San Francisco Rush 2049

Written by Jonthan Mamay  on November 29, 2000

Review: The game that makes flying through the air while performing 50 barrel rolls seem normal

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Almost everyone should know by now that the Rush series is not a sim. It's about high flying, lots of shortcuts and stunts galore.

There are quite a few modes to keep players occupied; there is of course the circuit mode, which has players participating in a championship in which there are a series of races. There is a practice mode, which allows players to go through each track and just explore and look for the hidden coins that unlock more vehicles; these coins are most often placed in hard to reach areas that require extra effort to reach. There is also a single race mode that allows players to race against up to five computer-controlled drones. There is also a brand new implemented battle mode for up to four players, this is made for death matches, players drive around the arenas and pick up weapons to waste each other, think vigilante 8 with rush physics. And of course making a much appreciated return is the stunt mode, where obviously, players are rewarded for doing crazy ass stunts and getting serious air time, this aspect of the game has been seriously improved thanks to a new wing system...yes that's right, your car actually has a set of wings, this makes controlling your car in the air a lot easier. Rush 2049 is also the easiest of all rush games to control, the car quickly and easily responds to you, the A button accelerates, B is brakes, Z toggles your wings and in battle mode fires your weapon, C-Left is reverse, and other buttons are used for view changing and gear shifting. The controls can be customized to your preference if you ever find the need to do so.

Previous rush games were not exactly great looking, they were ok but left a lot to be desired, once known for it's excessive use of fogging to hide pop up, this is no the case in Rush 2049, fog is non existent (unless turned on in the options menu). The tracks now feature a lot of colored lighting, and the textures look so much better, they have a more high resolution look. The cars as look amazing as well, the reflections and shine of the car are out of this world. One disappointment is that the vehicle damage was removed from this game, most probably to keep the car models simpler to keep the frame rate up, and the frame rate is outstanding, sometimes the race becomes a blur, however it does have a few spots where it chugs. Overall Midway has turned out one hell of an impressive engine and deserves a lot of praise.

Another category that previous rush games scored lower in is the sound, the music in previous games (especially the first) was absolutely horrible, however in this version Midway used the Musy X audio tools, which allows for great audio compression, which leads to a great soundtrack that you will get stuck in your head. Most of the sound effects come from previous Rush games, and they get the job done, but nothing too special.