Flash forward nearly two decades and I’d be driving at ground level across the expansive map in Just Cause 2, still hoping for that feeling. Indeed, even back in those days, I would land my gyrocopter on a highway and taxi it across the map at ground level to simulate the experience I was looking for. One could claim that I desired an N64 not for Super Mario 64, but for Pilotwings 64’s little USA map that let you roam a significantly condensed representation of the country. Instead, when I saw Cruis’n USAfor the first time, I believed it to be an unrestricted race across the whole United States - ripe for sightseeing - and not just a linear race past flat, 2D representations of famous landmarks.

In those early days, the days of my pre-adolescence, I had no idea the limitations of the medium, nor any grasp on how a video game was constructed. Since the dawn of 3D graphics, I’ve dreamt of a very specific sort of game the road trip game.