|
Story: You do lots of neato stuff on a Jet Ski! Play mechanics: There are several modes of play in Wave Race 64: Championship Mode is the standard circuit racing that one expects of any racing game. As you progress in this mode, you open up the tracks for use in the other modes of the game. Once you've beaten a circuit in Championship mode, you can edit that circuit's wave conditions on the options screen, and these settings affect several of the different modes of play! Stunt mode has you trying to get around a track in a given amount of time while doing as many stunts as possible. Very challenging. Time Trial Mode lets you practice on any of the tracks you've reached in Championship Mode and try for new records. 2-Player simultaneous/split screen racing allows you to challenge a friend on any open tracks.
The different Jet Skis are completely customizable (and savable on a Controller Pak) right down to the character's names. Stunts are carried out using movements of the control stick (without pressing the throttle) or while going over a jump.
The A and Z buttons both function as the throttle. The R button lets you lean and slide around corners (although it's usually better to execute a tight turn with the control stick). The C buttons let you zoom in and out and occasionally pan a little to the side. It was difficult deciding just how I was going to describe the Wave Race 64 experience in this review. The game itself is very different from any racing game that I've ever played. The fact is, I could go on and on for pages describing all the good points of this game. There are some bad points, but nothing that comes close to ruining the fun of speedily racing over undulating waves. The overall feel of this game is very classy, though some things point to the fact that the developers weren't given unlimited development time (unlike the team behind Mario 64). The biggest problem is that the announcer and the in game place indicator often reflect changes before or after they happen. This has no impact at the finish of a race, however, so it really isn't a problem after all. The only other "problem" I've seen is that when a player wipes out on the sand, the player is shown emerging from the sand as though it were water. No big deal (in fact it's kind of funny). Wave Race presents almost unlimited lastability and customizability, making it well worth the large amount of money it takes to purchase the game. But most importantly, Wave Race 64 succeeds at giving the player a wonderful sense of successfully navigating a high speed Jet Ski through wonderfully interesting and varied terrain. It does so exceedingly well, and it does so in all of it's different modes of play.
If you only have enough cash to get one game -- a game you're looking forward to, like Shadows of the Empire, for example -- you may want to hold off on Wave Race until you at least try that game. But if nothing else in the '96 lineup looks to you to be a must have, then Wave Race 64 will definitely be worth your gaming dollar.
Overall Rating: Safe Buy Back to Review Contents... To Breakdown of Wave Race 64's Game Elements....
|
|
|