Excitebike is a motocross racing video game made by Nintendo for the NES. It was released for the Famicom in Japan in 1984 and in the U.S. as a launch title for the NES in 1985. There have been some sequels made to Excitebike but nothing is as great as the original. It was one of the first games I played for the NES and the first game I played that gave me the control of designing a level with the design mode.

Although the graphics are average for an NES game of its time, where Excitebike really shines is in its gameplay. The game is simple enough for starters to jump in and start playing right away yet advanced enough to take many hour of practice to master all of the levels. As you make your way across the tracks trying to avoid obstacles and opponents, controlling your bike is done well with the D-pad, gas and turbo buttons. A the sound is catchy when it is used however there is no music during gameplay.

In ExciteBike there are three exciting modes of gameplay:

• Selection A: The player races solo while trying to get the best time.
• Selection B: The player plays against opponents controlled by the CPU acting as obstacles.
• Design Mode: The player has the ability to build his or her own racing tracks.

In both Selection A and Selection B game modes, the player races to try and make it to the finish marker within a certain time limit that's different for each track. If the player comes in at least 3rd place they qualify for the next track and eventually for the Excitebike (the championship) race. The times to beat are located on the stadium walls (for first place) and in the lower left corner (for third place). In any race, the best time is 8 seconds ahead of third place. When the player places first, then they get a message: "It's a new record!" Additional points are earned by beating the previously-set record time.

The player controls the position of the red motorbike with the directional pad. UP and DOWN control which of the four lanes the bike will be in and LEFT and RIGHT controls the pitch of the motorbike. The A button gives the motorbike gas causing it to accelerate. The B button give the motorbike a turbo boost causing the bike to accelerate faster than if just the a button is pushed. B button also increases the motorbike's temperature. If the temperature exceeds safe limits, the bike will overheat causing it to be unusable for several seconds while the bike cools off. Driving over an arrow will reduce the bike's temperature due to the speed of the bike cooling it off. SELECT button is used to choose levels or tracks and START button starts and pauses/unpauses a game.

High Jumping:
When jumping over high obstacles, push the left side of the control pad to pop a wheelie. If you keep your wheel up in the air your vehicle will go higher and farther and makes it easier to clear obstacles and get a better time.

Safe Landing:
When landing your bike, always try to keep your bikes pitch at the same angle of the landing spot. This will help you land without losing any speed.

Get Back to your bike:
When you fall off your bike, repeatedly tap the 'A' button to get back to it faster.

When to use turbo:
It's best to use turbo acceleration off the start line and just before going off of jumps.

Speed arrows:
Always try to get to the speed arrows whenever possible. Not only will they give you a speed boost, you will also cool down your engine alowing you to use more turbo.