AeroGauge for Ninendo 64
AeroGauge is Nintendo 64’s entry into the popular racing game genre. The gimmick is that you don’t drive you actually fly your vehicle over the racecourse. The game itself was released in 1998. It might seem a little outdated by today’s standards until you let yourself appreciate its retro look and revisit the technology of the last decade. It has a lot to offer, and you can take advantage of some game cheats to expand on its features. Keep in mind that with this game, you need to use “cheats” to unlock hidden game options; it’s not the same as entering codes to keep your vehicle alive no matter what. It’s intended for one or two players.
There are no friendly plumbers, no happy dudes sitting in the front seat of your vehicle. And there are no power-ups in this game. It’s just you, your machine, and pure speed. At game start-up, you can choose from about a half dozen different vehicles all of them cool-looking futuristic cars waiting for you to pilot them through the challenging courses. You have six courses to choose from, including canyon challenges, geometric landscapes, and cities of the future. To play in the Versus mode you have to qualify for position prior to the race.
Screen shots of the courses will show you graphics that were high-tech ten years ago. Take a minute to pause and look at them while you’re practicing, because during play you’ll be traveling too fast to notice the stylistic artwork. It’s different from today’s game visuals, but if it’s been a while since you played a game from the Nineties you’ll get a kick from the crisp clarity of the line play and the color palette of bold jewel tones.
Whether you’re piloting through the previously mentioned futuristic cityscapes or the ominous natural backdrops, there are awesome turns and twists to this game. You can easily be flying toward a low bridge and then find yourself in an undulating, endless tunnel that you have to steer through. This game challenges your hand-eye coordination, but there are controller maneuvers the so-called “cheats” that you can master to widen your game-play options.
At the start of the game, plug in both controllers, and hold down R, L, and Z on the second controller while you turn the game on. Keep holding them down through the game introduction until you reach the “Push Start” prompt, and then quickly press D-up and C-down simultaneously and hold them for a few seconds while you are still holding down R, L, and Z. When you release all the buttons, if you get the timing right you should see two new race courses to choose from as well as additional vehicle options. One of them is to fly the N64 controller, and you can pick a variety of colors. Pretty cool! If you don’t get the timing right, keep at it until you get it.
Another game cheat is to repeatedly press the R button at the vehicle select screen, and you can change color options for the vehicles.
A great trick for beating courses is to master the Turbo Boost by holding down the A button during the race and letting the car drift to the extreme left or right while you hold the Z button. Release both A and Z and you’ll feel that boost! Try tapping your A button until you get it right, but use it mostly around curves, because going Turbo will overheat your vehicle. You can also launch your car into Turbo at the start of the race if you press and hold A and B on your controller while the announcer says “Set, ready, go!” but release your B button exactly when he says “ready.”
Another way to access the game controller as a vehicle is playing in Time Attack mode; if your final race time ends in .064 you’ll unlock it. But this is pretty tough! You can try unlocking the Dominator vehicle by winning with the game set at “expert” difficulty level and with the Black Lighting option. If you finish in first place at expert difficulty playing with the Shredder car, you’ll unlock the awesome Reaper car. Or, race and win with the Avenger vehicle to reveal the Vengeance aeromachine. Win with the Hornet car, and unlock the Prowler.
You can enter Grad Prix mode by holding down Start on the first controller until you reach the “Push Start” prompt. Then, on the second controller press up on D and C down plus R-L-Z; release and press Start or A on the first controller. And, if you set your difficulty level to expert and beat the game on each course, you will unlock the China Town Jam track. To unlock a different track, play in Grand Prix at intermediate level, win first place on each course, and you’ll unlock the Neo Speed Way track.
With the high level of dexterity and lots of stuff to unlock, this game is a blast from the past that guarantees a high level of fun for players of all ages, suitable for all audiences. Give it a try!