Blast Corps

"The N64's greatest cult classic"

Ah, where to start? When I was much younger, a friend introduced me to this game. Instantly I was hooked. The problem: he never owned it, and after the days of commonly finding this game in rental stores had passed, Blast Corps faded into a memory. Two some years ago I rediscovered it after getting a used copy on a whim. My biggest worry would be that it wouldn't hold up. After all, some things are better when you're a kid. I was wrong. This game is as fun, if not more fun, than it was in the late 90s. With the benefit of years more gaming experience, I've been able to get much farther in the game and I've unlocked its true value: extremely challenging game yields extremely satisfying payoff.

STORY

Blast Corps's story is a bit odd to say the least. While many N64 games had you collecting magical jigsaw pieces or flying around with the help of a winged hat, Blast Corps charged you with preventing a nuclear apocalypse. Stranger still is that it somehow works. You are a member of Blast Corps, a team of demolitions experts. A pair of nuclear missiles were strapped to a carrier which was going to be detonated safely upon reaching it's destination. The problem: the missiles are leaking, and as an emergency protocol, the carrier is now moving tirelessly forward to its detonation site - without stopping or even steering around buildings. The leak has also made the carrier unstable, and the slightest jolt could cause all hell to break loose. Fortunately, you are armed with an arsenal of diverse vehicles meant for one thing: toppling buildings. So you set forth to clear a path for the Carrier so it can detonate safely. You'll have to activate RDUs (radiation-dispersing units), find knowledgeable scientists, and rescue any civilians still trapped in the cities marked for destruction. Not a compelling (or in any way realistic) narrative, but not bad for an N64 game.

GRAPHICS

The graphical style in Blast Corps is simply delightful. The graphical power, obviously, is in no way "modern", and gamers raised on the XBOX generation and beyond may find the graphics look very primitive. This is true. But they are great graphics in terms of look and style, with a very colorful atmosphere and great texturing and lighting effects on the vehicles (especially on J-Bomb and Thunderfirst, two of three playable robot suits). The environments are varied, from canyons to concrete to plains to volcanoes and everything in between. Explosions look very nice and seem powerful. Bits crumble off of buildings as you mash them to pieces with your vehicles. An intuitive "world map" allows you to navigate a 3-D globe and select levels. Overall the style is very cohesive, with military-type lettering and consistent looks for the NPC characters.

SOUND

Sound effects are nice and powerful-sounding. Several are very memorable, from the characteristic beeping noise Thunderfist makes as it reduces buildings to their foundations with its uppercut attack, to the clacking and rolling of trains on their tracks. NPC comments are fully voice-acted, and while they are repetitive, they don't prove bothersome. Rather, they tend to uphold the cheery atmosphere that makes the game feel so welcoming. (A complaint I've heard in other reviews is your boss's frequent saying of "Try something else!". However, this isn't much of a worry, as unless you have no idea how to use the vehicle you're driving, you'll never hear this) The soundtrack is refreshingly varied, from goofy techno-country tracks to funky, keyboard-laden jams. The only unlikeable songs are some of those played during some bonus levels, as they sound like bad MIDI heavy metal. Otherwise, the soundtrack veers between decent and very catchy.

GAMEPLAY

The game is divided into two types of levels, "carrier" levels and "bonus" levels (more on those later). The carrier levels are the heart of the game, and you will be charged with using your reflexes as well as your brain, as many of the later levels are puzzles in and of themselves. Clearing a path begins as a point-A to point-B affair, but the difficulty definitely ramps up later on. In some levels you'll have to use trains, barges, cranes and other heavy movers to transport your vehicles, yourself or giant blocks of TNT (those will be used a lot to destroy the "armored" buildings). The level design is really quite good and well thought-out. The vehicles themselves are the heart of the game, and its a joy just to hop out of one and into another, utilizing all their abilities to get the nuclear carrier out of there safely.

The vehicles themselves are as follows:

Ramdozer: You'll begin with this vehicle, which is easily the most user-friendly. Just drive forward and crush what's in front of you. It can't take down skyscrapers or armored buildings, though. However, it can push TNT blocks better than any other vehicle.

Sideswipe: An odd construction/articulated vehicle that shoots two panels out, one on either side. The panels can destroy buildings on either side of you, and you'll need to collect ammo boxes to continue using the battering-ram like panels. It has its uses, but it's slow.

Skyfall: A dune buggy with an armored underside. In carrier levels featuring Skyfall, you'll invariably find plenty of ramps and high terrain to jump off of, and Skyfall has a turbo boost that can give it big air when it needs it. Skyfall destroys buildings by falling on top of them.

Barge: Simply enough, the barge is a large boat you can use to bridge gaps and allow the carrier to cross. It can also be used for transport.

Train: The train allows you to get quickly across some levels, and it's a commonly seen level element. It includes a couple of cars, and a flatbed platform you can use to transport cars and TNT boxes.

