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Wave Race: Blue Storm (Second review)

Tax Software Well NST is back with a sequel to their ever so popular Wave Race 64, titled Wave Race: Blue Storm. This time there is better graphics, crisper sound, and more fun then its predecessor. Do you have what it takes to be master of the waves in this splashing sequel?

You start the game being able to play only the Exhibition mode under the Championship menu. Once you beat that, you move on to 5 day circuit, then 6 day circuit, and then 7 day circuit. With each circuit, your competition becomes better and the courses become more complex.

Your main goal on each track is to basically just pass all the buoys on the correct side and still come in at a high ranking. For every buoy you pass you get one bar to build up your turbo meter, five correct passes earns you a vital turbo. You can also earn a turbo by doing an arsenal of different stunts, which you can learn through the Tutorial mode.

There are a total of 8 different tracks, 3 different difficulty levels for each track, and an array of different weather settings for each track. Each level takes place in a different part of the world. The locations range from Colorado to Japan to Alaska.

The weather affects almost everything about the tracks. It determines how dark the level is, how high the waves are, how clear your vision is, and opens or gets rid of certain shortcuts. Luckily, in Championship mode, it shows a three-day forecast so you can strategically chose which course you want under the specified weather condition.

The graphics are simply amazing. The backgrounds are crisp and colorful, the waves roll realistically, the people characters are highly detailed, and the look of the water is just a work of art. You can actually see the fish swimming in the lake beneath you or see the reflections of your surroundings in the water. The only problem with the graphics is that the splashes just don't seem authentic.

The sound is glorious, from the rumble of your machine to your coaches' remarks to the 40 different songs. Surprisingly, my trainers' remarks rarely annoy me after passing each buoy. The sound is perhaps the best quality of this game.

The controls are a little hard to get used to, and not always perfect. If you have never played either Blue Storm or Wave Race 64, I guarantee that you will not come in the top 3 in your first race. Controlling your vehicle
takes just he right touch. Personally, it took me about 5 tries to overcome the turning difficulties and come in first.

For some odd reason, it is actually easier to do a stunt then turn efficiently. All you need to do for one of the simpler stunts is just rotate the control stick or press down then up while going off of a ramp.

Now, of course, there is no such thing as a game without a fault (except Pong). Luckily, Blue Storm has few. Like mentioned before, the splashes created by your rider falling off are somewhat weak. It looks like the designers didn't add any physics to this action, the splash is the same no matter how big or small your character is.

The only other problem I had with this game is that there is no way to change the controls. Personally, I hate using the Z button and want to change my turbo command from Z to B.

Overall, this is a great game. With a killer sound track, beautiful landscapes, and an incredible addiction level, this is easily one of the best GameCube games out.

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