Customer Reviews

WAVERACE BLUE STORM - GAME CUBE

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

For some strange reason Wave Race: Blue Storm has been plagued with many conflicting reviews all over the internet. Some very respectable sites have given it high ratings, like ign.com - 9.2 out of 10. But elsewhere you'll see many average-joe reviewers (like here on Amazon.com) who vent about the hard controls, or how it's too much like the first Wave Race, etc (many of them give incredibly low scores of 0 or 1). So before I ever played the game I had strange ideas about what it would be like.

Eventually I gave in and purchased it used, I really liked the first one and had to play the new one. Upon playing Wave Race: Blue Storm for the first time i was really shocked, this game is so great. The graphics are fantastic and will catch your eye immediately, the water especially (with fish, dolphins, whales, sharks, penguins, etc) is so awesome. But the controls are really good as well, I was shocked that so many people could complain about it. I was able to jump into the game pretty easily and I didn't find the controls too hard at all. Of course it gets more challenging as you play harder cicuits and when the weather gets worse, but that's to be expected and just adds to the depth of the gameplay. The sound is incredibly improved over the first Wave Race, it even has some pretty cool music. I really like this game alot, I think the only problem is it's going to be hard for people who don't own it. A newbie will find it challenging to hang in there with a seasoned Wave Race veteran, especially since there's no handicap option in multiplayer. But besides that this game is very solid, and if you can get some other Wave Race lovin' buddies together you're in for a real good time. There's really no question that this game is worthy of 5 stars.

The best import release I've ever played.
This is the game I really couldn't wait to have. I played this game first (and last) at E3 and Spaceworld. I actually picked up the N64 rumble version of Wave Race this year in Japan since it was never released here. For a lot of people, Golden Eye and Mario Kart are institutions, and personally I like those games too, but Wave Race is my true bread and butter. For anyone who liked the original, Wave Race: Blue Storm will definitely not disappoint. I've logged in around 12 hours with the game so far, and it's really hard to pull me from playing more.

Wave Race 64 was actually a tech demo that led to a game. WRBS was the same way. It's a great game that can show what the GameCube can do. The water effects are truly breathtaking. WRBS took the water physics from the N64 version and improved on them considerably. The waves that I've seen so far have just utterly blown me away, as well as chewed me up and spit me out. Chop is nothing. Ripping around massive waves is something you'll now have to master. And it's not easy.

All of the track layouts and environments are excellent. Sure, there are throwbacks to the original, but there are so many things added that it's like a new course altogether. There are some really cool short cuts, like blasting through an ice covered wall to making jumps over walls and rocks, and diving under piers. I haven't finished the game, but according to my boy Ravi Hiranand (yes, ex-N64HQ), there are 8 environments to race in, with 19 tracks total, not including stunt tracks.

Here is the line up and amount of tracks per environment. Dolphin Park (1) + Ethnic (3) + Southern Island (3) + Aspen Lake (3) + City Harbor (3) + Cool Ocean (3) + Aqua Maze (2) + Victory Gate (1) = 19.

On clear days you can see everything that is going on under the water. Depending on which course you're racing, you'll see fish, dolphins, and even whales. If it's under water, NST put it in the game. Water is not the only thing that is beautiful in this game. The surrounding environments are also richly detailed. Too bad you really won't notice until you watch the replays.

Racing with 7 other racers on the course makes the game a lot more fun, but a little more difficult because there are that many more racers you'll have to take on. They will get in your way, knock you around, and make you miss buoys. It gets a little crowded sometimes, not that that takes anything away from the fun. The AI is challenging, but decent. You will see other racers wipe out or run into things just like you will. I would almost say that the AI cheats ala' Mario Kart, but I can't really tell. It might be the fact that I'm still trying to get better.

There is a learning curve in this game. I would have to say it's on par with its predecessor. It takes a while to get used to handling the "personal watercraft" (they aren't Jet Ski's anymore). Even though I would consider myself an expert in the original, I still had to re-learn everything for this new game. Picking the right racer is the most important thing to success. I was getting my butt kicked all over the place until I began racing with Nigel Carver. His handling suits my racing style the best, even though he's a little slower than average.

