"Would you give out your telephone number to an arcade? I would for this game."

San Francisco Rush 2049 is the sequel to one of the best racing games out there, San Francisco Rush, and San Francisco Rush: The Rock. "Rush 2049" takes place fifty years from now and it's no different than before. You select a car, decided on whether you want automatic or manual transmission, and pick a course.

Big whoop, right? Ah, but Rush 2049 has some new quirks to the thing. First of all, you can play the tracks at different times of the day, and that does make a difference on performance, and how many competitors there are. Also, there's an option where you can, using a pin number or your telephone number, enter into a contest to get great prizes by being a member of "Team Rush." This also allows you to save your stats and see, for example, how many miles you've actually driven. The longer you drive, the more cars and courses are revealed.

What's really great about the arcade is the courses. It looks very futuristic, but not so futuristic that it doesn't look too unfamiliar. The courses have many, many more secrets. You may find yourself driving _over_ your competition! The graphics and sound is very well done, although I didn't like their choice of music to accompany each game. I also like the fact that the drones are much smarter this time around, and it's much harder to pass around them than in the original Rush.

The only real complaint about this game is that the cars all seem to be very cookie cutter-like cars with very little difference between looks, style, and driving conditions. Overall, through, it's a great game and worth selling your telephone number for.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99