Cheat Index - San Francisco Rush 2049 Dreamcast Review

The Bottom Line
Not since Tony Hawk's Pro Skater have my non-gaming friends been so enraptured with my Dreamcast. Much more than a straight forward port of the decent arcade driving game, Rush 2049 on the home consoles packs in vehicular combat and insane stunt driving for a pleasing combination of addictive gameplay formulas. Recommended for just about anyone capable of enjoying a videogame.

A Closer Look
Let's face it, the Rush series has grown a little stale. When I first tried the arcade version of 2049, I wondered why anyone should care that it was now in a futuristic setting. The look of the tracks, the cars, and the arcade cabinet were all different, but the game still felt the same. Even with the addition of wings to stabilize your car in flight, everything felt old. So when I heard about the Dreamcast port of the arcade game, I wasn't terribly excited. I figured between Crazy Taxi and Super Runabout, the Dreamcast already had its share of San Francisco-inspired racing games. But Midway went ahead with Rush 2049 anyway, and now I'm grateful they did. I still don't think Rush is a great racing game, but the welcome inclusion of the stunt and battle modes more than makes up for any dust the straight forward racing mode has accumulated over the years.

If you've never played the Rush series before, you should know that it prides itself on a very complex physics engine. They would like to say it's realistic, but the first time you land a stunt from 300 feet in the air and keep driving, you'll understand just how realistic it actually is. Still, the physics are intricate and more than suitable for an arcade-style game.

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