This is the third time that Midway has ported a Cruis'n coin-op title to the Nintendo 64, and in three years. While the series has been a commercial success (nearly two million units sold), there's still nothing new to be found. This is a shame--this is one series that could have benefited tremendously from an overhaul (no pun intended).

Cruis'n Exotica is an arcade racing game in which players choose a vehicle (be it a car, truck, or "other") and compete against various opponents in a no-holds-barred trek across many varied tracks. If this doesn't sound terribly original, you're starting to get the picture: it's not.

Midway's Cruis'n Exotica features courses from across America, not to mention previous titles in the series (Cruis'n USA and Cruis'n World). Thankfully, Midway went the extra step and crafted levels that literally go beyond the familiar landscape, and genuinely qualify as exotic. Planet Mars, anyone?

Gamers have 30 different vehicles from which to choose (12 default, 18 to unlock by winning races), and include a police car, a 4 x 4, and a hippie van, to name but a few. There's also a selection of drivers from which to choose (a baby, clown, alien, etc.).

With substandard graphics that seem to ignore the achievements that developers have squeezed out of the Nintendo 64 hardware over the past few years, this game delivers only mediocre gameplay and uninspired play mechanics. The N64 is no stranger to great racing games--the amazing Ridge Racer 64 and Beetle Adventure Racing! have shown that the console is quite capable of delivering a good time behind the wheel. While it's not a terrible game, by any means, Cruis'n Exotica simply is superfluous. --Todd Mowatt