Yet another great example that the N64 COULD do great, practically arcade perfect ports for many games, if developers actually tried. If you're wondering why Cruis'n World is SUCH a better game on N64 than Cruis'n USA (or Mortal Kombat Trilogy, for that matter), it's because those were developed by Williams, and this was developed by Eurocom. HUGE difference, as Eurocom had a track record for actually putting in effort, and being a studio that usually turned out high quality games.
In partial fairness to Williams, I'm certain that they were pressured/rushed into getting USA and MKT done as quickly as possible, to have them available within N64's launch window. But I still maintain that World is excellent by comparison, BECAUSE Eurocom made it. In fact, this game was originally supposed to release on the N64 in 1997, but it was delayed all the way until September 1998, which while it sucked waiting for it, it was a good decision, as they clearly took the time needed to make it GOOD.
The game has close to arcade perfect graphics, good sound, good controls, up to 4-player multiplayer (one of N64's greatest strengths in an era when NONE of the competition, until Dreamcast in late '99, had out-of-the-box 4 player capability). Eurocom even went the extra mile, and added an additional hidden track, the Moon, as well as a Championship Mode, which allows you to play circuit versions of the tracks, instead of the "road" versions from the arcade.
It's a fun game on its own merits, and I would easily call it one of the best racing games, on a console that had a wealth of good racing games.
In partial fairness to Williams, I'm certain that they were pressured/rushed into getting USA and MKT done as quickly as possible, to have them available within N64's launch window. But I still maintain that World is excellent by comparison, BECAUSE Eurocom made it. In fact, this game was originally supposed to release on the N64 in 1997, but it was delayed all the way until September 1998, which while it sucked waiting for it, it was a good decision, as they clearly took the time needed to make it GOOD.
The game has close to arcade perfect graphics, good sound, good controls, up to 4-player multiplayer (one of N64's greatest strengths in an era when NONE of the competition, until Dreamcast in late '99, had out-of-the-box 4 player capability). Eurocom even went the extra mile, and added an additional hidden track, the Moon, as well as a Championship Mode, which allows you to play circuit versions of the tracks, instead of the "road" versions from the arcade.
It's a fun game on its own merits, and I would easily call it one of the best racing games, on a console that had a wealth of good racing games.