New Look: Excitebike 64

Fans of the old NES motorcycle-racing game have been waiting for an update to this series for quite some time. Nintendo is finally delivering an update to the series, and so far it's looking pretty solid.

Excitebike 64 sports different characters, all with their own stats, as well as both indoor and outdoor tracks and a track editor. Also, you'll be able to unlock the original NES game - a nifty addition. Remember how the NES version had a track editor and a save button, but saving didn't do anything? Remember how you weren't smart enough to read the directions and discover that the save function didn't work, so you spent hours wondering why you couldn't save your tracks? Fear not. The save function is now fully functional, so you can save your 8-bit tracks and play them until your eyes bleed.

Other hidden modes include Excitebike 3D, which puts you on a track that looks like the old Excitebike tracks, and a multiplayer soccer game, which puts you in a small, flat area with an enormous soccer ball. The game sports some pretty good animation, particularly when you crash. The gameplay has a bit in common with the original game, containing both a turbo button and a temperature gauge.

Excitebike 64 releases in May, so stay tuned for further updates on the game soon. In the meantime, check out our preview for new screens.