Wave Race: Blue Storm
December 15, 2002

     Wave Race: blue Storm was one of the first of few good games available on the Nintendo Gamecube at launch.  Many were expecting a rehash of its Nintendo 64 predecessor, Wave Race 64, and they were right.

     Like Wave Race 64, the gameplay of Blue Storm is simple.  The objective is to complete the race course, which eventually challenges your skills as you progress.  The different weather settings intensify the way you play.  Such as the stormy weather will make steering much more difficult and the waves will be much higher.  On Championship mode, you are given the choices of Exhibition, Easy, Normal, Hard and Expert, and of course, the courses get a lot more challenging.  The Free Roam mode just lets you enjoy the scenery and stuff.  The multi-player mode allows you to go head-to-head against your friends.  The Tutorial teaches the skills you need to know, which a great advantage for beginners.  Lastly, the stunt mode gives you the freedom to perform a variety of stunts on courses.  You receive points for each stunt you perform, and depending on how well they are executed, you get more points; a perfect opportunity to show off your wave racing skills.  Also, there are a few passcodes which allow several different special features.

     The controls of Blue Storm are almost exactly the same as the 64 version.  A is to move, the control stick is for steering, the left and right shoulder buttons allow tight turns, and the Z button is to boost, and the rest are used for certain stunts you can learn in the tutorial.  But getting used to the controls is another matter.  It does take quite awhile to fully master them, but in due time, you will learn.

     There has been a massive graphical upgrade between Wave Race: Blue Storm and Wave Race 64.  The water effects are very impressive, and the landscape is too.  So when you pop in your WR64 in 64 for one minute, then your WR:BS in your GCN for another, you will be wondering why you still play your WR64.  It is really quite amazing.

     There also seems to be a lack of variety of courses in Blue Storm.  Many are the same, becoming quite redundant.  Even some just seem to be upgraded 64 versions!  But nevertheless, great fun to play through.

     To conclude, I’d like to state that Wave Race: Blue Storm is definitely underrated in many areas.  Thus, if you enjoy racing games, you should definitely not pass up Blue Storm.  Though, it may seem as a simple rehash of its 64 predecessor, it is a great improvement to the gameplay, graphics, and every other area; enhancing the replay value and overall enjoyment.    

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