Blast Corps (N64 XBox One) Easy Stages
0Revisiting one of my favorite N64 games, Blast Corps, as part of the XBox 1's Rare Replay collection.
This XBox1 remaster runs much better than the original Nintendo 64 cartridge on original hardware. Thankfully, after 4 hours of intense play, I can say that it holds up exceptionally well, despite massive flaws and nuisances. This action puzzler has some truly clever level design at times, which encourages both exploration, completionism and speedrunning. Some of the vehicles you control are based around some creative mechanics, and many levels are made to exploit those mechanics.
Yet, some levels contain bizarre and obtuse secrets (ramps that are nearly too narrow to traverse, hidden areas that are WAY off the beaten path). Many areas are hampered by dumb design decisions that force repeated playthroughs with uneventful traversal requirements. If a level begins with an unskippable train or car trip, you'll have to complete it EVERY TIME you fail. The curious level design is often made worse by the wacky camera. The game almost never allows you to zoom out far enough to be useful, so you have to compensate. Some levels have an unhelpfully fixed camera that provides most of the challenge by itself.
More Blast Corps videos:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdMQF6K4ZBXMUVQusjojFg0LxwoCUX13h
Other N64 capsule reviews:
Pilotwings 64
My memory card unlocked most of the game's missions, so I was able to sample most of the game's content. 30 minutes later, I could stand no more. I simply don't have the patience for these sorts of tests, unless the underlying gameplay is sufficiently compelling. These days, games like Just Cause 2 and Far Cry 3 include the ability to land planes and race through rings. But those games have hundreds of hours of content apart from those side activities. Pilotwings doesn't.
Starfox 64
40 minutes after starting, I beat the first boss, crashed and burned multiple times through the asteroid field, and walked away. This game certainly runs better than the chunky slideshow that was the SNES original. But aiming is slippery, and the depth perception still makes obstacle avoidance a chore. Modern third-person shooters like Saints Row and Just Cause 2 don't have these problems when flying, so why bother with this?
Goldeneye
Upon release, this may have been the highest-rated game ever evaluated by Nintendo of America. How times have changed.
Don't let nostalgia and muscle memory prevent a reasonable analysis. This game has dated horribly. Not just in terms of visuals (ugly character models and choppy framerates were almost expected at the time), but in terms of basic character control. Average first-person shooters from the PS360 era make plugging targets relatively easy with a gamepad. Such actions are terribly imprecise and janky in Goldeneye. In fairness, the now-dated user interface is surprisingly useful in 2017. The auto-aim is a godsend, however, because trying to set up precision shots at a distance with these fuzzy, low resolution graphics and analog thumbstick is an exercise in frustration. You are better off charging your enemies and plugging them with a pistol at point-blank range.
Mario Kart 64
Too bad this game runs WORSE than the SNES game (25 fps, versus 60 for the original game) because the ambition is certainly there. Topography matters more. Powerups have more properties now. Tracks do a great job of incorporating wide areas and branching paths. Coins have been removed, for better and worse. They no longer determine maximum speed, but they were sometimes useful as guides for optimal paths. Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed is the superior game, with a much better campaign, but this N64 racer seems fine.
XBox One games played offline (installed from the disc; no Internet connection required):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6fa9TXHnIAoleBaTeiTRlA/search?query=xb1
NES Classic games played on original hardware and the NES Classic Mini:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdMQF6K4ZBXMaPO0pCTwJwPalw-rOq8tc
SNES Classic games played on original hardware and the SNES Classic Mini:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGf_v9CgybQ&list=PLdMQF6K4ZBXN2OBhDGU0rYkjd_VlFDA1E
My collection of videos from Sega Genesis and Megadrive games, from the Genesis Mini and other official collections:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdMQF6K4ZBXN8RUdo0HoYsJJ6V_9PRfLO
My videos from the TurboGrafx-16 Mini (also known as the PC Engine Mini):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdMQF6K4ZBXMYcqrL4sukUxba6ax1VgKh
#blastcorps
#rareware
#rarereplay