Overview:

A little checkpoint to checkpoint racing game, Cruis’n USA takes you through 14 stages as you try to be the first person to reach the White House.  You’ll go through many California stages and, while driving in the Grand Canyon, will pass Mount Rushmore and end up in Iowa.  It’s a simple game that has a pretty bad history with me. 

Visuals:

The game’s visuals are weird.  As I said, it’s a very simple game and that shows in the track designs.  They’re just roads going through scenery with the occasional landmark popping up.  The car models look ok if not, you guessed it, simple.  You’ll have your choice between four generic cars based off of real cars: Corvette, Ferrari, De Luxe, and a Hyundai Epoch.  They all have different attributes but you’ll barely notice as the other cars are rubber banding pretty hardcore.  There are other cars littered throughout the road and they will constantly get in your way but at least they are different models.

Audio:

I enjoy the way this game sounds.  Even though there are only like five tracks throughout the 14 stages, they are fun little tunes.  Specifically the one that plays when you go through country roads, it’s pretty fun.  The car sounds are generic and are interchangeable between the cars.  What really bugs me is the sound it makes when you hit another car or obstruction.  It’s a devastating CLUNK noise that you start to dread.  The other drivers do give little screams now and then depending on if you hit them or swerve.  As for the voice acting, hearing the remarks based on the location, “So this is the Grand Canyon!” is about the one highlight.  Checkpoints are announced every time you cross one but they don’t get annoying.  The one thing I have no idea what is said is when you beat a level.  The announcer says “David!” or “Save it!” or something.  Almost 30 years later and I’m still baffled.

Completion:

I FINISHED THIS GAME!  Again.  I set out just to do a few tracks to get the footage I needed.  Then I gave myself a timeline of three failures.  Then I just beat the game.  It’s not hard nor is it long, but it does have that old type of arcade fun where you just go until you can’t anymore.  Again, it’s a simple game with simple graphics and simple audio, but it sure is fun.  As for the history with me, this was the second Nintendo 64 game I bought back in 1997 and with my hard earned money.  I’m sure I paid either $60 or $70 for it and after beating it in less than an hour I was kind of peeved.  I played it over and over again because I was going to get my money’s worth but goddamn was I pissed later when I realized I could have gotten Super Mario 64, Pilotwings 64 or any other game which would have given me more bang for my buck.  In the end, though, the game just became a fun pick up, play, and beat game that I went back to over and over again.  It really is fun.