If there's one thing that Nintendo has in its corner, it's the huge collection of franchises that it can go to time and again when in need. With the Nintendo 64 needing to prove itself to the masses, Nintendo tapped Super Mario to showcase the system in the form of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Kart 64. As things became more dire, Star Fox 64 and The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time appeared in all their 64-bit glory to quiet the naysayers. But now as the console reaches the end of its lifecycle, Nintendo seems to be tapping even more of its properties lately. Donkey Kong saw some action last year, and this year Nintendo picked its ancient racing classic that hasn't seen the light of day since the 8-bit NES console was in the talk of the town. I'm talking about Excitebike, the high-flying, 2-D, motoracing title that was a hit in the '80s, but is back in full 3-D under the name Excitebike 64.

Excitebike 64 is another fun Nintendo racer for the Nintendo 64—no surprise when you consider how much it has in common with Mario Kart 64, Wave Race 64 and F-Zero X. They're all structured exactly the same, but that's okay. All of those games were way fun, and each gave us a different way to race—go karts, jet skis, futuristic hovercraft. With Excitebike 64, we get the Nintendo treatment with dirt bikes, specifically Motocross and Supercross racing.