Game: Super R.C. Pro Am
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: Rare Ltd.
Release Date: October 1991
Before they were making N64 classics, and way before they were making Xbox Kinect games, Rare released a little R.C. racing game on the NES where players competed in a top down view in races contested by remote control cars, with weapons and power-ups. Super R.C. Pro Am is the Game Boy version of this, and probably the best console for it to be on, considering the fun action and limited scope of the Game Boy cartridge in terms of tracks and modes.
Players attempt to come in 1st or 2nd place in each race to progress to the next circuit. On their way around the circuits they can pick up upgrades for their car, as well as various weapons to use in the race against their opponents such as rockets and mines. While the races is fairly easy to win, it's pretty fun to experiment with using the weapons against opponents in order to finish in the top 2 also.
Graphically the game isn't particularly bad, though the cars aren't very detailed and the tracks are basic. It's easy enough to see what you're doing, and in a Game Boy game, that's not always a given. There's some menu music, but other than this it's simply the engine sound effects which feature in races, leaving the race action a little empty.
Overall while it's not going to break any records or even become anyone's favourite racing game, Super R.C. Pro Am could have been a lot worse, and the smooth movement and fun racing action is something to be appreciated from an original Game Boy game. It's a decent approximation of the NES game, with a fair few tracks to try out and a decent progression/upgrade system.
Rating: 61/100
Grade: D
Game: Woody Woodpecker Racing
Console: Nintendo Game Boy Colour
Developer: Konami
Release Date: December 2000
Kart Racing games were unavoidable after the release of Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64, they've popped up everywhere ever since and can still be found on today's consoles at times. Unfortunately 99.9% of kart games without the Mario prefix are nowhere near as good. Something that is true of Woody Woodpecker Racing for Game Boy Colour. There are four modes, Extreme (an elimination competition), Grand Prix (a regular championship with points), Sprint (a single race) and Time Trial (a single race, on your own). Counting the four unlockable racers, there are a total of ten to play as. The racing action is some of the worst in video gaming, there's absolutely no sense of speed, the karts are incredibly slow even with this considered and there's almost no chance of winning because the AI have faster karts than you for whatever reason, even on easy mode.
There are items, all of which are unimaginative and do very little to help players gain an advantage. Strangely the item related music plays whenever anyone uses an item in the race, so get ready to hear the enemies getting a boost on the other side of the screen, because someone at Konami didn't know how to program the game not to make noise when that happens.
Graphically the game is about as basic as can be; Woody and friends are literally heads on top of a set of wheels as they go around the track. The scenery is boring and repetitive and the tracks are just as uninspired. The most exciting thing in the game is the fact that the character's face, displayed in the bottom middle of the screen changes when reacting to certain in game events, like overtaking another player. The music is bearable, but it's no consolation for the gameplay.
Overall Woody Woodpecker Racing is a terrible Game Boy Colour game and kart racer. Oddly, when it was released it got a 9.1/10 from GameSpot who were no doubt in on some sort of promotion deal with Konami, since no-one in their right mind would give this game even half that score.
Rating: 10/100
Grade: F
No comments:
Post a Comment