The Biggest Game Project on this Planet

Backlog: Blast Corps

What with poor Bort's passing away (to Japan) I have been gratefully bestowed with the honor of safeguarding all his game-related junk until he gets back, or until I sell it all for a hamburger.
This means I can catch up again with some games I have not been able to play because I had borrowed them to him, the first of which being Blast Corps on N64.

Also, since I am now in the temporary possession of a wealth of games I haven't (properly) played yet, I want to seize this opportunity to get some MORE gaming done.
Of course, I do not want to keep all my dear fans waiting, so I will review these also, probably under the header of "Sidelog" or possibly "Bortlog".
Does that last word sound like some kind of Lord of the Rings-esque monster? Why yes, it does!

Frodo: "Look Gandalf, it is the evil Bortlog, a hideous monster made of darkness and south-eastern Dutch Dialect!"
Gandalf:"I am MAGNETO!"

So that is a warning for the future, now let's get on with the review of Blast Corps.
This was one of Rare's first games for N64 I think, and it's totally not what you'd expect from them. In this game, you are a member of a kind of wrecking crew (not affiliated with Mario) and it is your task to destory basically everything you see.
Story? Oh yes, there's a truck carrying a Nuclear Weapon, that has gone on the rampage and become uncontrollable. It is up to you to destroy every building in its path, so that it doesn't explode and....er.....doesn't destroy everything in its path.....?

At your disposal, you have several vehicles, rangeing from rocket-firing motorbikes, to bulldozers, to giant robots, to the The A-Team Van. Outta ma Way!
These vehicles all have a different feel and control scheme, and some of them are definitely easier to use than others, but you're going to have to make due with the machines you get for each level.
Especially Backlash, which you have to operate into sliding to destroy buildings, is a pain to control, and it becomes a very prominent vehicle later on, so that can cause some frustration.
In all though, the game is not nearly as hard as most Rare games, and frustration was kept at a minimum. The difficulty is pretty low, and it good fun all the way through. I played until the normal ending, and a little bit after, but there's a bunch of new worlds to unlock if you persist, becoming increasingly difficult.

Graphically the game is alright. The vehicles look pretty, buildings look nice from the outside, explosions are bright and colorful, if totally unrealistic and environments are kinda plain.

Every stage has a bunch of RDU's to find, survivors to rescue, and buildings to destroy, find everything to earn a Gold Medal, earn all Gold Medals and face some of the hardest challenges ever devised by man, as only Rare could make them.
There are all optional though, and not necessary for simply completing the game.

All in all, I had a Blast (hohoho) and it's definitely a very original and entertaining title for as long as it lasts, which isn't very long, unfortunately.
It's fun, but nothing special. An 8.5 seems about right.

posted by Ingen! @ 3:51 PM