Developer: Midway Publisher: Nintendo Released: October 31, 1996 Genre: Racing
The wait for the Nintendo 64 was completely unbearable for me back when it was first announced. I love the SNES and the thought of a 64-bit version of that blew my mind. Of course the reality of its library was far from that but I digress. While the system was years away both Cruis’n USA and Killer Instinct offered a glimpse of what we were supposed to expect. When they debuted in the arcade they mind melting. But by the time the home ports arrived they were less impressive. Cruis’n USA especially suffered; one could even say it was only average to begin with. The N64 version is not a good game by any stretch and on a system with far too many racing games you can easily skip this one.
The game gives you a choice of four cars initially with a further three unlocked through cheat codes. The first four span the most popular car manufacturers at the time with a Corvette, Ferrari, Jaguar, and a Hot Rod as your choice. I wish I could say I noticed a difference between them but truthfully due to the game’s handling they all feel identical. By completing the Cruise the USA mode you can earn new colors and higher specced versions of the starting lineup but I can’t see anyone playing through this more than once, even for completionists sake.
Cruis’n USA is a cross country road trip across the United States, beginning in San Francisco and ending in Washington D.C. Along the way the tracks span a number of popular cities and locations such as the Grand Canyon, Chicago, Beverly Hills, and the Redwood Forests of California. There is a decent amount of variety in the lineup but the problem is the course design is absolutely boring. Most tracks are incredibly straightforward with few wide turns and no split paths. The tracks are split into easy, medium, and expert level courses and the game spreads them out liberally on the way to the finish. The expert courses like Grand Canyon feature narrow roads and higher traffic. More of this would have made the game significantly better. The advent of 3d elevated the quality of racing games significantly yet Cruis’n USA feels like it was designed for a 2d system.
Aside from the mundane level design the game’s handling is floaty. This is either a plus or a minus depending on your skill level. The controls are slippery with no feeling or resistance in turns. It makes it relatively easy to slide around the tracks but it does not feel satisfying. The game’s handling of collision is also questionable. I get that this is not a simulator but it is a bit ridiculous. I have crashed into roadside objects like trees and even buildings and aside from a brief spin came out at near full speed. Meanwhile a slight bump from incoming traffic or a rival car sent me flying. The inconsistency is annoying. Not that the game is hard; aside from the Redwood Forest track that comes early on I had no trouble coming in first no matter how badly I drove.
I can’t completely trash the game. For its time Cruis’n USA has more content than most of its racing peers. Fourteen tracks and multiple selectable cars is a lot, especially for a cartridge game. They recycle a lot of assets in every track; despite crossing the country you will recognize the same green roadside and city areas used throughout the game. But considering most racing games back then had three tracks and called it a day I’ll take this any day.
Cruis’n USA was a technical marvel when it hit arcades in 1994. Time was not kind to this one and by 1996 far better looking racing games hit the arcade and home consoles. The game’s draw distance is low; not as bad as Daytona on the Saturn but noticeable. The track-side detail is composed of low resolution sprites that are blurry and ugly. The framerate is all over the place and very inconsistent which makes no sense considering how little is going on. Don’t bother playing multiplayer as it is even worse. It is hard to think that this was once considered evidence of how great the N64 would be. Thank god the system would have better looking technical showpieces in short order.
In Conclusion
Ultimately Cruis’n USA is a bad port of a dated arcade game. If the N64 had released in 1995 as planned maybe Cuis’n USA would have been impressive. But in 1996, next to games like Wipeout XL it does not stack up. The N64 has too many racing games to bother with this one.
