Excitebike - GBA

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Also for: Wii, NES
Viewed: 2D Side-on, Scrolling Genre:
Racing: Motorcycle
Arcade origin:No
Developer: Nintendo Soft. Co.: Nintendo
Publishers: Nintendo (GB)
Released: 9 Jul 2004 (GB)
Ratings: PEGI 3+
No Accessories: No Accessories

Summary

A tried and tested formula back in the 8-bit '80s, the side-scrolling bike-em-up was first popularised by this early NES release. Back in the day when the trials bike trickery of Kickstart was wowing us all during teatime TV, it only seemed natural to follow it up by digging out our Nintendos and showing off some of our own two-wheel talent. Well we can now relive those moments with the release of Excitebike for Game Boy Advance, one of eight retro remakes under Nintendo's NES Classics label.

As with most games of this era, Excitebike is as simple as it is fun. You take control of a young Eddie Kidd wannabe and navigate your way across a series of uni-directional courses with the basic objective of 'go as fast as you can and win'. There are a number of opponents and plenty of hazards but one of the key elements to the gameplay is the mastering of the game's myriad big jumps. Once airborne you have full control over the angle of the bike and subsequently need to get this right upon landing in order to ensure optimum performance. The other thing you need to keep your eye on is the temperature gauge - rev it full out and you're going to end up over heating, so you need to pace yourself throughout each race.

There are a total of five different tracks to be found throughout Excitebike, but if you think that's a bit stingy then have no fear as the game also comes bundled with a course designer. Here, you have access to all the ramps, mounds, bridges and other obstacles the game has to offer, coupled with the ability to save your design to the cart so you can share it with your mates.