SAN FRANCISCO RUSH 2- Extreme Racing USA

It's been almost 2 years since I reviewed "San Francisco Rush". That game, in my eyes, was one of the greatest games ever created. For it's time period, it had everything. It had gobs awesome jumps, secret shortcuts, a decent assortment of cars, cool track designs, out of this world graphics, and options galore. Heck, the cars even took damage!! This game was definetely ahead of it's time period.

Well, that was then, and now is now. It's true that "San Francisco Rush 2" manages to improve on just about every aspect of it's predecessor. But it is also true that the stakes have been raised considerably in the past couple years. Games like "Grand Truismo", "Test Drive 5", "Need for Speed 3", "NFS High Stakes", and "R4" have managed to make this game look a little dated.

I'm not saying Rush 2 is a bad game by any means, it's just that it falls short is several areas now, and really isn't as revolutionary as it's first incantation. It is still a great game with loads of fun to be had. Just don't take it too seriously or it will fall far short of your expectations.

This game features 7 immediately selectable tracks, with the option to race them mirrored and backwards. It also has 3 special tracks.

The actual tracks are: "Alcatraz", "New York Uptown", "New York Downtown","Los Angeles","Las Vegas", "Seattle", and "Hawii". Like the first game, all are wonderfully designed, and are loaded with jumps, bumps, and secrets. This time there are even loops to perform. I really can't fault the track designs. They are all pretty cool, and I liked them alot. Sometimes they were a little too colorful for me, but the actual design was pretty cool. I can't say they improve tremendously over the original, but they still are improved.

The special tracks are: "Half Pipe", "Crash", and "Stunt". The special tracks are suitably named, so guessing what they are is a no brainer. These tracks can be pretty cool at times, and they are definetely a welcome addition. I still think they could've been implemented better though. Spending several minutes in the air after a large jump on the stunt track track may be someones idea of fun, but it is not mine. I liked the ability to perform tricks and stunts, but at times it was awkward. I first seen a mode like this in the underrated "Club Drive" from Atari, and still feel it was done better there. Nonetheless. These tracks are basically a bonus, so I cannot complain too much.

Graphically, the game isn't much better then the first game. That's isn't bad, but like I said before, this is a new age now. The blurred anti-aliased look was cutting edge a few years ago. Now it is tiresome. I much perfer the sharp graphics of Playstation (with jaggies), over the blurred look which is so prevalent on the N64. Little things that went unnoticed before seem to stand out now. Reuse of game graphics, and textures, on the N64 really show. The cartridge format is just too limiting to developers. Another thing I didn't like was how colorful this version is. It's like they really tried to make it stand out. Problem is that it was overkill. Tends to make it look a little unrelistic. Still, despite these flaws, it does look good overall. There is still plenty of lighting effects, and it still has a fair amount of detail. I really like the reflections off the cars. It's just not "cutting edge" as in the first game.

As far as sound goes, well, it sucks! Of course sound definetely is not one of the N64's strong points. If you have only been playing Nintendo games, well, it will sound about average to you. If you alternate between Playstation, and N64 games like I do, you will not like the sound. More of a system problem then a developer problem, but nontheless it is worth mentioning.

Before writing this, I read my review of the original "Rush". I couldn't believe how I raved about the great control of the cars. This game controls almost exactly like the first, but let me tell you that is not good. I must've gotten spoiled by all the other big name racers (GT, TD5, NFS, ect..), because this game pales in comparison. The game does have many different car types, with various handeling traits, but none of them live up to the standard today. Two years ago, this was a handeling dream. Today, it stinks.

Playability is where this game shines. The jumps, loops, and secrets make this game a sheer joy to play. I just love jumping over buildings and such. It can be a really fun game at times. This full flight feature (which is still exclusive to this game), makes this a game you will play again and again.

Overall, this is still a pretty good game, just not a ground breaker. Had the control been tweeked, and a little more attention been paid in other areas, it would've been a top title. As it is, it is above average, but not on my favorite list. Still I recommended it for it's unique tracks, and great fun factor.

RATINGS
GRAPHICS 80%
SOUND 75%
GAMEPLAY 85%
ORIGINALITY 87%
REPLAY VALUE 80%
OVERALL 81%