If there IS one thing that the Nintendo 64 doesn't need, it's another racing game. Let's see Cruis'n USA (yuck!), Mario Kart 64, Extreme G, Multi Racing Championship, Top Gear Rally, Wave Race 64, Automobili Lamborghini, Diddy Kong Racing, geez! That's a lot for a system that only has 42 games. The Nintendo 64 did not really need this at all. Midway probably could've added more to this system with a sports game or an RPG. Yet with San Francisco Rush, Midway has managed to bring an enjoyable racing game to the market.

San Francisco Rush boasts eight cars and six tracks (plus mirrored, reversed, and mirrored and reversed). The biggest drawbacks of the game lie in the cars. With you having to nearly push the control stick to the left or right so hard that you break it to make a simple turn, the control can be frustrating. The brakes are pretty much extra gas pedals, and your car seems to blow up at the slightest touch. When you're racing and get behind, there's practically no way to catch up. Once you get used to it, though, it's not really bothersome. The tracks, however, are where the game shines. They are so far the biggest on the N64 and once you race a few races, you discover San Francisco Rush isn't really about racing at all. The exploratory nature of this game lifted it up from "average" to "good." There are dozens of shortcuts throughout these massive tracks. Plus the mirrored, reversed, and mirrored and reversed all have there own shortcuts so it feels like 24 tracks (sort of). If you manage to find them all, there isn't an opponent that can stop you. This is why the console version of SF Rush is better than the arcade version. Sure, the shortcuts were there in the arcade version but at $.75 to $1.00 per play, you most likely did not want to waste a few bucks finding some shortcuts. It needed a console version to bring this feature out to the world. In addition, the Nintendo 64 version added extra tracks and shortcuts.

The graphics are not as good as the Arcade version, that is to be expected. They do, do a nice job though. Frame rate keeps up even in two player version, you can control the fog as you wish, and the polygons rarely break. Sound effects are excellent as well. The music, well, turn on the radio. The AI is pretty good. Computer opponents sometimes use the shortcuts (although not often), and they crash a lot. They play fairly, and there's no cheat bursts of speed for them to catch you.

This is a good game. Midway, you'd be considered a good publisher if more games like this came out under your name. This isn't the best racing game on the N64 (that honor belongs to Wave Race 64), but for the price, it's a nice game.

Overall: 8.0