The turbo is an excellent addition to Wave Race. It can help or hurt you. Depending on who you race with, you may not want to use the turbo because it lessens their top speed so badly, even if you use it you'll eventually slow down enough to get passed again. I think it all depends where it's used. I usually turbo where I can blast by enough buoys to regain my top speed. The turbo is also great in the stunt mode. Airtime baby! Word.

Speaking of which, the stunt mode is back, and with more tricks than you'll believe. I haven't counted them yet, but I think there are at least 20. I barely played this mode, but I will say this, the triple flip has already been accomplished and I'm going for four. I'm not really big on the stunt mode yet because I'm more into the racing, but it's there, and fun. I love the new look of the rings.

I don't know what more I can say about this game. This is my THIRD set of impressions for Wave Race Blue Storm. My only complaint is that I wish there were more tracks. Sure, with difficulty you'll get different variations of the same track, but I wanted more new tracks -- and the old ones added for flavor. 8 environments is sort of weak. Unfortunately, there are no secret levels like...and I had been dreaming about. At least, they haven't been found yet. Sorry ... no lava level yet. It's also not online compatible, which was another dream of mine. SEQUEL! Other than that, I can't complain. Wave Race Blue Storm is an absolutely phenomenal game. It takes what made Wave Race 64 great, and improved on it. If you liked Wave Race 64, get ready. This game will make you laugh, cry, and of course, fill them depends. Even with some minor complaints, Wave Race Blue Storm completely and totally rocks.

SO I GIVE THIS GAME 3 Thumbs up.

Two things about this game stand out above everything else:

- Control. Right out of the gate you should know that this game has a big learning curve in controlling the jet-ski. Some people who play the game for 2 minutes put the controller down and complain of stiff steering, but guess what? A real jet-ski can't turn on a dime either, and neither should these. What you have here is truly realistic jet-ski racing, and if you stick with it and learn how to control your racer, you've got a really rewarding experience ahead of you.

- Graphics. The game's water looks simply amazing. They really went all out in creating the wave physics in this game: the waves ripple, ebb and flow just like real water. It's not perfect: sometimes the water seems <i>too</i> crystal clear, and it lacks enough reflections on the surface to make it totally photo-realistic. But it is truly a thing to see, and the important thing is that the wave physics make the racing experience all that much more realistic.

If you enjoy racing games, don't pass this one up. It's the best water racing game I've played on any of the three systems.

I recently got to play wave race BS at a cube club and 1 word
explains it all (AMAZING). First of all its the graphics i mean
it the best water effects i have ever seen (yep even better then ps2) sorry owners of ps2 but gcn is much better! The controls are
are great the controller melts into your hands for maximum gaming. The tracks are awsome(kudos) to nitendo for the great idea for diffrent weather idea. The waves are a big improvement they can go from small to waves so high its hard to explain how that tiny (jet Ski) could ride them .
The whole course is graphical splender from the teaming wild life below you to the huge wave swells that you ride. Back to the
weather one day it could be bright and sunny the other day it could be storming. Changing the feel of the course so its never the same. So put it all together and you get a great game. (...)

This game is wonderful! A year ago my friend got a GameCube, and this was his first game. He let us try it out. After me and my sister played it, we both said: LETS GET A GAMECUBE! Wave Race Blue Storm is truly one of the best games ever made!!! Compared to the N64 version, this is a wonderful improvment. Better graphics,(WAY, WAY BETTER!) especially the water and that beautiful sun! More players to choose from, More stunts and tricks, and more ramps to do the tricks on!! A must buy!!!
P.S. Ricky Winterborn is my favorite player!!!