Crane: You'll need the crane to transport heavier vehicles like the Ramdozer, and even multiple TNT boxes. For me, a crane is the mark of a frustrating level, as many harder levels require extensive use of it.

Thunderfist: A huge (biggest vehicle besides Train, Crane and Barge) silver and red robot suit that allows you to stomp across the landscape, perform somersaults and uppecut buildings into dust. It's a lot of fun to use.

Cyclone Suit: A speedy and small robot suit (more like a large exoskeleton than a giant robot) that allows you to do flips and plow through multiple buildings at once. There's a very memorable level with a unique camera angle featuring this robot.

J-Bomb: The orange robot on the box art is J-Bomb, the giant flying mecha that can soar above a level and by pressing B, come dive-bombing down onto unsuspecting skyscrapers. J-Bomb levels are pretty epic, and it's fun just to fly around aimlessly with it.

Ballista: A very agile armored motor-tricycle (it looks as weird as it sounds) that can snap up nearby ammo boxes and fire out volleys of missiles. The problem: it pivots very quickly and the missiles fire haphazardly, making it a very chaotic ride.

Police Car: A blue police car that shows up in some carrier levels, but mainly bonus levels. You can turn on the siren as a little novelty. It's speed is great compared to the big destruction vehicles, but it isn't very good at doing any destroying itself.

American Dream: You'll find this suped-up hot rod very early in the game, and it's pretty fast. It's great for getting around big levels quickly, but it does slow down a bit on grass or other rough terrain. It's horn noise is a nod to dixieland.

Muscle Car: My personal favorite vehicle in the game, it maintains a fast speed on all terrain types, is found in a number of carrier levels and many bonus levels, and its the best of the small vehicles for getting around quickly. The horn sounds pretty funky too.

Van: It's literally the A-Team van. Seriously. Need I say more? (It's pretty cool)

Chopper: Barely qualifies, it's just your stage select icon

Semi Truck: You'll be seeing this a lot, as you end all carrier levels by getting inside the Semi

On Foot: You can't destroy anything and you're pretty slow, but you can fit into tiny spaces (necessary for many secrets) and there's no other way to switch between vehicles besides trudging it out on foot.

Backlash: Ah, the infamous backlash. I had to save it for last, as it is the most rewarding and controller-snappingly infamous vehicle in the game. It's a dump truck with the backside made of heavy armor. Thus, it can do serious damage...When its spinning into a building on a drift. You literally have to drift into buildings to do any real damage, but successfully sliding into farmhouses and plowing through a series of them feels very rewarding. If you here complaints about the game's steep challenge, this is probably the reason.

A lot of the complaints about the game's challenge come from people who have not mastered the various vehicles, all of which play differently enough to warrant spending a decent amount of time practicing the more tricky ones. The thing is- Blast Corps is a gamer's game. It's a very challenging hardcore game wrapped in a casual game sheen, which is probably why this game has never been very well known. It isn't dark and brooding, and therefore can be assumed to be a fun little time waster. Wrong. This game is hard. This game is NINTENDO HARD. The days of the NES-era games were filled with incredibly difficult games that looked "kiddy". This game is partially a throwback to the era of gamer's games, and only those willing to seek out Blast Corps will be able to revel in the satisfaction of mastering such a challenge.

REPLAY VALUE

This game, while regrettably including no "real" multiplayer, has incredible replay value. After clearing a path for the carrier, you can return to any carrier level to destroy the remaining buildings, rescue scientists, rescue survivors, activate satellite beacons, turn on all RDUs, find nifty secrets like bonus vehicles and hidden areas, or shoot for better achievement medals (they range from bronze to platinum). Bonus levels are abundant, and consist of races, timed destruction challenges and more, including a very cool Pac-Man inspired RDU collection level (the pacman ghosts are bulldozers in this stage). Additionally, many vehicles have designated training levels, which perfectly outline how to use those vehicles (I'd recommend shooting for a Gold on each one so you'll be able to breeze through the tougher levels later on with your practice - the Backlash levels near the end are notoriously frustrating). You'll even visit other planets in time. If you use a memory pack, you can shoot to beat your friends' high scores on bonus levels, and start up new files when you're tired of staring at your completed world- if you can get that far. I won't be seeing full platinum medals for a while, I bet. I hope not, too. Getting there is more than half the fun.

RENT OR BUY?

Buy. Easily. It's a ton of fun, just remember to be smart about the vehicles; they play very differently. I bought a used cartridge from Gamestop about two or so years ago for 7.99. That's a steal for such a quality game.

THE FINAL WORD

One of my favorite games of all time. I can't praise it enough. It's right up there with Chrono Trigger and Fallout 3 (very different in style, very similar in that they're awesome quality). There are few games that still feel this fresh, creative and unique. Shortcomings aside, Blast Corps is a blast from start to finish- if you can make it that far.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/01/09

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