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GAME OF THE MONTH
Cruis’n Blast
If you’ve got fond memories of the flashing lights, the thumping audio and the uniquely sticky carpets of arcades, you might recall classic racer Cruis’n USA. Well it turns out they kept making those games, and a mockery of apostrophe placement, right up until 2017 with this game Cruis’n Blast. Which just arrived on Nintendo Switch, four years later. While that all sounds like ancient history, that’s sort of the point: they don’t make games like this any more. Blast is a completely over the top arcade racer, with an almost psychedelic visual style. There are colours we’d forgotten even existed after years of playing realistic racing sims. Turquoise! Who knew? There are real cars but otherwise this is pure, unbridled nonsense and all the better for it. No online multiplayer is our only gripe, but then that’s an excuse to get three mates within elbowing distance for the four-player split screen. Secretly one of the best games of the year. Mike Channell