The graphics certainly don’t stretch the hardware like, say, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, but they are certainly serviceable. There is a noticeable tiling effect present, and I wouldn’t assign that to problems with the hardware, since other racing titles on the GBA don’t tile nearly as badly. When taking jumps though, the tiling is very noticeable, almost like going up steps. The tracks themselves vary in quality, and strangely enough, it looks like you’re driving down a tunnel half the time. Not impressive at all. Controls in Cruis’n Velocity aren’t laid out very well. Turbo is assigned to the gas button with a double-tap, but if you want to pump your way through a turn, invariably you end up using up one of your limited turbos. Not very intuitive.

There are 11 different car options involved, plus 3 championship levels that you can work your way through in order to open up all of the secret cars and tracks. The thing is, Cruis’n Velocity doesn’t really feel like a part of the Cruis’n series. There aren’t any major-air jumps, the GBA doesn’t allow for the massive amounts of traffic that the games are known for, and it just feels like a run of the mill racing title. The fun is improved a little bit with the multiplayer game, but that too fades with time.

Saving games is done with the tired old password system – a game like this screams for a battery save, but no dice. Racing games have traditionally had all kinds of records involved, like fastest laps and best times, but Cruis’n Velocity doesn’t offer these. Quite frankly, without a battery save system, it would be nearly impossible to get it done. Punching in a bunch of tiny symbols on the GBA screen is no fun at all. Combine that with the propensity of the game to crash on occasion, and you’re left with an exercise in frustration.

Cruis’n Velocity is an bland, average racing title. A shame, since there definitely was the potential for so much more.

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