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Smash & Dash 'em -
Star Wars Style Review: Demolition (PlayStation 1) Super Bombad Racing (Playstation 2) by Jody Reeves 05/18/01 LucasArts throws a gutterball and a spare with two recent Star Wars games. |
Feeling inspired by how the loonies drive in my new hometown, I took it upon myself to
try a couple of the Star Wars related driving games - Demolition and Super Bombad Racing.
Star Wars Demolition (PlayStation 1)
Having previewed this game
some months ago, I had rather high hopes for Demolition, but alas, I'm rather
disappointed. I thought the premise, where Jabba calls on competitors to use their vehicle
and weapons of choice in a demolition-derby style contest, had potential. Unfortunately,
the reality does not live up to the hype.
After inserting the disk, you are whisked into Jabba's Palace, where you set up your
character and vehicle options. As you enter your name into the system, Oola treats you to
a little dance. Okay so far, and now you're led to Bib Fortuna, who helps you pick an
arena. Not bad, and now Bith musicians serenade you as you choose your opponents. So far,
so good. And then, the game begins and the anticipation of enjoyment is dissipated like a
mist in the bright sun.
I was immediately put out by the low quality of the graphics. Granted, this is a
PlayStation One game, but I know better graphics than these are possible. Edges blurred
into one another, and many of the objects lacked definition. These are conditions not
conducive to a game where you don't want to crash into other objects.
The controls for your vehicle are very awkward. The basic nature of a demolition derby is
to avoid getting hit by your opponents. By defaulting the controls to the digital pad, it
is impossible to maneuver your vehicle effectively around the arena. You are also given a
weapon to use, but I found the targeting mechanism to be useless. There was no lock-on
ability, nor was continuous fire allowed. This was button-mashing at its worst. I would
have much preferred to use the analog stick to allow for tighter control on turns, and
also have a lock-on targeting system.
A cheesy disco-esque soundtrack simply added to the annoyance. It was so bad I found
myself wishing instead for commentary by the pod race announcer from Episode I.
This is not a game to buy, nor even one to rent. There have been grumblings about what
LucasArts has released recently, and Demolition is not the game to make people happy about
LucasArts again. I have to grade Star Wars Demolition as an F.
Light Side:
- None
Dark Side:
- Awkward controls
- Targeting is awful
- Music is even more awful
- Graphics are subpar
Super Bombad Racing (Playstation 2)
This
game is published by Lucas Learning, and so is immediately a kiddie game. But hey, I had
fun!
Similar in spirit to Episode I Racer, Super Bombad Racing is a kart style game that lets
you take a character through a series of tracks to become the champion. There are three
skill levels, and the tracks you choose to race increase in difficulty as you progress
through the game.
You begin by choosing a character who pilots a vehicle unique to you. Should you choose
Darth Maul, your vehicle is the Sith Interceptor. If you race as Queen Amidala, you're
piloting the Naboo Royal Starship, and so on. Each vehicle is miniaturized into a go-kart,
and your character sits snugly inside the cockpit. Of course, your character also has a
head the size of a planetoid, but that only adds to the laughs you'll get in this game.
The graphics are tilted very much over to the cutesy side, however, they are still sharp.
One amazing effect is when racing on the Tatooine track, at one point you're forced to fly
through a sandstorm. You really can't see at this point, having been blinded by the
whirling sand.
As you race, you're also allowed to get power-ups to help you on your way. To pick them
up, simply fly your kart over the icon. Don't be surprised when your character yells out
"Yes!" upon getting one of these goodies. A nice touch is that even when
acknowledging the effort, the racer stays in character. Darth Maul's "Yes!" has
a hiss to it, while Yoda has that little laugh we first heard in "The Empire Strikes
Back."
The controls are very good -- you're given the option of using the digital pad or the
analog stick. Seeing as there are turns, canyons and obstacles, the stick is a better
choice. You will be bumped by the other karts on the track, so be prepared to do a lot of
dodging about. Also, spectators on the track are known to try to disrupt the race.
Again adding to the "this game is for kids" theme, the accompanying music is
classic Star Wars soundtrack, but scored as if for a circus. It wasn't annoying and only
added to the atmosphere.
It's almost embarrassing, but I really liked Super Bombad Racing. As much mindless fun as
it provided in single-player mode, I can see where it would really shine in multi-player.
While not a "must-buy" in my book, I didn't regret renting it. I'll grade this
one a B.
Light Side:
- Entertaining in a mindless way
- Good controls
- Cute character graphics
Dark Side:
- Slow level load time
- Not a keeper, little replay value
- A little too much like Episode I Racer
(Jody Reeves is a native of San Francisco, but wasted away for several years on the staff of US Senator Dianne Feinstein in Washington, DC. She recently moved to Las Vegas, under the pretense of returning to graduate school...eventually. Jody has been a Star Wars fan since first seeing A New Hope in 1977, becoming addicted at the impressionable age of nine. If she's not trolling the Internet searching for Episode II spoilers, Jody can be found alternating games on her PC and PSX2.)
(Screenshots from official website used by permission of Lucasfilm.)