Blast Corps Review @ Gaming Target

Written by Daniel Ekman on August 29, 2000

Review: Smashing, baby!

The only sad part about Blast Corps' history is its first name, which was Bull 64. I guess that at that time the guys at Rare hadn't found their brains yet (have they now?). Anyhow, the background to this game is simple but functional. A missile carrier has locked onto a set course straight through towns and villages towards a safe detonation site, and nothing can change its path. If it touches anything in its way, everything around it'll be obliterated.

This is where our Blast Corps team comes into the picture. With 4 dedicated people, and some of the most advanced machinery available, the team sets out to prevent a disaster from happening. Their objective is crystal clear: Remove all 'obstacles' from the carrier's path and find some scientists that'll make a safe detonation possible. To make the task a little easier, you have several vehicles at your disposal like Ballista, Skyfall, Sideswipe, and Backlash. Their names tell you everything, really. OK, almost... There's also my personal favorite J-Bomb. With this you can fly up into the sky, and with just a tap of the right button you can plummet down to the ground with devastating results.

The visuals of this game were, upon release, something that I considered spectacular. From great - if not always so realistic - lighting effects to good coloring and smooth shading. If one looks at it today with a critical eye, one might say that it looks a bit dated. However, I think that it still looks good. If there are some things that might look 'out-of-date', they're nothing that detracts from the gaming experience at all. And, if that's not a good thing to say about a game that's more than 3 years old, I don't know what is. Altogether, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Also, the game's audio is also far away from a letdown. With dead-on sound effects and some really enjoyable music - especially on the course-selection screen - this game is a joy for your ears. Even if some of the tunes are fairly simple and should be repetitive, they somehow aren't. I think that this game shows that Rare even at the early stages of the N64's life knew how to make the best of its capabilities.

The gameplay can make you forget about your surroundings. In two words this game is 'addiction encapsulated'. It's because of the great gameplay that you'll spend many nights in front of your television, torturing your poor eyes while driving madly around some bonus course just to improve your time and get that medal. Medal? Yes, medals are what you get when completing certain things in the game. Whether it's for making way for the carrier on time or just for demolishing all the buildings on a course, you still want them. Trust me.

Steering vehicles around the screen, almost all the time bashing and destroying buildings might seem tedious, but I promise you that that's one thing this game is not. Of course, the many vehicles that are all easy to control and a blast to use (sorry for the bad pun... or wait, I'm not sorry), helps with making this a game that you won't put down in an hour. Also, ingeniously structured courses that make you think, and think a lot, further helps putting this game as one of the really good games out there.

Adding to the fun, there are some extra features in the game like bonus vehicles, courses, and so on. Consider this both a curse and a blessing; you'll not want to put this game down before you have them all. Hehe, if you hear some people arguing that BC is too easy (who are those people?), that's like saying that you feel that Perfect Dark's too easy just because you've beaten it on the easiest setting. One drawback to this game, though, is that there's no multiplayer option. However, this isn't something particularly peculiar, as almost none of the N64's first batch of games supported several players at the same time. There's also just one save to cart. If you wish more, you've got to have a controller-pak ready.

Blast Corps's replay can be quite high through its addictive manner, although the lack of multiplayer support hurts the game in this category. Being part of the first wave of N64 titles on the scene, and Rare's first game for the system, I feel it presents an innovative type of play, different from most other games. This is the reason you will keep on play this title alone.