Wave Race Blue Storm is actually an excellent game and I dont think it deserved the somewhat unwelcome and negative press it got. Most people would agree this game looks amazing,because it does and if you dont then you're blind. The handling may seem tricky at first but once the player gets used to it, the agme gets extremely entertaining. The multiplayer is great with 4 and the single player gives a good lasting challenge as well. But a lot of people and games websites have given it mediocre to good reviews which it definitely does not deserve. Here is a list of pluses and minuses for the game :

Pluses

- Incredible graphics not just on the water but on the riders and courses too
- Great gameplay with tricks and good racing elements
- Good multiplayer and this is something most of these kind of games lack
- Lasting challenge.
- Good for fans of the original AND newcomers
- The racers have a good variety and dont play all the same

Minuses

- Sound is terrible. Not for the music and sound effects but the commentary is SOOOOO annoying...
- More courses would be nice...
- The AI is sometimes very cheaty
- Multiplayer is good but some may find it dull because new players will lose very badly to pros and no handicap option

But this game is very good overall and I think it should have been received better in a gaming community where some absolutely [lousy] games get good attention

This game if compared with the previous waverace is like night and day. (More like night on earth to day in mercury.)

From the beautifully rendered graphics and wave effects, to the incredible looking rain and camera splash.

This is definitively the nintendo launch of choice. And it shows what Nintendo is known for "Quality over Quantity".

P.S. It makes all the Xbox games I've seen at the stores ho-hum.

For those people who haven't seen the game in action, Wave Race is a racing game where 8 racers, including yourself, take part in a number of racers depending on what difficulty level you are playing on. You need a set amount of points to qualify for the next race and at the end, the racer with the highest number of points wins. Oh, and did I mention that it takes place on water? Yes, water. On watercraft!
Each racer has his/her own design of watercraft with different characterises in a number of different fields including Top Speed, Acceleration, Manoeuvring, Stunt skill and Strength. Each racer requires a different style of racing to be able to win a race. There is a racer for every type of person!

There are quite a few options on the main title screen. There is Championship mode were the main races take place. Free Roam were you can explore the track without any limitations. Time Attack were you race to get the best times. Stunt Mode were you try and score the highest score on a course. Tutorial were you are taught the basics and advanced features of the game. Multi-Player were you can race against up to four of your friend and finally Options.

There are 8 different courses in total. The actual path of each course will change depending on what difficulty you are playing on, this means that different parts of the same course open up and close. A right hand turn on Normal difficulty might be a left turn on Hard and might be bypassed completely on Expert by another turning that wasn't accessible on the Normal or Hard racers. You must start off from the bottom and must race to unlock the difficulty levels and the locked course. The courses are set on wide and sometimes very open stretches of water, the "track" is roughly set out by coloured buoys. You have to pass the red buoys on the right-hand side and the yellow buoys on the left-hand side. If you miss 5 buoys then you are forced to retire from the game.

Another factor in a race is the weather. As many racing games have incorporated weather effects in their games Wave Race really makes the weather count. On a calm day, the water is calm and there are hardly any waves. Top speeds can be reached and turning is uncomplicated but during a storm waves can be 4 metres high. This means, depending on which way you face the waves, you will be bouncing up and down on top of big waves. Turning is quite hard, especially if you're turning head on into the waves. The degree of which the courses are effected by the weather depend on what course you are on.

The whole look of the game is very bright and colourful. The backdrops and surroundings of the course are bright, bold and well modelled. Like the environments the models of the characters and watercraft themselves are well above average. They are well suited to the game and fit well with the surroundings. The game really shines with the animation of the water. While racing the water is partially see threw which is an amazing site when you are riding just behind a huge wave and can see the distracted track ahead. When it is raining the raindrops hit the screen similar to the way they do in Metal Gear Solid. Also the splashes from the watercraft itself throws water onto the screen which then trickles down it.
Even the loading screens are worth looking at. While the game loads you can see the name of the course under a shallow pool of water. If the forecasted weather is sunny the waves on the screen will gently cross the screen and in rainy weather little drops of water will hit the whole pool distorting everything. The water defiantly steals the whole game and so it should!

The music is a constant feature in the game. While it isn't going to reach number 1 it's not going to end up in the bargain bin either. The music is toe tapping and very attractive, the music on the title screen puts you in the mood to hit the surf and get some racing done. It is also present in the courses, all of which are done well.
The sounds are also a major plus. Most of the effects will be you splashing the water and it is expertly done, it really draws you into the game. Spoken advice from the tutorial guides you threw the basics of the game. Also during the game your "crew pit" member gives you a ranging level of advice depending on your difficulty. This means your not given basic advice while racing on expert.

