Genre: Racing
Developer: Midway
Publisher: Nintendo

To get this out of the way, Cruis'n USA has major framerate issues on a small number of courses-- particularly San Francisco and Redwood Forest. These framerate problems are almost insurmountable in split-screen mode, where the game goes into single digits! Everything else about the title's graphics are very well done: compare this rendition to the arcade original side-by-side on YouTube, and there is only a slight drop in resolution and a minor reduction in some of the asset quality-- it's a close match overall, despite the arcade cabinet having little to do architecturally with the Nintendo 64's design.

Just like with the graphics, the audio is a very close match to the arcade original. The songs were re-sampled and re-programmed so they do sound different, with slightly lower sample quality. This reviewer actually prefers the N64 renditions of most of them. The compositions themselves are flat-out goofy, and fit the action well. Standouts include the hilarious voice samples in "House Special" and the zany dragging melody in "Deadwood Ride". The game is constantly filled with funny sound effects like various yelps, screams, and the occasional remark such as the lady who drops anecdotes such as, "Oh, so this is the Grand Canyon!"

The developers did a good job of mapping steering wheel input to the analog stick: it's easy to turn sharply when needed, but just as easy to make constant, subtle little adjustments-- the sensitivity feels just about right. The Z button is used for throttle, while the R button is used for braking. The game can be played with manual transmission, but probably no one even uses that option in a game as bonkers fast as this one. The course designs are fun to play, with a nice selection of open freeways and tight corridors. They are all strung together, and with zero loading times it's easy to get sucked into the "just one more race" mindset.

The Nintendo 64's library is filled to the brim with arcade racers, from "Mario Kart 64" to "Diddy Kong Racing" to "Wave Race 64", and beyond. Cruis'n USA's point-to-point races offer something different, almost akin to a fully-polygonal version of "Out Run". It's not going to knock anyone's socks off, but even with the framerate problems the game's totally goofy sense of humor, colorful graphics, and ability to continually unlock faster versions and different colors of the various cars makes for a fun experience, especially in two player mode.