Name: Excitebike: World Rally Back in the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System, Excitebike was the game to have, it was one of the best games for the system and while it was very basic looking back at it now, it's track designer system let players of all ages create their own race tracks with huge jumps and obstacles to boot. Excitebike made a return on the Nintendo 64 which was well received but failed to make an appearance on the GameCube, it has now however, been announced as an upcoming WiiWare game available on November 9.
Excitebike: World Rally puts you in the shoes of a motocross rider who takes part in a set of off-road races which contain various jumps and obstacles which you must overcome while trying to win the race. True to its origins, Excitebike follows the same straight line motocross racing allowing you to switch lanes to avoid the various obstacles and other riders, its simple gameplay at its core, but well loved by its fans. There is an element of skill required however, Excitebike isn't just a game you can keep your finger on the accelerator and watch the other riders go by, your speed is judged by how well you land after a jump, if you land correctly then you'll gain a boost in speed, however, hitting an obstacle or landing incorrectly will cause you to crash and thus lose speed. You also have to watch your engine temperature, abusing it will make it break down so you'll need to be gentle with the throttle, you can however get an instant cool down by riding over an illuminated arrow, another tactic to consider while facing down your opponents.
When we had some hands on with the title, we played the Bronze cup which is the starting point in the World Rally. There were two control schemes that were available to use, both have you using the Wii Remote in the horizontal position. Players will be able to choose from the classic control scheme and a newer one, the classic control scheme will act much like the original NES game where as the newer control scheme makes use of the motion controls and lets you tilt the Wii Remote left or right in order to control your rider's position, you also have to shake the Wii Remote if you crash to recover, both control schemes were effective and precise but you can't however beat the classic controls of Excitebike.
Graphically as you'll be able to see by the screenshots, Excitebike: World Rally isn't a 2D game like its predecessor, it's now played in a 2.5D perspective which not only looks far better, it also allows you to anticipate your next move and see what's coming up whether it be that next big jump or an obstacle you need to avoid.
You'll also be pleased to hear that Excitebike: World Rally comes with support for online multiplayer through the Wii's Wi-Fi networking. The track designer is also included which, much as the original, will allow you to create your own race tracks with jumps and obstacles to test your skills on. Much like a piece of video editing software, the track editor will allow you to test your track from either the beginning or at specific points throughout your creation.
While Excitebike: World Rally doesn't really do anything innovating other than now becoming 2.5D instead of its original 2D, it is however a WiiWare title and not a full blown release. The gameplay is fast, fun and challenging and overall, looks set to be a fans must purchase. Hopefully if it sells well, then we could be in for a full blown disc based sequel, but who knows, only time will tell. You can look forward to the games release on the WiiWare channel on November 9.
