Review #688: 64 Memories - Cruis'n Exotica

 The cruise never ends. Until it did, with this latest entry.

 Part I: The Flashback
 ... well, this is the first time I ever played the franchise, so I've nothing to say to preface Cruis'n Exotica.

 Part II: The Review
 It's the best one yet! After Cruis'n World took us around the world, there was only one way Exotica could go: By taking us... around the world again. But we've also get to visit the underwater city of Atlantis, and instead of going around the moon, we go up to mars. Yeah, the theme around this one isn't great, but the 12 tracks in this game are fantastic, easily the best selection yet. I mean, any semblance of reality was thrown out the window, but wet get colorful, fun tracks that are fun to go through. On another note, the car roster saw its size pumped up to 28, and they are unlocked just by playing the main mode, so every time you play, win or lose, it feels like you're working towards something, making it a very rewarding endeavor. Beating the Exotica mode unlocks two filters, Wacky and Insane, that make the game play like one crazy acid trip.

 This game plays JUST like Cruis'n World, which means it includes the unnecessary 'trick' system, although, to be honest, it's a bit more useful here since you can double tap A and flip off of another car. That said, with Exotica they fixed something they should've fixed a long time ago: The framerate. Most of the time the game plays like silk, at a steady 30FPS. A few tracks can see a few drops when it gets crowded with cars and effects(Such as smoke or water in the distance), but nowhere near as bad as the first two games where. This makes this game the superior Cruis'n experience, it feels great to play it. Heck, colliding with other cars works much better than it did before, no more weird stiffness.

 As for modes, there are three of them. Cruis'n Challenge has you taking 12 different stages, in any order that you want, each stage being made up of two point A-to-B races(They take up one track and split it into two smaller tracks, just for this mode), one 3-lap race and a drag race that rewards you with turbos that you can then use in any other mode. Cruis'n Freestyle lets you race on any of the 12 tracks in the point A-to-B format. Lastly, Cruis'n Exotica is the traditional story mode that has you playing the 12 tracks in order, you have to place 1st in order to progress and continues are limited, but it's not too hard.

 Man, I'm glad I gave the Cruis'n series a try, because they became some of my favorite games ever. Cruis'n Exotica fixes the biggest problem the series had been dragging behind since the first game, its framerate, while keeping everything that made it so good intact. The theme may be all over the place, but it's hard to care when the game is this good. It's a shame the series ended here, but I'm gonna be giving the Fast & Furious/Cruis'n-in-name-only Wii game a try sometime down the line.
 9.5 out of 10