Cruis'n World

"The notorious arcade racer gets it's own N64 port. Does that make it better?"

Cruis'n World has been one notorious arcade game, appearing in restaurant and cinema arcades all over the world (pun intended). This rather shallow racing game appeals to the casual player, but is not favored by the seasoned racing gamer. However, Cruis'n World has been ported to the N64, loaded with all sorts of new features. Is it worth buying the N64 game after all?

Cruis'n World is a basic arcade racer in which players drive from point A to point B while beating the opponent cars. Each race is not that long and lasts about a minute and a half, and the game's forgiveness means that bunches of wrecks will never put down the omnipotent automobile. The game is a sequel of Midway's Cruis'n USA and has a whole new selection of tracks (about 16 in all) which take place all over the world, from Russia to England to China, and a pile of automobiles, ranging from Humvees to VW Beetles to other miscellaneous sport cars. Performance-wise, each car performs nearly the same, so there is no need to get picky on what to choose. This sequel implements some interesting stunts, such as back flips and barrel rolls, which reward the player with a time boost. Lastly, there are stereotypical turbo boosts given to cars just to give players the thrill of doing wheelies at 180 mph.

The N64 port capitalizes on all of the above, plus more. Players have multiple profiles and a nice menu to choose all the nice modes. Players can recreate the arcade experience by racing single races or by partaking in the “Cruis'n the World” mode, which makes players race from Hawaii, going west and finishing races in first to move on. This mode of gameplay is not necessary to the overall completion of the game, but it gives gamers something to do.

This port managed to add a whole lot of new features besides the basic Arcade mode. The new Championship mode remakes all the original arcade courses with a new layout into circuit courses, as opposed to the point A-to-B courses from the arcade. The new courses use the same details and textures as the originals. They are hardly worth an applause, since there is a lack of a course map, and the races feel the same, except drivers pass by the same places multiple times in a race.

The Championship mode makes players race these courses again and again in an attempt to beat the other drivers. The goal is to win races and do tricks to earn points. The N64 version incorporates a point system. By getting more points, players will unlock new “power levels,” which will increase the speed of all cars each time. Also, there are the paint job modes, which allow players to change the colors of any automobile they have. Eventually, more difficult championships will be at the player's disposal, so more points can be accessed each race.

The N64 version has access to more vehicles which can be unlocked “Goldeneye-style” by completing time trials within the specific time limit. These cars were un-playable in the arcade version, but only now can players drive an ambulance, police car, school bus, minivan, generic antique British car, etc. in the world of Cruis'n World. As noticed, some cars will require those power levels to have a shot at unlocking those cars. The only problem with this is the odd arrangement in which the cars may be unlocked. For instance, some cars can be unlocked very early in the game, but some crucial civil vehicles, such as the school bus, can only be unlocked after much work put into gaining those points so that the appropriate power level is unlocked. Still, those new cars make the game more fun to play.

But really, the main qualm with the gameplay is that you are doing the same-old, same-old again. You turn left, you turn right, you do a backflip off a ramp, you get a handful of points. Basically, besides all of the new cars and tracks and features, the racing is basically the same as Cruisn' USA, except maybe it's worse since it relies too much on gimmicks than actual driving talent. You'll hardly have to brake on turns (unless you're going 200 mph at some point), and the only "challenge" you'll get out of the game is wresting with other cars and traffic, which will ram into you and cause many annoying spinouts. And when doing Time Trial Mode, you'll realize that it's not difficult at all because there's no need for technical driving. All in all, I believe this dries up the gameplay a bit too soon.

Graphics-wise, this game is good. The cars look good and move fluidly as the driver sways from left to right trying to avoid traffic and street lights. The cars do look stiff however in the event of a crash or stunt, as the car just moves around, following a specific animation, and then straightening out again. Some of the courses look very good. For instance, Russia does a good job of displaying the Kremlin and the industrial district. China involves driving on the Great Wall, which is cool as well. But some courses look bland. For instance, Hawaii involves driving by some stereotypical jungle most of the race, only stopping to drive through an underwater tunnel, which is only interesting for a while. Other courses, particularly those new circuit courses, do not change environments that much, and it can get boring passing by the same old textures again and again.

The sound in this game is alright. The engine and tire sounds come off well, but it is nothing new at all. The music, on the other hand, is pretty unique. Some rock and pop music come off as catchy and fit the courses well. For instance, the China and Japan courses have oriental music and the Mexico course has a funky Hispanic beat. After a while though, the music will get to the player, especially when doing those Championship races multiple times just to earn enough points for the next power level.

This game boasts up to four-players on split-screen multiplayer. Each player can participate in the same Championship race and earn points for their profile. The framerate holds up for the most part, but the game itself may grow weary and players may want to play something else.

Is this a good game? Even with all of the features, the game still boasts the same, simplistic arcade racing that has plagued all of Midway's arcade racers. It depends on the gamer's taste. Rent the game and see if the racing is fun or not. If the player doesn't enjoy it the first time, it's going to be unenjoyable after the thousandth race around Italy in trying to earn those darn points . . .

Presentation: 8/10 -- The game looks great and the menus get the job done. No problems here.
Gameplay: 6/10 -- Tons of unlockables, but the racing is not as impressive as other racing games.
Graphics: 7/10 -- Good-looking vehicles, but some of the courses lack creativity.
Sound: 7/10 -- The sound effects are okay, but the music fits its setting well. Though that music can get annoying after a while.
Replay Value: 5/10 -- Spend a large amount of times gaining points and unlocking all of the automobiles. However, once that is done, the game's racing sequences become redundant after a while and the game will be laid to rest. Multiplayer racing may be fun for a while until the other players fall to the same fate.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/27/05, Updated 07/09/09

Game Release: Cruis'n World (US, 08/31/98)