Question Of The Week [August 13th 2025]

Q: What Game Did You Get For Good Grades?

A: I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drum in life, and that’s no exception when it came to school, and growing up in the Californian school system, they really frowned on that. Classrooms were always overcrowded and the focus was never given to the kids that really needed the help, since everyone has their own learning style, and public school rarely deviates from the structured format that teachers are supposed to adhere to. All of that is to say, that I rarely got good grades, so my parents tried to incentivize me by bribing me with video games to get good grades.

I ended up getting a few different games for different systems over the years, but the one that actually stands out in my mind is San Francisco Rush 2049 for the Nintendo 64. I’m not sure why, because it’s my least favorite of the entire series (We don’t mention or count LA Rush). But there was something magical about San Francisco Rush 2049. I was in High School at that point, but I don’t believe I had a job yet, so it was one of those last games that my parents bought for me. I really struggled in High School, I even failed Computer Class (Funny since I ended up with a career in the IT field and had jobs while in school still).

San Francisco Rush 2049 went back to San Francisco after Rush 2, the Nintendo 64 exclusive, toured the USA. It also time jumped the series to 2049, which doesn’t seem all that far off now. Transforming the San Francisco bay area into a futuristic wonderland with beautiful buildings and Sky Scrapers along with neon lights and a monorail system…. None of this will actually be what San Francisco looks like in 23 years.

One of my favorite parts about 2049 is the wings the cars have, allowing stunts to be more intentional and specific. The Stunt area was the one big glaring issue for me, as Rush 2’s stunt tracks were incredible and where I spent the majority of the time in the game, however, here in this game it was just a big circular colosseum with not much to do. It was quite boring to me and a real disappointment. I did however love some of the new futuristic cars and the one level where the airplanes would fly closer and closer to you in every lap as the car launched into the air.