Star Wars Episode 1: Racer
Reviewed by Omega Man
With the newest installment of the biggest film franchise
ever, games based on it were bound to come along. The talented
people at Lucasarts heard about a high speed race across Tatooine
and realized the potential for a great game.
Graphics 9 out of 10
The graphics are very similar to Rogue Squadron's which is good.
Even without the expansion pack the graphics are pretty good. Each
pod and its driver can be viewed from every angle so you can see how
detailed they are.
Music and Sound 7 out of 10
The sound in Racer are good for the most part. Anakin yells in
English and aliens spout out Huttese. Watto is also here to sell you
junk and he sounds just like he does in the movie, which I found funny
(Stick around his shop and you may catch little Ani humming the
Imperial March.) On the downside of the sounds are the pod engines
and the music. The pod engine sounds were made before the film's
sounds were completed so they don't sound as cool. The music is
short and only plays on the third lap. It seems quiet too, but I just
tweaked the sound settings and it was fine. The Duel of the Fates
song played at the title screen is cool, but the Boonta Eve Flag Parade
song from the movie would have been more appropriate.
Game Challenge 8 out of 10
My biggest problem with the gameplay is the learning curve, which
goes from too easy to annoyingly frustrating. The first few tracks
are simple. Some courses like Grabvine Gateway on the other hand
took me forever. Once you get over the steep curve, the game is
very enjoyable but may be a bit easy for fans of racing games.
Game Play-Fun 9 out of 10
The speed is, of course, incredible. It's what makes the game so
fun. If you want to feel like you're strapped to a rocket going out of
control at over 500 MPH then Racer is your game. I found the fact
that Racer is Star Wars very fun. Sometimes Star Wars sights
distracted me though. When I first played the course with the Republic
Cruiser flying overhead I crashed because I was looking at it. It would
have been nice to have be able to view all of the ships and creatures
throughout the game.
Star Warsiness 10 out of 10
Yes, it is a Star Wars game. There aren't as many familiar things
as in Rogue Squadron but the cameos by the Republic Cruiser and
the Trade Federation Landing Craft are cool. Threepio, Artoo, Jar
Jar, Qui-Gon and the occasional Jawa show up along with Dewbacks
and Rontos around Watto's turf in Mos Espa. Would have been funny to
race a speeder or the Falcon as a reference to the classic trilogy.
Overall 8.5 out of 10
I enjoyed this game very much. Although it can get a bit frustrating
with the learning curve, it is very fun and it is a Star Wars game.