BIKER MICE FROM MARS
Who's heard of this game?
If you liked ROCK 'N ROLL RACING, then you'll like Biker Mice.
It's based on a cartoon series that ran from 1993 until 1995. I have never seen the cartoon, so I can't tell you how closely the game sticks to the plot of the shows.
It was developed and published by Konami during the SNES' heyday of 1994 when Konami was putting out a lot of great stuff for the SNES, and it's a fantastic game.
Bike Mice is NOT a side-scrolling platformer. It's a very cool isometric racer much like Rock 'N Roll Racing. You can choose between six radically different racers (Mice, mostly) who ride different motorcyles, choppers, and a couple of futuristic racers. Each racer and his car have very different acceleration, speed, weapons, and handling characteristics.
Like R&R Racing, you win money for each race depending on where you placed. You use your winning to install upgrades on your bike. The upgrades make a big differance. You get power-ups after each time you pass the starting/finish line, include weapons, nitros, and cash.
There are four variations... Main Race, Battle Race (kill all your opponents), Time Trail, and the very fun Versus mode. This is one hell of a great 2-player game but make sure you choose racers with similar abilities... some of the racers are MUCH faster than others. Handling is VERY precise and the control is very accurate and smooth, just like R&R Racing.
There are 30 different tracks, but many are just variations of previous levels. The tracks start off simple and get harder and harder with more curves and obstacles the farther you progress.
The graphics are smooth and colorful, with no slowdown (that I can remember, anyway.) The soundtrack is a hoot... great catchy rock riffs with a lot of character.
The game isn't hard too beat on the earlier levels but presents a bit of a challenge later on.
It's a shame this game never got a sequel or at least a 2nd life on the GBA... R&R Racing is on the GBA and it plays great. Biker Mice would be perfect for the handheld treatment. As it stands, the Biker Mice only got one game, and it only appeared on the SNES.
There's usually a couple on Ebay going for cheap... a low profile is good for something! I recommend this to anyone who loved R&R Racing, and it's best played on its native hardware.
http://search.ebay.com/nintendo-bike...jsZ1QQfromZR40
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