Has It Held Up?: Wave Race 64
December 11th 2011 22:41
Category: No Category
It's that time of year again, with X-mas peering around the corner, a time for everyone to get into the holiday spirit; and what better way to bring in the holiday spirit than with Jet skis? They go together like eggnog and Piņa coladas, or snowmen and the Caribbean.As you have guessed by now, I really miss Summer...so lets see if this can bring back the memories of a warmer time.
Review: I do not have a very strong memory with this game, but it seems that I had this in my collection, along with everyone else that had an N64. It is also interesting to note that on the Virtual Console version of this game that many of the ads have been replaced with Nintendo ads, being that the Kawasaki license has expired long ago. This is a racing game that takes place entirely on jet skis, that aren't Kawasaki at all, in some very unique places, ranging from a sunny beach to what appears to be a military out post in the middle of the sea. the choices that you have when on the jet ski is to either race or do tricks for points. There are only four racers to choose from though and only one of which is a girl, whom I always choose, so the roster is very limited. Like stated earlier too, you are very limited as to what you can choose to do whilst you play; your options are: Championship, Time Trial, Stunt Mode, and 2 Player. The most fleshed out of these four is the championship mode, which is much like any other Grand Prix mode, containing a set number of courses and having you make certain places to advance to the next round.
The idea of having the game entirely on jet skis is defiantly a gimmick that showed off the tech at the time, and many of the water effects still look decent today. Dated, but decent. The tricks that a person can pull off are nice to look at and require proper skill to accomplish, but they don't offer any benefit when racing, making them feel not worth while in a race. The creators also bypassed a story or really any other narrative that is sometimes found in racing games these days. Instead, it is simply win because that is what you have to do to win, making it an end in it of itself. Same can be said with the Time Trials and the Stunt Mode, the only thing gotten out of it is your name on your own console/cartridge's high score chart.
Each character handles differently, no one better than the other, just differently. Such as the fat guy is fastest, and can take hits better, but is slow to accelerate, where as the female has the best grip and quickest acceleration. When racing you must stay to one side of the buoy as dictated by the letter/colour of it, with Time Trials being no different. In stunt mode you are required to go through hoops and perform tricks to get the highest points possible.
The audio feel like it is from a 90s synth-guitar, but its saving grace is that it is music from Nintendo which always seems to sound good. Like I said the water effects were amazing at its time, but today there are much better water effects out there, but none that seem to flow as well as this games. The graphics are very simple, as they put much of the detail in the clear-blue waves. The lack of a free-roam mode is disappointing, and the options for the rest of the game seem to lack luster as well.
In Conclusion: Has this game held up? Not really. It is considered by some to be a classic, but not by me. This game has aged a huge amount, it is by no means timeless. It still controls well and it can be fun just to screw around in Dolphin Park, but that does not warrant enough to have me recommend this title for another look at. It was fun pretending that it was once again summer and I wasn't trapped in this freezing dorm, but that fantasy didn't last too long. This has not held up, and is best to just leave the nostalgia alone till it goes away from this game.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Vrrrooom vroooom splish splash
Each character handles differently, no one better than the other, just differently. Such as the fat guy is fastest, and can take hits better, but is slow to accelerate, where as the female has the best grip and quickest acceleration. When racing you must stay to one side of the buoy as dictated by the letter/colour of it, with Time Trials being no different. In stunt mode you are required to go through hoops and perform tricks to get the highest points possible.
Just string up some Christmas lights on that bitch and we'll be all good.
In Conclusion: Has this game held up? Not really. It is considered by some to be a classic, but not by me. This game has aged a huge amount, it is by no means timeless. It still controls well and it can be fun just to screw around in Dolphin Park, but that does not warrant enough to have me recommend this title for another look at. It was fun pretending that it was once again summer and I wasn't trapped in this freezing dorm, but that fantasy didn't last too long. This has not held up, and is best to just leave the nostalgia alone till it goes away from this game.
| 28 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
