This arcade conversion is a muscle-car racer with aerial jumps that blow away the now ancient-looking chase scenes in Bullitt, and fistfuls of secret alleyways, tunnels, jumps, and backroad shortcuts. San Francisco Rush is a driving game that puts the fun back in street racing. Based on the Hard Drivin' simulation of Atari Games fame back in the days of yore, SF Rush is an intelligently designed game that played well in the arcades and now plays extremely well in the home. There's a two-player head-to-head mode, and one player can get it on in the game's challenging six-plus courses.

COMMENT

Anyone who doesn't like this game is a maggot. Sorry, but it's true. Ed Logg and team developed this game with eight-point cars that can flip, twirl, spin, and still land on all four wheels and still win the race. It's a game of gusto and balls -- are you willing to chance the short-cuts to humiliate your friends, or die trying? You'll never know the true thrill of this game if you don't take the risks, which of course, are the real reasons for playing. Somewhere during development, Atari Games threw in these crazy golden keys, signaled by the call of a seagull. These keys lie in preposterous places throughout the somewhat simulated map of San Francisco and you must get them to achieve faster, more tricked out cars and new courses-- who ain't gonna want them? It's true what they say SF Rush is lacking in the music area. So simply turn off the music and keep the special effects turned on (which are just fine, if not a bit repetitive). The game is Rumble Pak Compatible, and is savable to either Controller Pak or the game. In the end, SF Rush is like a giant pissing match. It's a game that dares you to jump higher, drive faster, or find the improbable set of keys in order to lock secrets. There's nothing better than driving around knowing that you'll soon be taking flight over your opponents. And there's nothing better than SF Rush in the driving category for Nintendo 64. --Doug Perry

COMMENT

What can I say? I loved Rush in the arcades from the first time I played it, and I love it more on the N64. It might not be the most realistic racing game ever created, but that's not the point. True to its namesake, the game is all about the 'rush' that you get from screaming down the streets of San Francisco at break-neck speeds -- and it does the job remarkably well. I like my racers fast, but not if the tracks aren't worth driving on in the first place. Thankfully, Rush doesn't disappoint in that respect either. The course design is superb, and to top it all off, there are plenty of them to choose from, not to mention all of the extra goodies not found in the coin-op. Control-wise, Rush is spot-on, and the rumble pak support only adds to the experience. Having played the coin-op to death (it's all but burned into my retinas at this point), I can safely say that Rush does a commendable job of mimicking its big brother graphically, even though it's still a bit rough around the edges. As an N64 racer though, its looks are top-shelf material. The music is a little iffy, it's not really my style, and I doubt it will tickle the fancy of many of my fellow gamers either. Lots of 'oooooh-ing' and 'aaaaaah-ing' and funky tunes that really don't fit the driving action. Thank goodness there's an option to turn it off. Come to think about it, the music would have to be my sole major gripe about the game. If you've got a thing for arcade-style racing and want the best of the crop to stick into your 64-bit game box, I'd wholeheartedly recommend giving Rush a spin. --Randy Nelson

PRESENTATION 83% Tons of options, tracks and hidden stuff. GRAPHICS 76% Patented N64 blur-o-vision, but fast and smooth nevertheless. SOUND 42% God-awful tunes that your volume down switch was designed for, and hum-drum effects. GAMEPLAY 87% Very arcadey, with excellent handling and challenging AI. LASTING APPEAL 85% Loads of stuff to find and excellent two-player mode gives this months of play time.