San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing is a 1996 racing video game developed and published by Atari Games for arcades. An updated version named San Francisco Rush The Rock: Alcatraz Edition was released with more tracks and cars.

The Story Behind San Francisco Rush - Extreme Racing

Rush was ported to the Nintendo 64 in 1997. San Francisco Rush was built around the 3dfx Voodoo Graphics dual chips. This update implemented four additional tracks, including the Alcatraz track, and four additional cars, along with a "mirror" option to alter the direction of the race courses.

In 2000, Midway developed another sequel to Rush 2049 named Hot Rod Rebels, which was planned to be released exclusively for arcades, but was soon cancelled when Midway shut down their arcade market due to declining sales. San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing is a 1996 racing video game developed and published by Atari Games for arcades.

How San Francisco Rush - Extreme Racing Plays

Players also choose their own cars each with its own difficulty, speed, and handling, with the "Extreme" cars being the highest; cars with this difficulty warns players that the car will provide a "full simulation" effect. Rush was ported to the PlayStation in 1998. This conversion contains six tracks, with two of them containing secret stunt courses, plus one hidden track from both San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing and San Francisco Rush The Rock: Alcatraz Edition.

It was ported to home consoles under the Midway label, beginning with the Nintendo 64 in 1997 and the PlayStation and Windows in 1998. Their cars can also explode if their car collides hard enough with an obstacle or if the car lands inverted. After which, the car will respawn back on track to continue where they left off.

Why Players Still Load It Up

GamePro, which gave the game a 4.5 out of 5 for fun factor and graphics but a 3.0 for control, said "The analog stick just isn't responsive, and there's no way to power slide." John Ricciardi and Crispin Boyer of Electronic Gaming Monthly both found the brakes so ineffectual that they had to put the car in reverse to handle turns, while Rickards said the control takes getting used to but ultimately works. However, GameSpot concluded that while the port was as faithful as it could be given the limitations of consumer hardware, it could not fully recreate the feel that sitting in the arcade cabinet gave. Spanish magazine PlanetStation praised the jumps, speed, music, and multiple game modes, but criticized the graphics that are inconsistent with the framerate, and the minimal distinction between the playable cars.

GamePro remarked, "Never mind your heart - the death-defying leaps will make you leave your stomach in San Francisco." The Nintendo 64 version's controls were more controversial. Next Generation and IGN both praised them as tight and balanced, but other critics experienced problems. Either way, it adds a thrill of discovery not usually found in driving games and makes the risk well worth it." Reviews for the Nintendo 64 port ranged from mixed to laudatory.

Every console has a life of its own — a launch, a fight for shelf space, a few years when its best work appears, and a long afterlife in the hands of people who never stopped playing it. This one is no exception.

San Francisco Rush - Extreme Racing — Frequently Asked Questions