Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer

Ever since I was a kid I have been into Star Wars. Actually, Star Wars is really the only movie series that I have really gotten into. I remember going to the theater as a boy to see the movie. It was awesome!! Star Wars was worlds ahead of other space movies at that time. The whole school year, kids were talking about this movie. There was nothing like it, and it left an incredible impression on me.

I'm no longer a boy,  but at age 32, Star Wars is just as big a movie to me now as it was then. I have recently viewed Phantom Menace, and am on the Star Wars kick again. Lately I've been renting the older Star Wars movies, and buying up memorabilia like a storm. It should be no surprise, that I was very eagerlly awaiting my chance to play this title.

If you have been paying attention to this web site lately, you probably have noticed that I'm really not a big N64 fan. There have been some cool titles, but basically I think Nintendo blew it by not going to CD format (or something similar). Nintendo is an excellent developer which also produces great hardware. Problem is that the cartridge format is far too expensive, and space limiting. I generally buy Playstation games by a ratio of 10 to 1 over N64 games. They tend to be much cheaper, longer, and generally better (in my mind). For me to buy a N64 game, it must be an Excellent title, and not currently available for the PS. The N64 does have some A++ titles, don't get me wrong, I just think the PS is generally better, and cheaper, so I therefore favor that system. Anyway, I gladly paid the $59.99 asking price, as this was only for N64 (at the time), and the box said "Star Wars"!!

As you probably know, "Lucas Arts" has produced some dud games, but I'm happy to report this is not one of them. Matter of fact, this game is downright awesome!!!!! It would be a AAA title with, or without the Star Wars name attached!!! Let me explain:

The game is kinda like your basic hovercraft game (like: Wipeout XL, High Octane, Cyber Speedway, ect..), but has been done far better. The speed, and control of this game is amazing!!! Wipeout XL got great scores in nearly every review I've read, but I tell you it doesn't even come close to this game!

Episode 1 Racer is based around a scene in the Phantom Menace movie, in which Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader as a child), is involved in a pod race. This game uses that course, but then creates the remaining courses in a similar fashion. The other courses are not actual replicas of anything in the movie, but retain the same look and feel to put you in a "make believe" part of the Star Wars universe. On this note I must say, this is not the games strong point. The other courses did little to make me really feel it was part of the universe. It had a Star Wars look, but really should've had more as far as background scenery goes. I would've liked to see some of the Star Wars creatures walking around. It would've been pretty cool to see Wookies, Javas, Ewoks, and the like, but unfortunately the game adds little to the tracks besides some flying overhead ships. The tracks are really cool though!!! They are well designed, and look awesome in their own right. Actually, some of the 21+ tracks aren't even tracks. They are actual cities that you fly through that have to be seen to be believed. Heck, these tracks include hugh jumps, dropoffs, and excellent graphics. They are hugh too!! Matter of fact, they may be too hugh, but it still shows the quality of the track design. I really have no gripes with the tracks except that they should've been a little more Star Warsy.

The pods are what are really awesome. I read that each component of a pod uses as many polygons as an average racing car game does. It really shows too. The look, phsyics, and feel of the pods is perfect!!! They control great too. They stick close enough to the ground, and hardly slow when hitting a wall. Sparks fly, but most speed remains. Quite frankly, this is the best done hover racing game I have ever seen. Matter of fact, it's pretty close to the best all around racing game I have ever played. Loads of pods (21+), and excellent control really make this game stand out!

Throughout the game there is a bit of Star Wars sights and sounds. There is a Watto's shop, where you buy parts for your pod, and places to view the pod racers. Lets get real though. This is not a CD game, so it doesn't include any real cool clips from the movie. There are little parts and pieces, but not really enough. Would been real cool if it was CD and included lots of FMV from Phantom Menace (Note: Normally, I hate FMV. In the case of Star Wars FMV, I do make an exception! I'm sure most readers would agree on this one!).

To complete the game, you must place highly in each pod race. You cannot move onto the next track, until you get a high enough place in a race. This is where Watto's shop comes in. There you buy Junkyard parts, upgrades, and actual parts. I thought the interface to this was awkward. The effect wasn't though. Buying, and using the correct parts is a must in this game. I was stuck for hours on what I thought was an impossible track. One switch of a pod, and a few part mods, and I easilly placed first in my next race. Thought I had the ultimate racer before too. I did, but not for that track. This setup lends much to the replayability of this game.

At first I thought the game un-balanced. For me, it was really easy, then got impossibly hard all the sudden. Once I learned to correctly pick, and upgrade pods, the game felt more balanced.

The graphics, although not Star Warsy enough, are pretty damn good. There is some re-use of track sections, but overall the tracks all have a distinct look and feel to them. Put it this way, if you didn't know it, you'd be hard pressed to tell this wasn't a CD game. I mean this as the highest of compliments. There is alot to the tracks, and pods. The developers wisely limited the extras (Like music, video, ect..), to create an awesome playing game. They used there resources where they should've. On gameplay, not on extras. Being a Star Wars game though, it's too bad we couldn't have both.

The sound is cool. The effects are perfect, but there really isn't any music. When there is, it is only during an intense moment. This is fine by me, as I genrally don't care for music in a racing game. They were wise to use the space for ther things then the music.

I did have a few gripes. One, the crash animations were way too long. You will probably crash alot in this game, and viewing this over and over gets frustrating. Especially since your usually watching half a pack or pods pass you as the animation was taking place. It looks good, just should've been shortned. Two, Watto's shop (as I mentioned before) was awkward. I didn't like the interface at all. Three, not Star Warsy enough. It really need to utilize more characters from the Star Wars universe.

Overall, this is an awesome game. Right now, it is definetely my favorite N64 game. Overall, I really only believe Mario 64 better then this game on this system. Yes, I like it even better then Zelda! I recommend this game to everyone!!

RATINGS
GRAPHICS 98%
SOUND 91%
GAMEPLAY 96%
ORIGINALITY 98%
REPLAY VALUE 98%
OVERALL 96%