Blast Corps

"It's a blast to play....for most people"

Well, out of all the N64 games I anticipated, this one came out of the blue. It came out in the early N64 days, and from what I saw from it, it was a good thing I picked it up. Blast Corps was one of those quirky underrated games that not many people took notice. Rare's made other really good games for the N64 which eclipsed Blast Corps, and thus never got the recognition it deserved. What's it all about?

Basically, your job is to operate a wide variety of vehicles and machines in order to clear a path for some runaway trucks. These trucks carry nuclear warheads, so it says the slightest bump could set them off. OK, this part sounds strange because with all the demolishing you're doing, the truck shoul've been totaled already by the nearby tremors. Well, just think of it like the game Irritating Stick, where the truck is the stick that nothing can't touch.

Gameplay: 9/10

Sounds simple, right? Yeah, the gameplay is very basic, but at some points you gotta be a crackshot at destroying everything. Throughout the game you'll be using stuff from cranes, dump trucks, muscle cars, and even mechas to move stuff around. And you must learn how to use each vehicle well. Some of these vehicles have signature moves that you must master. The garbage truck, for instance, works a lot better by powersliding with the rear than hitting the building head on. For a game that doesn't focus mainly on racing, the cars all handle differently, and give a unique experience in riding. The physics in the jumps are a bit touchy; these cars can never really tip over and just twist and jerk when rolling downhill.

At first it's your standard 'avoid the truck' fare but the later levels have different objectives. Some are simple races that you must win against other CPU drivers. There are levels that let you choose a vehicle of your choice to do the job, and others require you to stick with one vehicle. The level designs also get weirder and weirder. I'm not gonna spoil much for you but eventually, you'll end up doing the real tough task of keeping the space shuttle from crash landing. Then you'll really start going places.

Graphics: 7/10

The scenery is OK, though it's nothing that great. The vehicles do have a lot of variety and they're well done. The mech designs are also creative. This game seems to love using the chrome texture a lot.

Sound: 7/10

The explosions and other sounds are loud and you can really hear when you've tumbled down a building. The music is more hit-or-miss. Some tunes are slow and annoying, while others are fast and go well with the pacing of the game. When the truck gets too close to an obstacle, the music gets more dramatic and you hear sirens, which helps bring up the intensity.

Replay value: 9/10

The objectives are laid out clear and simple, so you won't have a problem figuring out what you're supposed to do. You get a ranking and a medal for each level that you clear; how well you do depends on what the main objective was (not all levels are about blowing stuff up) and how quickly you cleared the level. The game gets real difficult toward the end, and you'll be hard-pressed to get a platinum medal in every stage. This one's for people that really play their N64 games.

Overall: 7/10

Not many games let you smash stuff up (when it counts), and overall this game is very innovative in its gameplay. Some might get frustrated by its quick jump in difficulty, so try renting it first to see how far ahead you can go.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/14/03