PixlBit

If only classic games aged like classic cars...

As the third and final Cruis'n game in the arcade series, the formula really shows its age. Released in 1999 in the arcade and in late 2000 on the Nintendo 64, Exotica was dated even during its own time. There's a reason that Nintendo declined to publish this one, but there's still something here for fans of Cruis'n.

The Cruise mode is present once more of course, this time joined by two other modes, Challenge and Freestyle. Unfortunately, the Championship mode is nowhere to be seen. Cruise mode is still the same as the arcade: play all the tracks in order, place first to progress. The Challenge mode offers four different races on each track, most with the same goal of going from one point to the next, so it isn't all that different. Freestyle is basically “single race” mode, where you just pick any track that you want to play.

The back of the box is rather misleading, stating that the game contains 60 tracks when really it has a total of 12, with those being separated into 5 different sections depending on the game mode. The locations are supposed to be some of the more exotic places from around the world, but some are really more fantastical, like the underwater track Atlantis. I get places like India and the Amazon, but I never really thought that places like Las Vegas and Hong Kong were exotic.

The Challenge mode is a bit of a strange addition. It separates each track into four segments, which each have a slightly different goal. The first two are nothing more than the “point A to point B” type thing as in Cruise mode, except that placing in the top three is enough to clear it. The third selection is a 3-lap “circuit race” on that location, which is like a separated version of the Championship mode in the previous game. The last selection is labeled “drag race,” which is slightly misleading. At the start, before the countdown, the displayed trick must be performed, which involves following the sequence of buttons shown. If it's done correctly, then the drag race starts and must be won to be awarded nitros. It's a bit of an odd set up, but it's the only way to get nitros.

The car selection isn't exactly exotic, and is more along the lines of wacky. While there are a few more fancy cars, with their curves and their convertables, there are also things like a rusted station wagon with luggage on top, and a forklift, which is actually one of the better vehicles in the game. Each car has different stats, but the numbers are mostly nonsensical and the only way to figure them out it to try them. There isn't much difference between vehicles anyway, so fortunately it doesn't matter much. Additional cars can be unlocked by accumulating miles, which are counted in all game modes. Each track accounts for around 500 miles, which, if true, would mean that the cars are actually traveling at somewhere around 6,000MPH.

As if Midway were proud of the series' lackluster presentation, the graphics and sound are essentially no different than previous games. At this point, the scenery pop-up and road fading into view is just plain laughable, as are the flat trees, poles, and other objects that line the streets. It also still has the cardboard cutout woman present your trophy, which they probably consider to be classic. There are a couple of special cars that don't have any wheels, yet they still make screech noises and leave tire tracks when they turn sharply. The music is still awful enough to be BYOS (bring your own soundtrack).

Despite its shortcomings, at the end of the day I still enjoyed playing Cruis'n Exotica. Even with the eyesore graphics and grating sound, the core gameplay remains entertaining, which is what matters most. However, I can't imagine that anyone who didn't play a Cruis'n game back in the day would be able to get into this game now. Time hasn't been kind to the series, and only nostalgic gamers could look past the awful presentation to find the fun within.