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Preview  Waverace: Blue Storm
- By Travis Coats
Neal Gittens' Impressions
Dateline: November 3, 2001.
The place: Mall of America
The occasion: Cube Club
OK, having established that, I will now give you my very rough impressions of Wave Race: Blue Storm.
I have read a ton about this game, from the courses to the wave physics to the weather effects, and all of that still could not adequately prepare me for what Wave Race really feels like.
In the short time I got to play it, the feel of the game was incredibly like being in actual water, and steering an actual Jet Ski. The programmers definitely put their time in getting the water physics of the game just right. I kept expecting to feel mist spraying up out of the screen in my face whenever another racer would pass me (which was often). This was by far the thing that impressed me the most in my playtime.
The graphics look great as well. While not photorealistic, they are definitely of a high caliber. The racers look good, and the water and backgrounds look impressive as well. While not nearly pressing the graphics capabilities of the GameCube the way games such as Rogue Leader do, they are not terrible by any means.
I definitely look forward to getting a longer chance to play this game when it is released. It holds true to the original Wave Race, which I enjoyed, while improving it in every aspect. Wave Race: Blue Storm looks to be another launch winner for the little purple titan.
-11.07.2001
Joe Mackie's Impressions
Wasn’t this game released a few years ago? Wave Race: Blue Storm plays very much like Wave Race 64. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however. Blue Storm has some of the same tracks (it's missing a bunch, but there are a few originals) and all the same modes from the original, so why would anyone shell out another $50 for this? Well, there’s a certain feeling you get when struggling to stay with the pack as rain streams into your eyes, obscuring your vision; the racer next to you suddenly vanishes, enveloped by a colossal wave, as lightning rips across the skyline, reflecting off the water. That is Wave Race: Blue Storm.
Blue Storm is a mixed bag, graphically. The riders and backgrounds are fairly simplistic. They don’t look bad exactly; it’s just nothing that couldn’t be done on the Dreamcast. The water is exceedingly realistic. Everything, including your racer, reflects in the water. In shallow water, marine life is visible beneath the surface. When racing in rain, drops will actually splash onto the camera, making navigation a bit more challenging. It’s a great effect that isn’t overused. With all of these special effects, the frame rate manages to stay steady. I’ve not once seen it skip. The end result is astonishing.
There are three circuits. Each one increases in opponent difficulty and mixes in rougher weather conditions. Also, depending on your circuit selection, the route through the track changes. The expert circuit can get to be quite challenging. Unfortunately, there’s not much beyond the three circuits to keep gamers busy. There’s a stunt mode, in which you race through giant rings in order to score points, as well as doing tricks. In Free Run, you’re allowed to race through the areas without the restrictions of timers. My complaint about Free Run is that it’s only available in sunny weather. Multiplayer wasn’t excluded, but it feels tacked on. 4 players are supported, and the framerate is rock-solid, but it’s not all that exciting.
Wave Race: Blue Storm is a pretty good launch effort. I wish Nintendo would’ve bothered to include new tracks, as well as some more multiplayer modes. It’s definitely a great game, but it’s a little disappointing, considering all the potential it had.
Final Score: 8/10
E3 2001 Impressions
Well what can I say? This game rocks plain and simple. No matter what you may think by looking at still screen shots, unless you see this game in motion you really can't appreciate the beauty of it.
From what I could gather all of the levels that were shown today were of previous levels on N64, only with one heck of a makeover. I am hoping there will be all new levels as it would seem incredibly silly to make Blue Storm a simple port of the original.
My worrisome thoughts aside, there were some wonderful aspects of this game that couldn't be seen with a casual glance. One example is when I made a rather impressive mistake my rider ended up stuck on land and quite close to a tree. When gravity started to pull the rider back into the water, I noticed that the ground textures had changed where the Jet Ski had run over them. The grass that was on the hillside was removed down to the dirt as the Jet Ski slid. This truly added a tangible sense of realism, and as we all know its the little details that count.
However I didn't notice any noticible differences in the various racers and Jet Ski's. Perhaps it may not be that apparent on a early build such as this, or I simply wasn't paying much attention. Which would be understandable as that tends to happen when you are staring at the water and soaking (pun certainly intended) in the amazing detail of it. Just to give an example of the water, on the river stage the water is calm and shallow as it was for the N64. When I was watching another person play I noticed that you can actually see the ground that is under the water. The first screen to the right shows this faintly, but it was far more apparent in motion. Needless to say this added an additional level of realism that hasn't been seen before. Attention to detail such as this is what makes Nintendo so great.
If racing games of any kind appeal to you then you owe it to yourself to pick up this game as soon as it is released. I can't think of a better way that your money could be spent.
- Travis, 05.17.2001
Wave Race: Blue Storm was shown briefly for the first time today and it was just as gorgeous as expected. Very little information is known about the title so far since the video didn't reveal all that much, but we do know there is a four player mode as well as eight different racers.
All of that is fine and dandy but the real star of this game is the water. To sum up the beauty of the virtual H20 only one word is truly needed... breathtaking, absolutely breathtaking. The clarity and sheen of the water that the GameCube is capable of producing almost puts real water itself to shame, it is simply that good. Graphically it was one of the best looking games shown at the media event, and if it plays half as good as it looks then this will be another must have title for the new system.
Tomorrow NSports will get our first hands on experience with this game and impressions will follow soon thereafter, so stay tuned.
05.01.2001
- 11.7.2001 |
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INFO |
Developer: NST
Publisher: Nintendo
Number of Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E
Release Date:
11.18.2001
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