Breakdown of Blast Corps' Game Elements:
Graphics:
4.9 out of 5: Blast Corps' graphics are easily
on par with the SGI demos used on the evening news to illustrate a future
building or monument. The water, trees, buildings, vehicles -- everything
-- is beautiful eye candy.
The only problem lies in how stagnant the world of Blast Corps is.
Trees are immovable and the only animation you're likely to see is from
the water. The reason that this is a problem is simply because a game in
which things get blown up should show the effects of the game's explosions.
The only way you'll know something has been blown up in Blast Corps is
to look at the immaculate dirt patch where a building used to be. There's
no rubble or anything.
The explosions themselves aren't all that that hot either. When was
the last time that you saw a green explosion that wasn't part of a fireworks
display? The nuclear explosion of the runaway carrier is pitiful when
compared to that of the fusion cannon in Turok.
While Blast Corps' graphics have their problems, they're more SGI like
than Pilotwings' graphics and run at full screen. That alone is worth a
high graphics rating.
Music:
2 out of 5: In general, Blast Corps' music is
inappropriate for its gameplay. A super hyper country twang is definitely
not what I'd think of when trying to stop a runaway nuclear weapon or demolishing
buildings. Much of the music is so hyper that it actually gave me a headache!
Fortunately, there's an option to lower the music's volume. The music also
sounds more like SNES music than N64 music. The J-bomb's theme is probably
the only really nice tune in the game. Rare's music is usually better than
this. Very disappointing.
Sound FX:
3 out of 5: Some of the sounds are pretty good,
some of them are pretty bad. The voices are the by far the worst on the
N64 and are the most repetitive as well. The explosions have little if
any bass. The horns are well done, and so are the sounds of the train and
the shiny robot vehicle's footsteps. Other sounds are fair at best.
Play Control:
2 out of 10: Control of the many vehicles is loose.
Steering is unintuitive. The dump truck is extremely difficult to use and
is required in too many stages. The other vehicles aren't much better.
Vehicles are slow when covering large distances. Backing up precisely is
hard to do. The only vehicles that are consistently fun are the J-Bomb
robot and the bulldozer. The poor zooming capabilities of the camera and
lack of a stationary, scaleable in-game map are frustrating. Vehicles bounce
off of the poorly defined stage borders. It is possible to get quite far
in Blast Corps despite the very poor control, but the control will be a
constant annoyance in doing so.
Frustration Factor:
7.5 out of 10 (10 being the worst): The
poor control is by far the most frustrating aspect of Blast Corps. If you
lose in the game, it will be the reason why. The bonus stages can be really
boring and/or frustrating. The overall flow of the game is muddled and
confusing. If you're looking for anything other than brainless,
trial-and-error gameplay, expect some considerable frustration from Blast
Corps.
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