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San Francisco Rush 2049 (N64)
by dangaroo
San Francisco Rush 2049 is the 3rd Rush release on the N64, it was also released on the Dreamcast and in arcade format. The game is based in the future (as you have probably guessed unless you are reading this review in 39 years time!) and the graphics are quite impressive, having developed San Francisco into a futuristic sort of world ... that retains some of its current climate. The designs of the cars are also impressive and there's a bit of sci-fi feel to launching the cars up the famed hilly streets of San Francisco.
It's not an easy feat to beat the other drivers unlike in so many racing games and this gives the gamer more gameplay than you might get from other titles, there's a battle mode and also a stunt mode where you can get points for various manouevres during the hill launches but neither impress greatly.
I can't compare it to the previous editions of Rush because I've never played them but it's quite fun as a racing game, I'm not overly enamoured with the futuristic factor but if you like playing games that incorporate futuristic worlds then this may just be the game for you. I think that the courses or other racers could be a little more interesting, although there are a few nice touches when it comes to parts of the road that slow you down and accelerate you, there seem to be too many straight parts on the majority of tracks.
It is far from the complete article but the handling is not horrible and they've done a fairly good job of bringing an Arcade classic to the N64.
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Road Rash 64 (N64)
by dangaroo
Roadrash 64 is an enjoyable but rather violent game, it's not overly gory but it's not ideal for small children, it involves racing motorbikes through courses whilst trying to force other bikers off the road, into traffic, kicking them or beating them with weapons. None of the moves you can pull off are particularly amazing but you can ... easily start to have it in for another motorist and get quite enamored in trying to do him in!
It is a pretty old game and will reach the 15 year old mark next year, it hasn't aged that well, the graphics look unbelievably simple and the courses not very imaginative, traffic and police do liven it up a bit and I would say that despite its simplicity there is not only good gameplay but good multiplayer fun too.
There are a couple of strange things about the game, for example you can often have a similar crash, one will prove fatal whilst the other will see you restarting on the road again. When you do restart on the road, it's usually a matter of seconds before you catch up with the gang but you can never really get ahead of them more than a few seconds despite being seemingly quicker.
One of the most enjoyable things to do is hit a car full on and jump at the same time, it sees you launched into the air by a phenomenal distance, not really a good example for kids though obviously. The game is a bit basic and doesn't really seem particularly great but it was quite innovative in its day and for that reason I'm giving it a 4!
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Hot Wheels Turbo Racing (N64)
by dangaroo
Hot Wheels is a selection of toys that I remember from my youth, I can't say that I ever became more involved with them than watching adverts on the TV for them but they looked rather stylish. Hot Wheels Turbo Racing was released in 1999 and did a great job of transforming the vehicles into roadworthy computer game monsters of speed. ...
EA produced this novel computer game, the tracks are relatively easy to follow but if you find yourself facing the wrong direction, it can be a hassle to manouevre your vehicle back on track. The game proclaims that there are three ways to win - win the race, damage the other vehicles or get the highest tricks point tally.
When you master a high jump, you have the sudden ability to spin around as you float for a few moments seemlessly, the movement is not too dissimilar from in the 1080 snowboarding game available on the N64. Personally I prefer going for the tricks option, speed is relatively good too but damaging the other vehicles is a little tricky as you often seem to come off worse.
There are a couple of extra bonus tracks and vehicles to give you that feeling of a little something extra thrown in. Overall the tracks are imaginative and enjoyable, the graphics are pretty good but the colours of the cars and landscapes are a bit sickly, using lots of greens, purples and browns.
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