airborne!įor that's the first thing that you will notice about SF Rush (actually, I tell a lie, the first thing you'll notice is probably the graphics, but more on that in a moment). well, a race game (there's a bit of a clue in the title I guess). Of course, in a game where every hill or ramp can launch you into an impromptu shortcut, not much is predictable. It randomizes these courses each time you restart the circuit, so you're never quite sure what you're getting into. This mode takes the game's six basic tracks and reverses them, mirrors them, then reverses and mirrors them into 24 variations. The meat and potatoes of SF Rush is its Circuit Mode, which is made up of 24 tracks that you progress through by acquiring points. The harder your turn, the more it rumbles. Your joypad not only rumbles with each fender-bending impact, it also vibrates when you take tight turns. And while you may not get the force-feedback steering wheel of the coin-op, SF Rush is Rumble Pak-compatible.
With this mode activated, all autos that crash and burn during a race will stay wrecked, forcing you to dodge their flaming husks each time you round the course. Other console-exclusive features include a new view of the action, split-screen for two players and the optional Death Mode.
The game packs six tracks in all, three of which aren't from the arcade version. They all follow the same physics models used in the late-'8os arcade classic Hard Drivin', except now you can power-slide by using the handbrake or dropping into reverse (don't try that at home). Speaking of cars, SF Rush give you more than eight to choose from. Even rooftops and sewers are fair game if you have the right car and an inclination to leave the beaten path. There are very few places you can't take your car in this game, and shortcuts-most of which cut across fields and down side streets-are everywhere for the adventurous driver. You get all the landmarks (i.e., the Golden Gate Bridge), all the soupy weather (although you can change the level of fog at the Options Screen) and, most importantly, all the car-flingin' hills.Īnd with the hills comes the same go-anywhere gameplay that makes the coin-op so freakin' fun. Sure, they had to take out some of the tiny details, such as a few trees, yet never for a minute do you think you're racing anywhere but the City by the Bay. That said, SF Rush looks pretty close to arcade perfect. San Francisco's a foggy place as most N64 owners will agree, if there's one thing their system can do well, it's fog. First, the N64's SGI-supercharged graphics engine can mimic most of the effects pumped out by the coin-op's 3Dfx-based hardware. It makes sense to port the arcade hit San Francisco Rush to the Nintendo 64 for two reasons.