Excitebike (1984)

This game is probably the most instant fun the Nintendo Entertainment System can offer. Being as old as the machine itself, it offers a very simple feature that made this game way ahead of his time: you can build your own tracks.

Graphics

You see your bike sideways, riding from left to right. You can also move up and down five lanes to avoid certain obstacles. The graphics are simple even for a NES-game, but that’s no surprise since the game is 26 years old.  

Sound

The main theme might be one of the best known of the system. During the game you can only hear your bike, which is a lot better than hearing some annoying theme over and over again, like in some other NES-games

Playability

You can control Excitebike pretty much instantly. You can go up or down the lanes, you can accelerate normally or you can push your bike harder, risking overheating it. That’s pretty much it. The only that can go wrong is that you tumble over or your bike overheats. When playing “Selection B”, you have opponents that might run you over. Trying the same to them becomes the next challenge.

Instant Fun Factor

I have never met anyone that didn’t like Excitebike instantly. The first two tracks are easy enough to get how the game works. Then the fun can start.

Long Term Fun Factor

Because you can create your own tracks, the number of possibilities are endless in this game. And that’s something for a game that was released back in 1984. You can build a track with choosing from 19 obstacles, and make the race up to 9 laps long. Saving and loading a created track is also possible, although it takes a while. If you haven’t played this game for twenty years and decide in a nostalgic mood that you might try if you still like playing this: I assure you, you will.

Graphics: 12/20

Sound: 14/20

Playability: 20/20

Instant Fun Factor: 20/20

Long Term Fun Factor: 20/20

Total score: 86/100