Excitebike (NES) Reader Review

A humble beginning for one of the many new franchises Nintendo created for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Excitebike is a motocross racing title. First released in 1984, the game became popular with many NES owners, and has seen many iterations and enhancements through ports (such as a Game Boy Advance release), side-inclusions (as an unlockable game in Animal Crossing on the Gamecube) and remakes (like Mario Excite Bike, that was created for the Satellaview Super NES add-on). The Excitebike franchise saw a main sequel in Excitebike 64 on the Nintendo 64, and what most would deem as a spiritual sequel with Excite Truck on the Wii. The original game was made available on the Wii's Virtual Console service early last year for 500 Wii Points. Question is, is it worth your money?

Excitebike takes place on a 2D plane, racing from left to right. Your biker can move, with precise and responsive control, upwards, downwards, and slightly to the left and right of the screen to block other racers and to hit ramps. When in the air after hitting a ramp, you can correct your landing to ensure no loss of speed, and to help avoid other obstacles. You can use a boost at the touch of a button, although if the meter at the bottom overfills, you'll be forced to halt for a few moments, although running over one of the arrows on the track cools down the meter.
And that is pretty much what Excitebike is, bar a few modes. It's basic, but effective.

In the main one player mode, you're given a choice of Selection A and Selection B. A is a solo Time Limit race, and B is a race against other bikers, which adds an extra hazard; touch the back of one racer and you'll go flying, same rule applies to them.

There are a high number of tracks to race on, and this game uses a unique method of choice. Depending on where you end up in a Multi-biker race, you'll go onto the corresponding track for the next race (for example, come third, and you go onto track 3). Although this unusual method of track choice means that you have no choice in the matter, it keeps things interesting. Needless to say, when racing on your own, the track progression follows a more linear and traditional line.

As well as the regular tracks that the game offers, you can create your own. Dubbed the Design Mode, you can choose hills and obstacles of various sizes and where to place them. The player can also choose where to finish the lap, and how many laps there are (you can allow for up to nine). Once completed you can race on the track either alone or with other racers. Whilst this mode is quite simple, it can expand Excitebike's longevity by quite a bit, although the lack of any Multiplayer functions would limit any track to a confined enjoyment.

Graphically, the game is typical NES-fare. Everything moves at a steady pace, racers animate well, and menu choices are short, simple and to the point. There is an unfortunate lack of variety though, both in backgrounds and tracks. Not a dealbreaker as such, but certainly a downer.

The music for Excitebike is largely functional, although you'll only really hear it on the title screen; engine noise is all that accompanies races, and although it does sound authentic, the lack of proper music is a notable admission.

Through the track creator, number of regular tracks, and the respectable difficulty level, those that pick up this game will garner quite a few hours out of it. Excitebike is worth using a spare 500 points on if you like racing titles, and are looking for something a bit different.