Mach Rider (NES)

Mach Rider

It is the year 2112 and Earth has been taken over by evil forces. As a lone motorcycle warrior, you must battle the invaders while racing from sector to sector in search of survivors. You are Earth’s last hope. You are Mach Rider!

In the main Fighting Course mode, race through 10 levels of winding highway and take out the enemies using machine guns or blocking manoeuvres. In Endurance Mode, pit your survival skills against the clock, or try Solo Course for an enemy-free ride.

Mach Rider also includes a Design mode, enabling you to design your own courses. In this Virtual Console version you can also save your courses, which was not possible in the original NES version.

Mach Rider Review

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Review by Darren Calvert

Mach Rider Screenshot

The action is fast and furious in this crazy motorbiking game. You have to blast your way through enemy vehicles and barrels on the track in addition to avoiding oil slicks. The pressure is always on to keep going fast to avoid enemies ramming into you from behind! Getting to the end of each course before the timer runs out adds another obstacle in the path to success.

Although there is not a whole lot of lastability in this game, it is fun for an occasional short-term gaming session. Mach Rider's graphics and sound are average, even for the time it was made; however there is a real sense of speed at times, especially going around sharp corners.

Mach Rider Screenshot

There are three modes of play – Fighting, Endurance and Solo. Fighting Mode is the one with the plot progression, simple and cyclical as it is, where you guide the Rider through 10 enemy-filled "sectors" on a quest to find the alien Quadrunners' secret base. Endurance Mode is similar, but removes the story in favor of focusing on the countdown clock – it's essentially a Time Trial mode. And Solo Mode is simpler still, again pitting you against the clock but also removing any and all aliens from the roadways. You ride alone.

In addition to all this there is also a level creator as found in ExciteBike. The advantage in playing this game on the Wii is that your creations are retained in memory when you come back to the game another time.

Mach Rider is by no means a bad game and it does have some nice ideas. It just doesn't have that spark to make it stand out from the rest. On the whole it is a pretty bland experience and probably only worth downloading if you are really curious, or enjoyed it back in the days.

2/5

Average reader rating: 2.91 (11 ratings)

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Screenshots

Mach Rider Screenshot Mach Rider Screenshot Mach Rider Screenshot Mach Rider Screenshot

Mach Rider (Video Clip)

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Have your say about Mach Rider

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1. Bass X0 United Kingdom 17 Apr 2007, 13:51 GMT

Looks dull, but a proper sequel on the Wii would be awesome.

2. Don-Bon United States 01 May 2007, 23:06 GMT

I will get this if I had a lot of extra points.
I bought this game for the NES many years ago and I had fun with it. I sometimes dust off the NES and play a few games, but I rarely play this one.
My only "good" reason to get this game is so I can use a control stick other than a pad. Which is not a very good reason but it will make things easier at some parts.
I'll think about it...

3. Felix Canada 08 May 2007, 13:20 GMT

Bass X, I'm right behind you :D. I got this game like 9 years ago... It was hard! But... weird :P. I kinda liked it though...

When I saw how they transformed ExciteBike into ExciteTruck, I can think that everything is possible now!

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4. Bass X0 United Kingdom 09 Jul 2007, 14:55 GMT

Wow. In the video, it looks like enemy bikes come up from behind you and simply destroy you with no warning.

5. Nestea80 Canada 09 Jul 2007, 16:51 GMT

There's a rearview mirror ... that's your warning.

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6. ZueriHB Switzerland 09 Jul 2007, 21:51 GMT

I play this game occasionally, it's fun.

7. Pit 42 United States 24 Jul 2007, 00:15 GMT

At least it's better than Sega Mega Drive's 'Super Hang-On'. THAT was a snooze session.

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8. Boredom v2.2 United States 30 Nov 2007, 00:19 GMT

When i was listening to it's music, it sounded sooooo familiar! Anyone know what other game(s) this song is in?

9. erik United States 23 Dec 2007, 22:10 GMT

desperate guy, its from smash bros melee, the alternate song in big blue

10. learn japanese ds Canada 09 Jan 2008, 21:05 GMT

There is a level editor in this game isn't there?

11. DBR United States 17 Jan 2008, 16:46 GMT

Quote--------------------
Desperate for SSBB and stuff!
When i was listening to it's music, it sounded sooooo familiar! Anyone know what other game(s) this song is in?
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If you played Super Smash Bros. Melee, which I'm guessing you did, then its the alternate song played when you select the "Big Blue" level.

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12. moom andw United States 22 Jan 2008, 20:44 GMT

crapyist pice of crap evar!

13. lordbowser United States 04 May 2008, 20:49 GMT

2 stars seems a bit low IMO. This game is alot of fun when you have a couple of people around to create a course and then play it to see who lasts the longest.

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14. Mr. Cheez United States 03 Jul 2008, 21:24 GMT

I was originally gonna download this cuz I heard it's music in Melee, but since everyone said it's complete crap I didn't.

15. Andio Pandio United Kingdom 06 Aug 2008, 23:22 GMT

Downloaded this just for the music, but actually really enjoying it!
Takes up a lot of memory tho...

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