| The
San Francisco Rush series has a bad reputation. The original
was famed for being a brainless mish-mash of impossibly twisty
turny tracks and not much else. I'd read all about the appalling
N64 conversion, and laughed heartily at the fuzzy, garish screenshots.
So when a demo for the third game in the franchise, San Francisco
Rush 2049, turned up on an Official Dreamcast Magazine cover disc,
I settled down and prepared myself for a good laugh.
But I was kind of disappointed, because it turned
out to be pretty bloody good. On the strength of that demo, I
sheepishly went out and picked the game up for some stupidly meagre
sum and I firmly believe that you should do the same. Here's why:
SFR2049 is crammed with different modes of play.
First off, there's the usual championship mode where you race
against a number of computer controlled opponents. Now and then
you pick up new parts for your car allowing you to experiment
with seemingly infinite combinations of engines, tyres, chassis
etc. These all make a significant impact on the handling of your
vehicle, and it takes some experimentation to find one which best
suits you.
Brrmmmmm, brmmmmm, weeeeeee.
The racing itself is suitably thrilling. With
a powerful enough car, the sense of speed and acceleration is
really quite something. To keep up the pace, Midway were brave
enough to do away with collision detection altogether in places.
Your car passes hauntingly through trees and road signs without
even slowing down. Hit a wall though, and you are, predictably,
dead.
But greatest of all are the retractable wings
fitted to all cars. Due to the nature of the tracks, you'll spend
a great deal of time up in the ozone – then a simple tap
of the B button will cause your wings to activate, allowing you
to glide through the air. And, if you're feeling suitably bombastic
enough, pull off some crazy stunts in mid air before hitting the
tarmac and tearing off down the track. Honestly, the feeling you
get when you needlessly barrel roll your car 50ft above your opponents
before landing perfectly in first place is one of the finest I've
had in any racing game. Of course, if you don't manage to land
on your wheels, you die horribly in a roaring, blistering automotive
furnace.
The tracks themselves are far more complicated
than first appear. Without giving too much away, you'll soon be
plummeting from the top of a skyscraper, shooting out of the top
of a mountain and jumping from the quayside onto a moving ferry.
Most of these moves are utterly useless for winning races but
are so much fun that it hardly seems important.
The sequel looks fucking ace.
The second play mode takes place in the stunt
arenas. Armed with the same cars, you are given a set time in
which to rack up as many points as possible. Think Tony Hawks
only much faster and you're someway there. Then there's battle
mode, which is a two players plus affair. Since I seem to be the
only person on the face of the earth who'd give SFR2049 the time
of day, I've never actually played it. Probably ace though.
SFR2049 is getting on a bit now, so graphically
you shouldn't expect too much. It is any ugly game, the textures
are rather bland and garish but, y'know, they do the job.
All in all, a bloody fantastic racer that everyone
should try. If you see it knocking about in Oxfam, do yourself
and them Ethiopians a favour and buy it, OK?
TMUK, February
2004.
RODENT CASH RATING -
£24.99
"Good fer a quick racer blast."
Comment
Here.
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Things to 'Make' and 'Do'.
A proper actual flying
car.
The other
thing San Fransico is famous for.
The California Gold
Rush - ooh what a blast!
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