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Wave Race: Blue Storm

by David Trammell - June 9, 2001, 4:51 pm EDT

Although it's been weeks since I left the glory that is E3, Wave Race: Blue Storm still leaves me in awe.

Usually, when you get a glimpse of something really magnificent and think about it for while, the impression gets distorted in your mind until it's better than it really was. When you finally see the real thing, you might be a little disappointed because it doesn't look as good as you thought it would. Well, that's not the case with Wave Race: Blue Storm.

I left E3 thinking that the water effects in this game were the most stunning things I'd ever seen. Yet, I recently downloaded some huge video footage of the game in motion and lo and behold, it really was as good as I remembered (if not better). My favorite level of the demo took place on a lake with calm water (forgive me if I don't remember the name). Before the race starts you can see the water gently pulsating, just a little, from the wind. Below your Jet Ski, you can see fish in the water and the sand and gravel on the bottom of the lake, yet at the same time the water reflects your image and that of the environment around you. As the water recedes from your view, it becomes more transparent and less reflective. When the race begins, your Jet Skis create wakes that actually deform the water and interfere a little with the other racers.

The demo also demonstrated choppy waters and weather effects. The rain is absolutely freaky. It creates an endless cacophony of ripples in the boiling water and the entire time drops of water splashing the camera lens creating little deformed spots in your view for a second. Meanwhile, lighting lights up the sky in the background making silhouettes out of distant islands. You might think that all this extra detail would come at the expense of the reflections, but no. Even in rough weather, the water is still reflective (although the reflection is not as bright and easy to see because the sky is darker). Did I mention that reflections in every level distort with the waves? Well they do, and it looks stunning. The graphics are so good you will initially find yourself running up sand bars and into walls as you gape at the beauty of it all.

Fortunately, this isn't even the half of the good things I can say about Wave Race: Blue Storm. On top of this gratuitous visual feast there are a rock solid frame rate and a tried and true gameplay engine. In fact, many of you already have an inkling of what it's like to play this game. Just find a copy of Wave Race and imagine tighter controls, more accurate waves, better frame rates, seven AI opponents, multiplayer with up to four players, a turbo boost and the best controller you've ever laid hands on. That's Wave Race: Blue Storm in a nutshell.

The final impression that this game left on me is that the GameCube hardware is truly amazing. I still can't believe that it was able to do what I saw. As for the game itself, if you liked the original, I'm sure it's a safe bet to pre-order now. I just hope NST has enough time to include all the extras that this game deserves (the "Tsunami High Jump" and the "Monsoon Stunt Competition" come to mind). Either way, this game is definitely on my most wanted list. The only bad thing I might say about the E3 demo is that the levels themselves were basically from the original. There was nothing new or entirely ground breaking in the level design (from a gameplay standpoint, not graphics). Still, I'm positive there are things that weren't shown simply because they didn't need to; Wave Race: Blue Storm has already blown me away.

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Genre Racing
Developer Nintendo Software Technology
Players1 - 4

Worldwide Releases

na: Wave Race: Blue Storm
Release Nov 17, 2001
PublisherNintendo
RatingEveryone
jpn: Wave Race: Blue Storm
Release Sep 14, 2001
PublisherNintendo
RatingAll Ages
eu: Wave Race: Blue Storm
Release May 03, 2002
PublisherNintendo
Rating3+

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