"A fast paced, challenging and fun game..."

Blast Corps is a game for the Nintendo 64 console which was released in the early days (1997) which was developed by the RARE team and is still a great game today. The game involves piloting various vehicles and robots and using them to race or to destroy buildings.

Story - 7/10

A pretty good story line. You are part of blast corps, a team which has been enlisted to save the world from and imminent threat. A truck carrying a nuclear payload has malfunctioned and is very unstable and unable to stop, if the truck collides with anything then millions of people will perish. It is your job to clear a path for the truck so it can be safely taken care of.

A fairly unique story but you really wouldn't expect a rich story line from a game like this.

Audio/SFX - 6/10

Music is ok nothing to special doesn't really get on your nerves that much either. Sound effects are pretty standard stuff again, nothing too special. It does however get fairly annoying having you teammates tell you to try something else or say similar stuff countless times.

Nothing really standout or bad here.

Graphics - 7/10

This game was created in the early days of the N64 so you cant really expect it to be looking like Perfect Dark or Jet Force Gemini (coincidently both of those titles were developed by RARE). The graphics are pretty standard, nothing too special nothing standout really, except for the fact that when buildings explode a multicolored haze comes out of them, doesn't really matter too much because it helps you see where you are going.

Fairly good graphics considering when it was made, I have no complaints here.

Controls - 8/10

Controls are simple really, the only buttons you need are A to accelerate, B to break, Z to get out of your vehicle, and R to use the weapon of the vehicle you are currently on. Oh and of course the control stick to steer.

The only problem is, some of hte vehicles are very hard to control (I think this was done deliberately too) and you will have nightmares about some of the levels.

Format - 7/10

Simple menus etc, my only problem with the format is, I often had trouble getting to certain levels on the globe, it isn't that easy to get to the level you want sometimes which is a real pity.

Gameplay 9/10

Good gameplay, very addictive. The gameplay involves piloting various robots and vehicles and protecting the truck loaded with the nuclear devices by destroying buildings that the truck could crash into before it does. The game levels are divided into easy medium and hard.

It sounds pretty simple but I can tell you, some of the levels are EXTREMELY hard, I'm not kidding this game is tough sometimes and you will throw down your controller and punch the TV in sheer frustration if you try to complete the whole game. The aim is to attain a gold medal on every level, this is done by obviously protecting the carrier on the main levels, but if you find communication devices in the levels then you get bonus levels which you can race cars in, blow buildings up in a certain time, collect items in a certain time etc.

The gameplay is generally fun, blowing up buildings with robots is always going to be fun though.

Atmosphere - 6/10

Hmmm, not much artistic vision that I could see, atmosphere is lacking.

Re-Playability 9/10

After you have completed all the main levels you can go back to them and destroy all the buildings, rescue all the civilians, get all the RDU's (little lights that light up once you move over them) and all the communication devices (unlock mini levels) plus the four scientists.

Once you have done that there is plenty more to do and if you are inclined to you can keep yourself occupied for many hours.

Play Time:

About 8 to 20 hours for the completion of all the main levels, considering how hard this game is. You could clock up over 100 hours if you wanted to complete the whole game, but not many people have tried.

Challenge - 11/10

One of the hardest challenges of video gaming history, there have not been many people in the world who have totally completed this game, I don't want to spoil it for you but this game is really really hard to fully complete. I doubt there is anyone on GameFAQs who has completed it.

Pros:

A good challenge
Get to blow buildings up
Diversity of cares and robots
Easy to pick up a controller and play

Cons:

HARD
Often quite frustrating
Quite old
Not the best graphics or Audio by today's standards

Rent/Buy

I'd say buy it if you are bored and want a good challenge, you could probably pick this up at a garage sale or EB for 5 bucks.

Overall - 8/10

The game is quite fun and it is a real accomplishment just to beat the normal levels, a good game in general from the folks at RARE.

Disclaimer: Reviews are just opinions, if you don't like mine write your own.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/24/04