
Excitebike 64

If you've been playing videogames as long as I have, you should have no problem remembering back to the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System and, more specifically, to a little classic called Excitebike. The 2D side-scrolling racer, while simplistic in design, was one of the very best games the system had to offer thanks to clever and addictive gameplay mechanics that did their best to mimic reality despite the limits of the technology. It looked great for the time, felt great for the time, and was a whole lot of fun.
Now Nintendo has contracted developer Left Field Studios (Kobe Bryant's NBA Courtside) to create the 64-bit update to the Excitebike franchise. The California based software house has not only perfectly recaptured the spirit of the classic for this jaw-dropping N64 adaptation, but upraised a fantastic 3D engine around it, and doused everything with buckets of wonderful new extras too. Extras like a superb physics engine, unequaled graphics, deliciously deep control, a tempting four-player mode, dead-on audio and enough courses and bonuses to keep gamers racing happy for a long time to come. All of this comes together for what IGN64 feels is the best Nintendo 64 racing experience to be had thus far, rivaling Nintendo's own Wave Race 64.
Features
* Track editor enables players to build courses from scratch with plenty of jumps, tabletops and dips.
* 20 tracks with six stadium, stunt tracks, and six outdoor rally tracks.
* Realistic physics engine.
* Authentic rider animations for crashes, jumps and knocks.
* More than a dozen outrageous tricks.
* Several types of motorbikes.
* Adjustable camera angles for capturing the best racing and stunt action.
* Four-player simultaneous support.
* 4MB Expansion Pak compatible for optional high-resolution mode.
* Licenses include Bell Helmets, Thor, Scott USA, Shoei, and FMF.
* Classic Excitebike included.
Excitebike is one of Nintendo's classic franchises so developer Left Field Studios had a lot to live up to when creating this 64-bit sequel. The good news is that it only takes 10 minutes with this game to know that the team at Left Field has done its homework. Excitebike 64 not only lives up to the classic it was inspired by, it takes it all to the next level with a fantastic 3D engine, delightfully realistic physics, intuitive control, brilliantly detailed graphics, ingenious subtleties and tons of options. An excellent selection of varied tracks will keep the single-player mode going strong and multiplayer nuts will go wild over the Up Hill Climb, Soccer, and Stunt Track modes. This game has it all.
Simply put, Excitebike 64 and Wave Race are the best racing games available for Nintendo 64. If Left Field can pull this off for Nintendo 64, I can't wait to see what it has in store for Dolphin! Snap this one up right now.
9.7 ( 1 of the Top 10 Games for the N64 )
Review ID: 10000000005780728

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