N64 Takes Games Into New Dimension

Nintendo plans to have 12 Nintendo 64 games out by the December holiday season, priced from $50 to $80. Here are the six I tried. I wouldn’t have bought N64 at $250. But now that it’s $199, I’ll see you in line at the toy store.

“Super Mario 64” by Nintendo, release date: Sunday

This game is huge. It’s truly a 360-degree world and you can wander all over the place. You’ll spend hours upon hours exploring and using your ingenuity. You’ll be running, walking, whirling, sliding, swimming, flipping, soaring and cannonballing through the air in no time.

“Pilotwings 64” by Nintendo, release date: Sunday

Vertigo! Strap on a jet pack or clutch a hang glider and compete against the computer to do the best aerial stunts. Frustrating at first, it’s lots of fun - if you don’t get airsick.

“Waverace 64” by Nintendo, release date: Nov. 4

The next best thing to a year-round summer. Hop on a water scooter and race on a slalom course, an obstacle course or catch some serious air in stunt mode. Fast, furious, fun.

“Killer Instinct Gold” by Nintendo, release date: Nov. 25

Not just another fighting game. Big characters, training modes. Six buttons for wicked combinations. Where’s the blood, some of you might ask.

“Star Wars: Shawdows of the Empire” by Nintendo/Lucas Arts, release date: Dec. 2

Forget Mario. This is the reason to buy N64. It’s gorgeously realistic. Do battle in all kinds of environments, including a first-person, “Doom”style shoot-‘em-up.

“Wayne Gretzky Hockey” by Williams, release date: Winter

Call your friends; the N64 accepts four controllers at a time without having to buy an adapter. Licensed by the NHL and NHL Players Assocation, the game offers real teams, real players and devastatingly smooth graphics. Feel those body checks!

Other games due out in the next six months:

“Kirby’s Air Ride” (skateboarding in mid-air), “Super Mario Kart R” (go-kart racing), “Star Fox 64” (space adventure), “Body Harvest” (a time-traveling shoot-‘em-up), “Tetrisphere” (a new twist on Tetris), “Cruis’n USA” (cross-country driving race, an arcade hit), “Buggie Boogie” (dune buggy racing), “Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball” (realistic physics are promised), “Blast Corps” (your bulldozer clears the path for a runaway missile carrier), “GoldenEye 007” (you’re Bond, James Bond), “Doom” (no blocky characters), “Mission: Impossible” (it won’t self-destruct), “Monster Dunk” (basketball frenzy), “Robotech Crystal Dream” (real-time 3-D character animation), “Freak Boy” (action-adventure), “Turok: Dinosaur Hunter” (based on the comics superhero), “FIFA 96” (worldwide soccer at its best) and “Mortal Kombat Trilogy” (a blood-and-guts fighting game).