Star Wars Racer Revenge

Leave it to Lucas Arts to continue offering games in the much loved Star Wars universe and with Episode Two just around the corner, you can bet a Wookie that we’ll see many more titles.  Still, Racer Revenge is the closest thing to an Episode Two title available. It is also the sequel to Star Wars Racer--a game that featured the fast and furious world of pod racing.

In the film and in the game, a child named Anakin Skywalker wins the Boonta Eve race in Tatooine and humiliates the top racer known as Sebulba.  Now, eight years later, Sebulba comes out of hiding to seek revenge and to regain his popularity in the pod racing circuit.  With pod racing more popular than ever, Sebulba is determined to make Skywalker pay in the Boonta Eve Classic. Thus begins the highly charged racing event that spans through thirteen different worlds to go up against eighteen different yet determined racers. 

Gamers start with eight pod racers, which is sufficient enough to begin with and perfect to get to know in the Single Play mode. Initially there are three playing modes--Single Play mode, Versus mode and Tournament mode.  First time game players should select Single Play mode since in this mode you have the option to go through practice runs (gamers can even change the number of racers to fit their training needs).  Gamers will also notice that there are four racing tracks/worlds to race in for starters.

Pod racing, as gamers will soon find out, is startlingly fast.  Luckily the controls are smoother than the ones in Star Wars Racer and after a few pod racers try to ram you off course, you’ll see why.  Smoother handling of the pod racer allows for quicker turns and for giving gamers more room to maneuver through the landscape.  You might even notice that this time around the Damage Indicator lights up red more quickly than usual.  This is because now the other racers are more violent than before.

The racing becomes dangerous when other pod racers try to ram your pod into a boulder or a wall surface.  When pod racers smash into you, the damage indicator lights (which start as green) turns red until the last bar light up and your pod racer becomes burning wreckage.  However, if you were to do the smashing, damage to your pod racer never shows up.  KO as many pod racers as possible, they count in the other play modes.

All three modes follow the same race structure--three laps around the terrain and up to six racers all fighting for first place.  Gamers can select four different camera changes that they can be comfortable with and even select (in the Pause Menu screen) the Advanced Control option which allows gamers to independently control the two engines manually (as Anakin did in the movie) using the two analog sticks.  Of course, this makes for a much more challenging race.  And if damage to the engines show up on the indicator (the indicator will also sound an alarm) pressing and holding down the L2 button help repair some of the damage.

Sadly there is no Story mode, which would have been wonderful since the game hypes up Sebulba’s much anticipated run with Skywalker.  The closest thing that comes close to Story mode is the Tournament mode which is the major playing mode that gamers use to unlock new racers and race tracks.  This mode goes through the Boonta Eve Classic where gamers have to at least win third place to move on to the next race.  Loosing the race or getting killed means you have to start the race all over again.

After winning each race, depending on how many racers you KO’d and what position you landed, players are awarded money (known as Watto‘s Bribe here) which you can use in Watto’s Garage. Watto, from Episode One, will accept Watto’s Bribe earned for trashing other pod racers and allow you to purchase pod racer upgrades such as extra speed or reparability.  The higher the upgrade, the stronger chance the pod racer has to advance to the next race.

Winning the Tournament mode opens up new characters and racing worlds, although you have to win the mode up to three times to unlock all eighteen racers and thirteen racing tracks.  The reward is truly worth the effort though since all of the racers are all strange and interesting creatures.

The game’s graphics are not as spectacular as they should be considering the depth of the terrain and the beauty of the fantastical landscape.  There isn’t much detail to hold much attention, although there are areas that look better than others.  Sometimes the ground “bleeds” into a mass of confusion that might confuse gamers into thinking the path ends or leads you into the side of a canyon with the same texture as the ground itself.

However, the pods themselves are outstanding.  They’re all nicely detailed and look good during close ups or replays of devastating crashes.

