In the last Wave Race preview update, we mentioned that Wave Race sports numerous announcers. As speculated, it seems that every character does have their own announcer. In confirming this, our source reported that “it is almost as if the character themselves are doing the announcing.” Sounds kinda weird, but it’s cool we’ll have some variety.

PGC has also learned that like Rogue Leader, Wave Race: Blue Storm will also have audio tracks dubbed in Japanese for the GameCube launch in Japan.

Our source also confirmed that all kinds of marine life are in the game, naming dolphins (we knew they were in there) and orka whales as specific examples. The “Dolphin Park” level will return in Blue Storm, and has a dolphin following you around as you cruise thru the level attempting stunts.

Last updated: 07/30/2001 by Max Lake

In a similar manner to last night’s Smash preview update, I decided to use the rest of my lunch break to give some more details on Wave Race…

Last time we updated the preview, we mentioned some characters were named after 1080 Snowboarding characters. Since then, it has been confirmed to us that these are in fact some of the 1080 gang. Maybe they’ll pop up again in the 1080 sequel that Left Field is working on?

The game will have more than one announcer. Several announcer voices, male and female, both w/ various accents can be heard in footage shown in the game. Will each character have a corresponding announcer perhaps?

One of the stunts involves flipping onto the front of the Jet Ski and sitting leisurely on it. It looks dangerous, but very cool.

We’re sure the game will have all sorts of visible marine life. We didn’t see dolphins at E3, though we did catch sight of a manta ray. On one of the pond levels, schools of fish can be seen swimming away as the Jet Skis rev up at the starting line.

It may be a longshot, but if you caught our E3 Thank Yous we did talk to the Wave Race team at E3 and made suggestions for lava & sundae levels. Who knows if it has a chance of making it in; we’re just sure happy Justin Nation will be getting some rough & rowdy weather effects to make things challenging for his much ballyhooed Wave Race skills. (We’re also thankful the Wave Race team was so cool to us at the show!)

Naturally, Wave Race should be at Nintendo’s SpaceWorld show next month, perhaps with more on display than at E3. Wave Race will be one of the few Japanese launch titles to hit GameCube come September 14th. PGC should have a couple folks attending the show, so we’ll be sure to let you know if anything is different.

Last updated: 05/21/2001 by Jonathan Metts

Thanks to various observations and conversations near the Wave Race: Blue Storm demo kiosks, we've got a few new bits of info for you fans of the series. You may have noticed in screens and/or movies that the three playable E3 demo levels are all updated versions of tracks in the original Wave Race 64. The three tracks making an encore appearance are Drake Lake, Marine Fortress, and Southern Island. NST is actually taking a Perfect Dark approach there, tossing those in for the fans. All the other tracks (for a total of eight to eleven...or more) will be completely original.

In a truly bizarre move, the characters in the E3 demo are named after the snowboarders in our beloved 1080 Snowboarding for N64. Probably just a joke, but it could be a clue of some sort...

If you're worried about the lack of info on stunts, don't be. The final game will most definitely have a full-fledged stunt mode, although we couldn't find out if it would one-up its predecessor with multi-player stunt love. With four-player racing already running and looking great though, it seems a given that the stunt mode will support at least two players at once.

Course design has taken on some new features. There is a slightly greater emphasis on shortcuts, at least in the updated levels of the E3 demo. Even more interesting, the buoys drift to new locations between laps, so you have to race the track differently with each pass. The effect is so great that you may not even realize you're racing in laps on some stages!

Finally, the intriguing tsunami mode/course (we're not sure which it is yet) was not shown at E3, but it is in the works. One of the game's developers confirmed to PGC that the tsunami is being "dabbled" with right now, probably meaning that they're playing with it and working out the technical and gameplay balance issues. At least on paper though, the tsunami sounds very much like Excitebike 64's desert or hill climb modes.

Last updated: 05/16/2001 by Max Lake

We caught a glimpse of Wave Race: Blue Storm footage today at NOA’s Press Conference and it definitely looks impressive. We’ve known for a very long time that the game will take the amazing gameplay and water effects to the next level. Now we got to see the latest build and though the visuals may not have been as earth-shattering as Rogue 2, it still looks absolutely phenomenal. Screenshots show the water looking quite life like. Racers no longer wear helmets (hey, what about safety first?) and have visible facial features and hair dos. Certainly adds a bit more personality to the Wave Racers and shows off the NGC’s graphics. Speaking of graphics, I’m looking at a screenshot right now where the water looks exactly like a real pond.

As we suspected, weather conditions will play a very large part in the game. Although the courses in the game will remain the same, it seems that the weather conditions will always be changing. You will actually be able to check the forecast and you will be able to weather conditions, from pristine mountain lakes to choppy beach surf to monstrous tsunamis. Tsunamis? Badass. Any chance for lava? (Hey, Justin’s at home keeping the server afloat as we update like madmen – for his sake, we had to ask!)

Along with weather, another new addition will to Wave Race will be a new turbo move. How this works, we’re not sure yet. Stunts will also play a much bigger role than in the previous game - while racing, one of the guys did a handstand and did something that looked more like a capporea move. There will also be ramps to launch off for doing even crazier stunts too.

There will be seven AI opponents to race against and four player modes so you can compete against your friends. Excellent! Don’t forget that the NGC’s controller has rumble functions built in, so you’ll be able to literally feel the waves beneath you. Oh yeah, NOA’s press release notes that the “Blue Storm” moniker is a “temporary name.” We didn’t see any dolphins this time but we’re sure they’ll be in there.

