Blast Corps

"I HATE the dump truck."

Blast Corps (BC) was one of Rare's first N64 games. It combines a unique blend of action and puzzle elements to create an eclectic but highly likeable game of destruction. Sadly I overlooked this little gem when it first came out, being caught up in Mario and Goldeneye fever. I'm glad I rediscovered it once I started collecting for N64 because it's a really cool and engrossing title with lots of interesting game play elements and some pretty mean challenges for those determined to complete it.

Gameplay
The primary goal of BC is to clear a path for a rescue carrier vehicle to get to a pre-designated location. You'll have to dispose of a wide array of obstructions such as houses, sky scrapers, windmills, crates, and fences blocking the way. The carrier won't wait for you though, and you'll have to move quickly to avoid a collision. Luckily you're provided with a slew of cool vehicles to get the job done. These include everything from missile launching choppers to giant flying robot things, not to mention lots of fast cars. The game consists of several blocks of levels all of which must be completed to open up the next. However the order in which you complete each set of levels is totally up to you. I like this open endedness as there's almost always several different tasks available to you at a given time.

In addition to completing the main carrier stages BC also includes lots of unlockable side quests to keep you busy and hone your skills with the various rides. These can be opened by activating hidden satellites in the main levels. In addition to clearing the carrier's path the main levels will also reward you with medals for earning high completion percentages. To earn a gold medal you'll need to seek out and destroy all the buildings, activate all the guide lights, and rescue all the civilians in each stage, an often challenging task that will require a great deal of exploration. You can also earn medals in the bonus stages depending on how quickly you complete them and since many offer several different vehicles, choosing the right one for the situation is the key.

Like many of Rare's games BC dishes out some crazy difficulty in its later stages. Many require a specific set of strategies using several different vehicles throughout the stage. There's little room for error. A great deal of this challenge comes from the need to master the specific strengths of different vehicles. The dump truck is the most annoying and frustrating ride to handle hands down. Not only does it take incredible skill to pull off its back slide move consistently, but they force you to use the damn thing so often in the later levels you'll begging for something, anything, different in the next stage. If you can beat Diamond Sands with this bad boy you are truly a gamer among gamers.

My favorite vehicle (and I suspect most other's) is the flying robot, J-Bomb. There's something supremely satisfying about using this thing to pile driving an entire city into the ground.

While some will inevitably be turned off by the high difficulty and trial and error nature of many of the stages, personally I enjoyed the challenge. While it can and often is punishingly hard it never resorts to being unforgivably cheap or unfair. It's all about skill. If you can master the vehicles and plan your strategy well any level can be beaten with time and persistence.

Graphics
The game's visuals are pretty good for the time and have aged quite well. The camera follows you in an overhead aerial view, which makes perfect sense give the need to plan ahead and move quickly across wide areas. The vehicles are nicely detailed and satisfying to look at. They also contrast well with the backgrounds making it easy to tell where you are during the action. Terrain is usually quite varied throughout the main levels making them easy to navigate or backtrack when necessary. You've got urban areas, country, desert, water, hills, etc most of which are upbeat and bright without any particular colours being overused. Another thing I appreciated were the numerous creative visuals touches found in many levels. Some that come to mind in particular is the one set inside a volcano, the Pac-man inspired maze, the pool table, and the island with the giant human form made of rocks.

Sound
Personally, I love BC's soundtrack. Like the rest of the game it's upbeat and humorous consisting mainly of goofy country-esqe tunes. You're probably thinking that this would be the most annoying music around, but somehow it just has a really likable quality to it. It compliments the over the top chaotic silliness of the game play perfectly and there's enough variety of tracks to prevent any one from becoming overdone. My favorite is the music played during the racing mini games. Rare also used this track for boss fights in the first Donkey Kong Land game, go figure.

The sound effects also fit the game well. You've got your explosions and crumpling sounds from buildings being leveled all of which are good. The screeching of your car's tires or revving of motors is also done perfectly. The developers also threw in a few humorous touches here and there such as the barking dog horn on the van. The only thing that annoyed me a bit sound wise were your crew member wishing you good luck each time you start a stage. They only have about two or three different sayings, which as you can imagine, becomes pretty annoying after restarting Oyster Harbor for the 17th time.

Replay Ability
While the core game isn't particularly long it will probably take you a lot of trial and error to work out the best way to tackle many of the later stages. Unlocking and beating all of the mini games, side quests, and gold medals will also provide lots of replay incentive for those determined to complete all the levels. Overall there's a lot of content to be had but how much you want to take on really depends on how much time and patience you have.

Buy?
BC is an inexpensive and easy title to find that is well worth adding to your N64 collection. It's definitely more of a hardcore game, which will no doubt turn some off, but for the intended audience you can expect a good time. Just one more think, if Rare ever decides to make a sequel, than please, give us more giant flying robots and less stupid dump trucks. Thanks a bunch.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/05/08

Game Release: Blast Corps (US, 02/28/97)