➤ The return of the agitated motorbikes 🎮

The game is available for download on the WiiWare service

There are series of cardinal importance and others of lesser importance in the rich book of brands that Nintendo has managed to accumulate over the years: Excitebike probably falls into the second category, although the title is still very well known and can count on a vast number of followers. The series was born in 1984 on the first Famicom, or Nintendo Entertainment System, 8-bit and represented one of the first examples of a video game based on motocross, remaining today one of the most original interpretations of this sport.

Probably mediating between the limits imposed by the hardware of the time and the need to make a simulation of this type fun, the solution adopted by Nintendo was undoubtedly particular: two-dimensional side-scrolling representation with a lane track and, of course, jumps to the limit. of the absurd. Rather than relying on the classic racing game structure that essentially imposes overtaking on other players and attention not to crash or go off the road, Excitebike founded, and still today, its structure on a system of rules specially created for this game . Both in the original and in this remake we find ourselves managing simple with a certain timing and sense of proportion: you accelerate with a button and use the turbo with the other, while the bike can be moved on a vertical plane by clicking between the lanes of the track or along the axis perpendicular to the bike itself with the ability to shift the weight back and forth, essentially raising and lowering the front wheel. These simple controls condense all the historical gameplay of the original and we find them equal, a little aged but always endowed with the intuitive freshness purely 80s, in this Excitebike: World Rally. Although the structure may seem overly simplistic to the modern player, when lived in small doses the game demonstrates its full potential for old-time ready-to-wear fun with a substantial new introduction: the ability to play online multiplayer through Nintendo. Wi-Fi Connection. As in the predecessor, there is also an editor here that allows the creation of customized paths, which can be modified piece by piece.

Up, down, right, left, turbo

This WiiWare version keeps intact the gameplay of the first Excitebike (also available for download on the Virtual Console) presenting it under a completely redone cosmetics: tracks and motorcycles are now in 3D, albeit still represented with a fixed shot, with outline elements that differentiate the various scenarios in a characteristic way. Certainly it is clear, also from an aesthetic point of view, that we are dealing with a product built with a tight budget, but the graphic aspect proves to be functional if nothing else, although the variations in the setting are in the end few and tend to repeat themselves. As for the rest, the only adaptation made on the original structure is represented by the possibility of tilting the Wii Remote (held horizontally) left and right to settle the bike instead of using the D-pad, as well as the ability to shake it vehemently. when we crash, to get back into the game.

These are superficial but rather well implemented innovations, which can still be completely bypassed by choosing the classic setting of the controls, in which case the Remote Control is interpreted exactly like the old NES pad. The aim of the game is to reach the finish line first and in the shortest possible time, which can be done with a good dose of reflexes and attention to a few simple rules: avoid obstacles on the track by changing lanes in time (in the case of mud puddles) or wheeling the bike (in the case of walls or other riders), tilting the bike in order to take advantage of the best angle when taking a jump and adapting it to the slope of the track when landing and finally being careful to dose the turbo, which gives powerful acceleration but risks burning the engine if it is abused, making it necessary to periodically release the button or to cross particular sections of the track that cool the bike. The game modes include the championship, in which we face the various tracks in a progressive way, trying to get the best placements, the time challenge and multiplayer. The latter allows you to play online through Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, with friends or with random users from all over the world, in a gaming experience that is not plagued by lag and which represents a significant plus for longevity and the use of this title.

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Excitebike: World Rally is certainly a game of the past: its simplicity and ease of use represent on the one hand its limit, on the other a strength. The lack of depth in the long term is felt, since the exhausting repetition of the same dynamics is boring, but if taken in small doses, the immediacy of the game allows you to immediately grasp the carefree fun, especially if played in online multiplayer. Too bad for the lack of offline multiplayer and for a technical realization that really does the bare minimum to update the graphics and sound of the original. Ultimately, Excitebike has a structure that is rather dated, but in a context like WiiWare it finds a new ideal location as simple and irresistible fun, albeit for not prolonged sessions.