We’ll have more on Wave Race tomorrow from the show floor!

Last updated: 05/14/2001 by Max Lake

Last night, we reported on the Time article that discussed Lugi’s Mansion, Wave Race and Rogue Squadron and also dropped the game name “Blue Storm.” What was it? Could it be a new game? Hours later, we’ve learned that Time made a typo and that this is actually the subtitle to the GameCube version of Wave Race.

Here’s what the Time article said about Wave Race: Blue Storm and its water effects:

"The hugely entertaining jet-ski [GameCube] game Wave Race has made an art form of virtual H2O; its foam and raindrops on the camera lens will have you reaching for a towel."

That’s thrilling alright but adding “Blue Storm” to the title of “Wave Race GC” (a title that’s exciting in itself) adds a whole new dimension to this highly anticipated game’s name. It makes the game sound a lot more intense and also, a bit more threatening. Does anyone remember us listing Justin Nation’s wishes for a “perfect storm” setting? The quote and the new moniker imply we will get weather, rain and possibly storms. If we know Wave Race and Nintendo, these weather settings would no doubt affect gameplay in all kinds of interesting ways. Badass!

(Let’s hope someone was listening when Justin was hoping they’d throw a volcano with lava & all into the game somewhere too…)

We can’t get our hands on Wave Race: Blue Storm soon enough!

Last updated: 05/11/2001 by Max Lake

E3 is nearly here. Billy already left for Los Angeles early this morning. Right now, GameCube is getting some pre-show hype thanks to the stellar looking Rogue Squadron 2. It’s nothing short of phenomenal – but keep in mind that Factor 5’s/LucasArts amazing SW title will just be one of the things making us freak out on the show floor…

One of the games we’re most excited to see is Wave Race. Wave Race fans are in for some good news too. It’s been months since we’ve updated the preview, so before we go find out just how cool Wave Race is, it’s time to hit ya with what we know.

First off, it will be playable at E3. Positive reports have followed this game as it has progressed through development. In fact, we got several “inside” reports that could not give up details but were eager to say just how well the game is coming along.

Still, there have been a few points we’ve been able to unearth…

“Many racers on-screen at once” is one detail we’ve heard a few times – but in terms of specific numbers, we’re not sure yet.

Another factoid is that the game runs smoothly at 60 fps. No slowdown, no problems, no joke.

The final (and most exciting?) thing we can tell you about the next Wave Race game is that it is a LOCK for GameCube launch. Can anyone say “must have title?”

NST has apparently done great bringing this one to life. We’re looking forward to seeing it for ourselves at E3. We’ll definitely let you know more about this one once we get our hands on it next week.

Last updated: 01/03/2001 by Max Lake

Although we’re anxious to report anything about the Wave Race game in development for GameCube, there hasn’t been much new info to report. However, Next Generation recently let it be known that NST has succeeded in porting Wave Race for N64 in its entirety to GameCube hardware and will now be working on the visual enhancements and gameplay changes to make it an all new game. So, when it was reported previously that the GC game would use the same engine and physics model of the EAD Wave Race, it was meant quite literally!

In another update to our preview, we need to make an overdue correction. One of our readers wisely pointed out that the GameCube game won’t really be “Wave Race 2” and that Wave Race for N64 really wasn’t the original WaveRace. The first actual Wave Race game appeared on Game Boy and featured boats instead of Jet Skis. This would make the upcoming game “Wave Race 3.” We don’t know if this will actually be the title used for the GC game but for the record, we feel better about it all now.

In a final update to our preview, Planet staffer Justin Nation would like to start a “wish list” of sorts for the game. Since Justin thinks he’s god’s gift to WaveRace, he claims the N64 game doesn’t challenge him any more and is currently playing for a variety of weather conditions in the upcoming Wave Race game, including a “Perfect Storm” setting. Personally, I don’t see why anyone would race in bad weather, but Mistah Nation claims: “More chop, more challenge.” We don’t know if anyone is listening but for Justin’s sake, it had to be said. If any of our readers come up with some good ideas and send ‘em in, we might compile some of the best of them for the future preview updates.

Last updated: 10/15/2000

Although Wave Race was one of the very first games released for the N64, it has remained among the upper-echelon of the system's software library to this day. It's not surprising, considering the impressive physics engine and unsurpassed realism of graphical depiction of water. Rumors and rumblings for a new Wave Race game for Nintendo's next system have been floating around for a bit. It's even been hinted that work on the new Wave Race was part of the reason the name "Dolphin" was used as a project name.

Thankfully, the speculation is over now, as Space World 2000 saw the title in action for the first time in the form of an astounding tech demo. The crowd in attendance howled with delight as scenes of what was clearly the promise of "Wave Race 2" raced into view. Jet skis sped across the water with dolphins swimming alongside them, as water splashed about. The jet skis then maneuvered up ramps, one doing an amazing flip in the air. The ultra smooth, ultra fast demo was a beautiful appetizer of what we can expect from the final, playable version. Fellow Wave Race fans, we're definitely in for a real treat!

What is known about the title is that NST, who handled Ridge Racer 64, will be developing duties this time around instead of EAD team who coded the original. The Gamecube version of Wave Race will also reportedly utilize the same physics engine from the original. Sounds like a great start to us!

There is every indication that Wave Race will be among the handful of launch titles available come October 2001, when Game Cube is released in the U.S. We'll be sure to keep you posted on developments 'till then!