Excitebike - Review

Author: Nanaki_Xii Date: May 10 2005 - 14:44 Score: 45 points

Quite awhile back someone had the bright idea of making a racing game involving motorcycles, quite a generic premises. But into the mold came the factor that made ExciteBike the little gem it is. It's custom course editor was mostly likely what inspired most other developers to allow the player more freedom, leading to today's extensive map editors. Even without it's through-and-through editor, ExciteBike is a generally fun game.

Graphics, doesn't look like much? Believe it or not, ExciteBike's "astounding" visual appeal was considered fantastic when it first arose, unlike most other NES games that would burn your retenas to the point of blinding pain. A nice color palette, and a few little effects put in here and there (the dust spraying as your bike lands from a jump) makes gives it a small jump to better graphical appearance. Although there is a lack of them, the animations are well done and get the point across, if your biker crashes, it looks like he crashes, not a confusing mass of limbs in a little 8 bit ball of vomit-tinted color.

Sound is also better than the average fare. Your motorcycle growls as you throttle it up, and the crashes give a satisfying crush. If you play this, and wonder "What in god's name is he talking about!?" then you should realize that in 1984 we were little above the beeps and bloops that originated from the atrocious sounds and "music" that originated from the arcade.

ExciteBike's editor is where it shines. Design your own courses, make them challenging, make them daring, make them cause several hernias to your innocent biker. A selection of ramps and terrain allow you to customize your track to your liking, if you want plenty of jumps, you can make it so. When you're actually driving your motorized monster, you'll have sufficient control over your acceleration and direction. You can either drive up or down, forward or back, (the screen scrolls, so you can't head far back) faster or slower. When racing, the other CPU racers provide enough of a challenge, although they do seem to like ramming into eachother and sprawling over the most simple obstacles. A better experience is playing with a friend, the sheer thrill of shoving your bike in front of his at the last moment sending him flying is simple but satisfying. A fun package, of joy and injury.

Ignore any negative user ratings, ExciteBike is a great entertaining joy ride, considered a classic by many. If you're looking for a short thrill, or looking for someway to express your creative genius on the editor, then try ExciteBike, it most likely won't let you down.

	Title / Type	Submitter	Date
	Review	Nanaki_Xii	May 10 2005

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