Review: Wave Race: Blue Storm
Wave Race?s stellar performance on the N64 made it one of that system?s all-time classics, and now it?s returning to help debut the GameCube.
If you ever played the N64 original, you?ll feel right at home with Blue Storm?almost uncannily so. The style and layout of many of the eight tracks mimic the N64 courses?they?re not duplicates, but if the resemblance were any stronger, they would be.
The gameplay also mirrors the first game, offering two main modes that involve standard racing tournaments and trick-based high-score competitions. Smoothly performing multiplayer action (two- to four-player split-screen) is matched by nice but minor refinements like turbo boosts and track layouts that change for each difficulty level.
The joy of playing this fine racing game comes from how beautifully it re-creates the sensation of slicing through wild, rough water. The frustration comes from how perfectly the A.I. competition races?they never falter, which means one little mistake on your part can literally cost you the race. On the whole, you?ll still find Blue Storm to be a compulsively playable blast, but it?s a shame that Nintendo didn?t tune the gameplay a little better.
Despite a few rough patches, Blue Storm is still a great game that will addict both casual gamers and racing nuts. But if you?re looking for the best jet-skiing game this fall, keep an eye out for Splashdown for the PS2?it?s still in development, but it has the potential to smoke Blue Storm.
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