San Francisco Rush 2049

Even though Gran Turismo 3 may be the most in depth racer on the market, San Francisco Rush 2049 is by far the most addictive. Without a doubt San Francisco Rush 2049 not only redefines arcade racing games, but it rewrites the books on what you can and cannot do. This Dreamcast port brings everything you loved about the arcade game, and gives you so much more.

Unlike the original San Francisco Rush, this sequel is set 50 years in the future ... and now everybody drives strange rocket powered cars (that oddly don't go all that much faster). Though it was predicted that by 2049 California would be somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that hasn't daunted the makers of this game.

Essentially the Rush 2049 is the same as the original. The controls are pretty much the same. The graphics are better, but not great. And the sound is not spectacular. However the game DOES have a vastly improved set of courses with even more hidden routes.

If you haven't played the San Francisco Rush series you're in for a big treat. Unlike traditional racers, each of the tracks is literally littered with TONS of different routes. Even one player it's hard to tire of racing on each of the varied tracks.

If there is anything negative about the game it is the lack of an online mode. It does make up for this missing feature with a beautiful four player mode. Surprisingly the game does not lose too many frames of animation in this mode, something that plagued the Nintendo 64 counterpart.

There's a lot of hidden stuff here, but not a real easy way of saving your game. In fact, the game features, of all things, a password set up. Now, correct me if I'm wrong here, but isn't that supposed to be cleared up by me buying a $35 VMU?

Well, outside of that complaint there's no reason you shouldn't already own San Francisco Rush 2049. Even if you do not generally enjoy racing games, this one is different ... and it only gets better over time. So sit back, get your self some friends, toss on suicide mode, and get ready to lose track of time for a day or two.