Review: Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA (N64)

Graphics- 9/10
Sound- 4/10
Gameplay- 8/10
Replay Value- 7/10
Overall- 7.5/10

Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA is what the title says...Rush 2. The game is good but doesn't do much to improve on the original formula. The main difference is that it isn't "San Fransisco" it's "USA." The game is slightly better than the first thanks to a few improvements.

Ah yes, Rush 2. Rush re-released, only this time it was exclusively for the N64. You can just read my review for the original game and understand this game. The game is generally the same with some minor improvements. I got this game because, as I mentioned before, Rush was amazing to me at the age I got it. If you can follow that logic to me Rush 2 would have been phenomenal. Well it's not. There are many great features in this game such as the graphics. Once again the level of detail that went into this game is out of this world for an N64 game; and this is really shown off when you drive through a city. Once again the cars themselves look really good and life-like. The cars look good until you crash into something that is, because once again the collision damage is terrible. No matter where you get hit the damage will be in the same place. If you are hit in the front the damage will show up in the back, as well as the front. If the collision damage really bothers you, you could ram straight into a wall instead of crashing into and bouncing off. However you might actually do this a few times because the explosions look really cool, unrealistic (like the air time), but cool nonetheless. There is an improvement as far as cars go and that is the ability to customize cars. This feature is heavily pushed in the game and can really make or break you in a race.

While the graphics stayed the same, one major change was the music. In the original Rush the music was abysmal. While the music still sucks out loud it is a great improvement from what it was before. The music is still weird Techno-Reggae mix with bizarre screaming at points. I would still recommend muting your television set, but if for some reason you can't you can wait longer before smashing your skull in than you could before. While the music obviously isn't the greatest part, it's pretty obvious what is...the shortcuts/stunts. These two elements make the game what it is and the shortcuts are what the game is know for. There is once again a heavy emphasis on shortcuts, although it may be slightly less than before, it's hard to judge. Unlike the shortcuts the stunts are dramatically different in this game. While you still get unrealistic air time there is a course designed specifically for stunts and this is the best part of the game by far. The countless hours that I spent driving around that large and rather nicely laid out course is unreal. On top of that playing the stunt course on multilayer is even better because you are given points based on your stunts (the system is pretty straight forward.) I remember one time my friend I were playing and trying to get the highest air time. I got an 18, which was the highest any of us had gotten at the time, so I was pretty cocky... only to see my friend land a 24 air time with two seconds left. I did manage to get a 28 later, and that record still stands today. As you can see this can be pretty damn entertaining. To contrast that the worst part is Midway decided to get rid of "It's Dangerous!" What the Hell?!?! However, the game is relatively the same as before. If you don't like the sound of the stunts aspect, then don't buy this game... unless you want different courses for San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing.

Pros: Stunt course, Graphics, Shortcuts, Exaggerated gravity.
Cons: No "It's Dangerous," Collision damage graphics, Same as before.

Review: Dan