I'm sure that you can tell by the title of the game that you will be racing across the USA, but what you may not know is the reason why. You see the Weasels have dognapped Pluto. It's up to Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Donald, Pete, and Goofy (not to mention some hidden characters that can be unlocked) to follow the trail across the country to rescue Pluto. Luckily the Weasels aren't too smart so they keep sending postcards from the area of the country they're currently residing. Thus the hunt for Pluto goes on. The game is broken up into three cups (well at least initially), each with three difficulty settings. Each cup has four tracks that must be mastered to ensure victory. These tracks will encompass familiar landmarks like Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty, with a little Disney twist thrown in for good measure.

The game plays nearly identical to Mario Kart 64 (MK64) and Diddy Kong Racing (DKR). Anyone who has played either of those games will instantly know how to play without even having to crack open the instruction booklet. Of course, there are new weapons to be had this time around. Baseballs (think green shells from MK64) can be thrown forward or backward at opponents in hopes of stopping them cold. These will bounce off of the sides of the track for a bit if they don't hit any racers. Remote controlled cars (red shells) will seek out the opponent directly in front of you. Other helpful items include a paint splotch (bananas) to spin out tailgaters, a can of nitro (mushrooms) for boost, a shield (star) for invincibility, and a stormy weather engager (lightning bolt) to slow down all of the other characters. As you can tell, this game does have a problem with originality, but so do most games of this type. One other feature that should be noted is the inclusion of the Oomph Tokens. These are found all over the various tracks and for each one of the first ten that you collect your vehicle will slightly increase its top speed. This harkens back to the original Mario Kart on the SNES where coins had to be collected to boost overall speed. This feature makes a welcome comeback, although it doesn't seem to drastically change the outcome of a race.

Up to four players can race at once. If racing is getting you down, you can always play the Contest Mode where up to four players can battle each other at once. This is identical to MK64 in that you must rid your opponents of their three balloons to win. There's also the venerable time trial mode as well as a practice mode so you can get used to your character and the various tracks. Much in the Rare tradition, secrets will be unlocked as you complete the racing circuits in the game. New characters can be opened and cheats will be able to be activated to change the game a bit.

One thing that Rare is well known for is its uncanny ability to showcase incredible graphics on the N64 and this game is no different. All of the tracks stay true to the Disney style of cartoons. The characters are made up of polygons so there's not any pixelization to dirty up the picture. The game moves at a good frame rate and when you enter into one of the more difficult tracks on the most difficult setting you'll be amazed at how fast the game actually moves. The tracks are all laid out well and are usually wider than those seen in MK64. The excellent lighting that was featured in DKR is not implemented in this game, at least not to the same extent. On the surface it appears that DKR, a game that's already a couple years old, has better graphics. I threw it in the N64 to compare, and I do have to admit that the two games are really close graphically. DKR definitely has better lighting and the colors seem more vibrant. However, I still have to give the nod to Mickey's Speedway due to the smoother frame rate and better course design.

The music is nothing to get excited about. This is strange because this has traditionally been an area where Rare excels. What we get is some very forgettable tunes that could easily be plopped into another game and no one would take notice. The voice, however, is a completely different story. All of the characters talk while racing, and while this in itself is nothing new, the frequency and quality of the acting is absolutely fantastic. All of the characters are instantly recognizable and you will have no problems discerning who's doing the trash talk (well as trashy as it can be for Disney). The best part is that the characters say different things depending on the situation. For example, one of Donald Duck's nephews, after successfully spinning him out with the paint splotch will yell out, "Watch your temper Uncle Donald!" If you're not doing well in the race your character might say, "I have to do better!" or "I can still win!" You will undoubtedly become a little tired of some of the voice samples because they are overused at times, but for the most part it makes the game more fun to play and caused me to smile on more than one occasion.

At the end of the day MK64 is still my favorite kart game. It excels in the multiplayer area and I always play the game with a bunch of friends. DKR specializes in the one player mode and features a fantastic adventure, complete with bosses. Unfortunately the multiplayer mode really sucks due to short tracks, less than stellar weapons, and unbalanced gameplay elements (plane versus kart versus hovercraft). Mickey's Speedway USA provides thrills no matter what mode you decide to play. The multiplayer aspect works well, but it's just not as fun as MK64 in that respect. The tracks are all fun to play, but I prefer the weapons and the characters in MK64. If you're playing alone the game performs well, but it's just not as deep as DKR. So, if you want a game that is fun to play alone or with a bunch of friends, I'd give the nod to Mickey. If, on the other hand you know you'll always be playing alone or will spend the majority of your time having friends over and playing, then it might be wise to pick up one of the aforementioned titles based on each of their respective merits. I suspect that a majority of N64 owners already have a kart racing game. It really comes down to whether or not you need another one. That's a question that only you can answer, and if that answer turns out to be "Yes!" then you really can't go wrong with Mickey's Speedway USA. Diddy Kong Racing 2 it is not, but for many gamers out there, that might very well be a good thing.