The only major complaints I have about the game is that it can be very harsh. All it takes is one mistake for you to lose the race. While racing if you hit something and fall off you could easily lose the race, this is especially true on the harder difficulty levels. It can be near impossible to regain your former position, as there are only 3 laps. Also when you start the race and on shorter races you tend to be shadowed and trailing numerous racers. These racers can easily send you into a spin or even knock you off you watercraft, which again could cost you the race. On racers where there are boundaries it is possible to "stick" to these should you collide with them and can be difficult and annoying to pull away from. These are minor problems but can be very frustrating.

This game is a great deal of fun to play. The game only gets better when multiple players race against each other. I can easily recommend this game for any racing but non-racers should also take a look but it can be difficult at times.

WaveRace for the N64 had the most perfect wave physics around. The water flowed beautifully, and the four characters offered a good cross-section of control options.

Now there's WaveRace: Blue Storm. I just sat down with it for a number of hours. And it's better than ever. Twice as many characters, all with different control schemes. Some really high speed, with sluggish control. Others with a lower top speed, but the tightest control imaginable - tigher than anything on the N64's version. I don't know what "Jade"'s deal is, but I have a guess -- most likely, he/she was using the wrong character.

The water has improved as well. It's now transparent rather than solid blue, and what you see hovering beneath the waves affects gameplay. Don't run your jetski over a coral reef that's close to the surface, or you'll take a hit and slow down.

Remember the annoying announcer from the N64 version? Gone. And the annoying elevator music? Also gone. The sound is ten times better, with rock tunes replacing the smooth jazz from the old days. Each racer has their own "coach" who does the announcing thing, all with unique comments.

The camera also now gets hit with water droplets while racing behind the characters. Thankfully, they're very tiny, so they don't distract, they just add to the atmosphere even more. And did I mention that you can now control the weather? Choose your wave height/extremity or more... would you like it sunny, overcast, or a torrential downpour in the midst of a thunderstorm? It's your call.

With old and new tracks alike, all more beautiful than ever, it's really, really hard not to love WaveRace: Blue Storm. The stuff that's new is enough to call it a true sequel, even while it's definitely retaining all the elements of the original that made it such a classic. An improvement all around, pick this one up for sure.

If you were to just pick up wave race and play it for about five minutes and then walk away you were probably left with the impression that this game is no good. You probably would think the graphics were not that great an improvmewnt and that the controls were awfull. You would be completely wrong.

Many reviews and gamers say that the contrls are sluggish, but any one who has ever ridden a jet ski knows that is not the case. You are riding on water and the games physics represent this extremely well. When doing sixty mph on a jet ski you dont exactly turn on the spot. To fault this game for having true to life physics is absurd. The games controls are great in my opinion, from the pressure difference between a slight lean in one direction to practically falling off your jet ski to get it to turn, the controls are superb.

The graphics are very wel done also. They are not on the level of Xbox and most 2nd generation PS2 titles, but this is hardly a short coming. The water in this game is amazing. And so is the myriad marine life scattered through out all the levels. From dolphins and reefs in clear blue water to the debris and boats in the dirty dingy water of a city harbor, the game is astounding.

Replay value leaves a little to be desired though. Once you have gone through the 4 championship modes it just seemed like all the other challenges weren't worthwhile. Even though this seems to be the case with most GameCube games, length is definitely an issue, and quite possibly the games only short coming.

The multiplayer was very well done too, having both a race and a stunt mode. The game runs perectly as two riders race by each other. And you can even harass the other rider by cutting in front of him and forcing him to cross your wake.

All in All this is an incredible title and all the naysayers and people complaining of "sluggish controls" quite simply haven't played the game for more than a few minutes or weren't good enough to pick up the intuitive and unique controls of racing on water. This is one of the many titles I got upon release, and had I only been able to pick one this very well might have been it

Happy Jet ski Racing!