Star Wars: Episode I Racer (Nintendo 64)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 8.4 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Joe Fielder
• Reviewed on: 05/24/1999
• Updated on: 04/28/2000
• Released on: 05/19/1999
• Originally published on GameSpot: Star Wars: Episode I Racer (Nintendo 64) Review

Adapting and expanding on the most intense scene of what's arguably the biggest film of the decade creates some big shoes for a game to fill, eh? If that draws a completely blank stare from you, know that the premise of Star Wars: Episode I Racer is this: you've entered the Podrace, a tournament that is much like the Ben Hur chariot race meets... Star Wars. In Racer, each contestant drives a vehicle made of a small cockpit that's literally dragged behind two or more huge starship engines. These vehicles speed upward of six hundred miles per hour and never go much higher than a few feet off of the ground.

When the LucasArts developers first read the film's script, the podrace scene must have been the unanimous choice to adapt for the introductory game of the "new franchise," and of course, much has been added to the ten-minute scene. Instead of simply racing the course on the desert world of Tatooine, you have seven additional planets and more than twenty tracks in all to race, as well as more than twenty pilots besides young Anakin Skywalker to race as.

The gameplay is much like other futuristic-style racing games out there (yes, I know it's set in a time "long, long ago," but bear with me), such as Psygnosis' Wipeout XL and Nintendo's F-Zero X, except that in this game there are no power-ups to acquire, and you can't use offensive weapons against your opponents, at least until you unlock the main boss as a playable character. You compete in a series of tournaments made up of four or more races each. If you place fourth or better, you can continue to the next race and earn money to buy upgrades to your Podracer, which you'll need to hold your own against the increasingly tough AI opponents.

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