It's taken more than a decade, but Nintendo has finally dusted off the NES classic Excitebike and given it a long overdue update. The challenge when doing an update of a game as popular as Excitebike is making a game that lives up to the standard set by the older edition while adding enough new stuff so that it will be an exciting experience for modern gamers.  Excitebike 64 is definitely a worthwhile game, but as to whether it lives up to its pedigree, or even Nintendo's other alternative racing games (Wave Race, namely) is questionable.

It's obvious a lot of work went into making Excitebike.  The game boasts 20 tracks, six riders, and five extra modes.  To put it simply, this isn't a game you'll get through in a couple of hours.  Unfortunately, part of the reason that's true is due to the game's frustrating learning curve. The game starts off fair enough - the novice and amateur difficulties get progressively harder, challenging you to improve your skills. But once you hit pro difficulty you're stonewalled, on your own, and in for a good-sized helping of humble pie. There's nothing wrong with a challenge, but the demands of pro difficulty seem significantly greater than the demands of amateur.  Maybe another difficulty setting would have helped ease the shock.  This is sure to be a source of frustration for many people who buy Excitebike. 

The controls are capable, but a little more complex than Nintendo's other racers. All the while, old-fashioned Excitebike skills are still required, such as angling your bike to land properly and popping the occasional wheelie to clear a hazard. The controls are very intuitive, but at key points in a race, paying close heed to your bike's temperature while turning sharply and getting a turbo boost can result in some serious finger contortions.  Overall, the game controls nicely, but it is a bit too unforgiving.  Occasionally if you hit the wrong terrain or make a minor mistake -- and sometimes for no apparent reason at all -- you'll end up turned 90 or even 180 degrees. This gripe aside, while slightly more complicated than other racers, the controls are intuitive and generally very responsive. 

The final point of frustration in Excitebike comes from the fact that the computer-controlled racers cheat both for and against you. If you're in a pack of racers and you crash, you'll see the pack slow down very noticeably until you get back up.  If you're in the lead, you'll find that the  computer-controlled racers are racing a lot better than you've usually seen them race. And if you play with the default options, there are computer-controlled drones whose express purpose is to get in your way and knock you down. Luckily, you can turn off these annoying racers if you don't want to deal with them.

These negatives are not detailed here to get gamers to shy away from the game.  They're simply here to point out the main shortcomings of an otherwise strong effort because, at the root of it all, Excitebike is a great game.  The tracks are all well designed and challenging, and races can be an adrenaline-pumping experience.  Players will learn to fly and slide around these courses, which is a lot of fun in itself.  The physics and sense of speed are excellent in this game.  And, while the core game is fun enough, the extras only add to an already complete package.  The best of the extras comes in the form of a perfect version of the original NES Excitebike, which is still fun after all these years.  Soccer, hill climbing, 3D Excitebike and a stunt mode round out the extras - each one entertaining in its own right.

Excitebike looks great, with vibrant colors and well-animated bikers.  Complaints about the game's frame rate have been overblown.  It may not be 60 fps, but the game's graphics are very smooth, with only a few minor instances of slowdown - all on a N64 without the expansion pack.   The camera is the most significant problem, and only on very rare occasions.  If you take a turn a bit wide, the camera will swing off the track, giving you a great look at a hay bale and perhaps your biker's head if you're lucky.

The motorcycle sounds in the game are basically perfect. The high-pitched growling of motorbike engines is wonderful.  It's noisy to be sure, but everything sounds absolutely as it should.  In a couple of places where there are supposed to be echoes, they seem to break up a bit, but this is only a minor concern.  The game's announcer is well voiced, although his repertoire is a bit limited.  The music is the real weak point in the sound department.  It sounds fine, but the tunes are run-of-the-mill and uninspired.

All in all, Nintendo has made a very nice game with Excitebike 64. While it might not live up to the standards of the original Excitebike or Wave Race, it's a solid effort and one of the best racers to grace the Nintendo 64.  While Excitebike 64 might not eclipse Perfect Dark on most Nintendo fans' wish lists, if you're going to buy two Nintendo titles this year, you probably couldn't go wrong making Excitebike your second choice.