Yet the sound is something of a disappointment.  The game does feature John Williams’s wonderful score from the opening of the game and throughout the races themselves.  Most of the music is from Episode One and is recognizable since it has been used in various Star Wars related games since that movie premiered.  Yet when it comes to the running commentary of the announcer Dax Gazaway the game’s sound turns sour.

For one thing, Dax’s repeats the same phrases to an unbearable limit.  Many of the comments are colorful and often very comical, yet “Ouch, that must really hurt” can loose its humorous edge after the fifth time you hear it in one race . . . thank God you can turn off the announcer in the Pause Menu.  On a much lighter note, though, the racers do shout out things during the race that make up for the commentator.  It’s rather comical to hear them shout out in their alien tongue while Skywalker shouts out “You can’t beat a Jedi, fool!”

The game’s multiplayer option does have a lot to offer, although it does come in the form of the same things Single Player mode has to offer and Tournament is just as fun against a friend as it is playing on your own.  In the Options menu, gamers can even toggle between horizontal and vertical split-screen.

Star Wars Racer Revenge does not come close to being the racing game that Splashdown (a really fantastic Rainbow Studios title) was even though it is a step in the right direction.  Although not a bad game, Racer Revenge has its share of moments that will give gamers enough of a good time . . . as short as that time might be.

Gameplay: 9.0
Taking control of the racing pods is actually quite simple and gamers will notice that the racing is smoother and less jerky that the previous Star Wars racing game.  The racing is also more frantic in this game . . . not to mention more violent.  Gamers can now attack other racers, causing them to swerve off the road and into a pillar or a boulder. 

Each racing terrain is filled with secret routes or short cuts which can be missed at the incredible speed of the racing pod, but since control of the racing pod is less elaborate, gamers can turn sharply towards the secret areas in the second lap.

Graphics: 7.8

The game does lack a certain degree of detail that would have made this game spectacular looking--especially since the terrain is fantastical in nature and quite beautiful.  Much of the landscape “bleeds” into one solid mess, making it difficult to determine if the road continues or not.

Just about the only thing that does look great are the pod racers themselves.  During the race, pressing the Triangle button allows gamers to change the camera views and close ups of the racing pods are nicely detailed.

Sound: 7.0
Much of the game’s soundtrack comes from the original John Williams score featured in the Star Wars Episode One film.  Those familiar with the score know how sweeping and wonderfully dramatic it is and it is nice to hear it in the game. In fact, the score is quite possibly the best part about the sound.

Unforgiving, though, is the running commentary that grows on one’s skin before gamers get to the second lap.  There’s a great overuse of phrases that were funny once or twice but become stale by the next race but the commentary does give you in indication of which racer are ahead of you.  However, the many phrases tossed about by passing racers are quite comical that it never grows old.

Difficulty: 8.6
Single Play mode allows gamers to get to know the controls through its practice run option . . . and this is an option gamers should turn to first before running through the more difficult modes such as Tournament.  Depending on the racer gamers choose (you do not get to choose racing pods) determines the difficulty the chosen racer will endure during the race since different racing pods have their own weaknesses and strengths.

Concept: 8.9
The game’s premise is not at all a bad one even though the game doesn’t follow a continuous story line of any kind.  However, this game is about racing and with a wide variety of racers available (and many more to unlock) and a nice range of racetracks to boot (with more tracks to unlock), this game seems to have covered all the bases.

Multiplayer: 8.9
Racer Revenge does make for a great multiplayer game, especially since there are eighteen different racers and thirteen different racetracks.  Gamers can race against a friend as a pair or throw in six computer-controlled racers to the mix. 

Overall: 7.8
With all the right elements to make a stellar racing game, Star Wars Racer Revenge fails to inspire true excitement or bring something wholly different.  Those loyal to the Star Wars franchise will find this title worthwhile and so will fans of the racing genre, however, the novelty of racing in the Star Wars universe grows old way too soon.