walk again.
And although it would have been nice if all of those doctors were proven wrong, and we were awarded millions of thousands of dollars in a malpractice lawsuit, she’ll never walk again. And that sucks, because she liked walking.
However this provided us with ample time to lounge around and play free internet-based arcade games, a pastime I have quickly grown to love. I also grew to despise it for a few moments while trying to play The Electric Yo-Yo, a 1982 release from Taito America Corporation. That game sucks. But I rallied and fell back in love when I fired up Burnin’ Rubber from Data East, which was also released in 1982. The year of the fedora.
Burnin’ Rubber is pretty great. A simple racer-esque title that has you careening through the tracks in some sort of infinite-race realm while forcing other drivers off the road to their fiery dooms and trying to avoid the same fate. Cars bounce around like crazy upon impact, so this isn’t always easy-peasey. Add to that the groundbreaking ability to jump over gaps, or to avoid massive collisions, and you have one super awesome racing game. Although I don’t think you are actually racing so much as committing savage acts of gross vehicular homicide.
It reminds me of a one cold and lonely autumn afternoon from so long ago… But that’s a story for another time.
So if you find yourself with a bedridden soulmate and nowhere in particular to go, give Burnin’ Rubber a shot. It might just rev you up.
