One of the first games I remember playing for the good old NES was a game called excitebike. Went over to a friends house to play this game, while it's simplistic in design it was fun. I never did buy the game for my own NES, but after I got my e-reader and going through it's original booster pack I decided to get this pack. Even if it took me a good 10 minutes to go through every e-reader pack that Wal-Mart had because it was on the back row.

What is an e-reader card pack.
Ok E-reader games come in a card pack, that look like a pack of cards that you get with a Yugioh card game booster pack. Except there only 5 cards and they all look the same. Of course these aren't meant to be played or collected, there meant to be scanned through an accessory for the GBA called the e-reader. After scanning all the cards through the e-reader you get instant NES version of a classic Nintendo arcade game. Excitebike is a perfect favorite of mine and getting it for 5 dollars was so worth it.

Story.
No Story in this game basically just race a motor bike to the finish line. Compete for best time, you can race just by yourself or computer control characters hindering you.

Graphics.
Ok the graphics are early NES and Arcade game. Don't expect it to push the GBA to it's limit (heck I don't think excitebike would push the GBC to it's limit) the graphics are rather limited. The sprites are small and the animation is limited. You basically got a vibrating frame for moving, an up and down sprite, and an airborne frame, and a couple for when you crash.

Has far has the emulation goes on the old GBA it does great. The game looks like it did on the NES, very little noticeable cropping has occurred (unlike the DKJR e-reader game), and the game looks great. Of course the colors do look a bit dark and washed out but this is my no means has bad has playing a GBC on the GBA.

Problems to occur though when I put it in my player on the cube. While the game boy player was design with the e-reader in mind (one of the reasons why you probably have to flip the games upside down is because of the e-reader) the games don't really do that well when put on the big screen. For some reason the e-reader games have a lot of noticeable fuzz and static on the screen. It's not enough to hinder the game, or make it any less enjoyable, but it is a distraction.

Sound.
Basically you have opening music, start sounds, engine going at minimum speed, engine going at maximum speed, engine overheating ring, and of course crashing sound effects and that's basically it for the sound department.

Gameplay.
In the first menu you get to choose between game A or B, the difference in A you don't race with any other characters, with B you do. You race the clock in every game, and your score depends on time and not the other racers. All the other racers do is hinder you and make you crash, of course this makes the game a whole lot more interesting to play.

Basically the game is pretty simplistic A makes you go fast, B makes you go really fast. Of course pressing B makes your heat gage go up. If it fills all the way up you stall and have to wait for it to go down before you can move again.

Of course the game would be boring if your where just moving up and down flat tracks, so there are bumps and major hills that you have to climb. If you hit a hill fast enough you become airborne, then the trick becomes to position your bike so it lands on the track without crashing, while getting some distance from the jumping. The trick to mastering the game is to know when to use the B button to gain a fast speed to obtain high jumps, without crashing or over heating. Of course it is fun to crash on the bottom of the hill just to see your character tumble up and down the hill, in an accident that would surly break every bone in his body, and then just pick himself up and get on his bike again.

Course editor.
If you get board with the 5 tracks available in this game (it's an old NES game so 5 tracks is actually a lot), Nintendo threw in something that greatly increases the game, and I am glad they introduced it into the e-reader version has well. In this you can create your own tracks, you can pick your obstacles and where to place them. After your done with obstacles and what the track will look like, you choose the number of laps and your on the way to racing your very own track. Our challenge your friends to the course you design. Of course the bad thing is just like the NES game there is no save course option so once you turn off your GBA the track you create is gone for good.

Final recommendation.
5 bucks for one of the best NES games, on the GBA, sign me up.


Recommended: Yes