N64 Time - Duke Nukem 64

[moonwhistle]

I really enjoyed Top Gear Rally despite generally having no interest in racing games. It has some great 90s music and the handling is way better if you select the most sensitive steering setting. The default settings are nearly impossible to control. I unlocked everything but I remember that it took ages. I like the crusty, spartan graphical style in certain N64 games. Top Gear Really 2 on the other hand I found seriously dull and gave up after 10 minutes.

[charlesr]

I liked that they tried something different for TGR2, but it sounds like it lost all the fun of the original.

[noobish hat]

Is Top Gear Overdrive related? Was it just a cash in by the same publisher, but with a different dev or something?

[nakamura]

Different dev and it sucks. Try Beetle Adventure Racing. The same dev as TGR made the superb World Driver Championship.

[Zaki]

Is Top Gear Overdrive related? Was it just a cash in by the same publisher, but with a different dev or something?

Some of the worst handling in a racer...Waited 10 years to play it too

[Zaki]

Try Beetle Adventure Racing.

Epic game! Going back to it, I can't believe how big some of the courses are on this.

[nakamura]

Indeed! I ignored it back in the day because the car is appealing but damn it's great, still fun now!

The issue with Overdrive is the courses are too up and down and the cars jump all over the place. It's just a mess.

[noobish hat]

That's enough about TGR, then. Baku Bomberman (later to become Bomberman 64) was slated pretty badly in the mag, so I wasn't expecting much, but I've actually enjoyed it quite a bit so far. It focuses on the single player mode, but it's nothing at all like the boring-as-all-hell single player stuff from 2D Bomberman games. If I had to compare it to anything, I'd say it reminds me a little of Alundra or Dark Savior. It's not isometric, but the camera rotates at fixed degrees, and the layout of the environments has a similar sort of feel to it. Even without jumping, the platforming is reminiscent of the frustratingly precise controls required in Alundra. But in a good way!

The game is divided into five worlds (with stone, water/town, volcano, snowy mountain, and city themes),.each with four stages. Two of the stages are what you might call platforming levels, one stage is a sub boss, and the last stage is a big boss. The platforming levels have different objectives. In some you have to find certain items, in others you have to activate a bridge or some other device.

The levels are all fairly short (one of the unlockables requires beating the game in 3 hours, if that tells you anything), but, and this is what I like about BB, there is much more to do. Each stage contains five gold cards which can be collected in a variety of ways. The fourth and fifth cards in the platforming levels are always for killing 30 enemies and for beating the level within the time limit. The other cards, however, are often hidden in obscure places, usually requiring techniques that you might not even know about after beating the entire game. Getting 100 gold cards opens up a whole extra world (what is it with devs locking away large portions of their games behind inconceivably difficult challenges?). There are also a whole bunch of items with which to customize your bomberman in multiplayer matches, which are hidden throughout the game (some of which are incredibly hard to obtain). This is one aspect that I love, because one of my favourite Bomberman games of all time is the beautiful cel-shaded Dreamcast game, which had a similar customization feature. Unfortunately that game was US only, so I never got to play it online and use my customized bomberman

Now, the actual bombing is quite interesting in BB, and maybe not what you'd expect if you've only played traditional Bomberman games. Bombs are both a tool and a weapon. The secret techniques I mentioned earlier include laying bombs between platforms to enable you to bounce across them (since you can't otherwise jump), building staircases out of elaborate big/small bomb structures, and erecting bomb towers. This can be a really tricky business, but really fun and satisfying when you accomplish a difficult feat. Something else that definitely needs mentioning is that the bombs have a circular radius. They don't blow up in cross shapes like in 2D Bomberman. This is mostly relevant to the multiplayer mode. As the magazine review pointed out, this drains almost all the strategy out of the game. You can't hide behind corners or anything like that. In my opinion, this has the advantage of making it fresher and more chaotic than any of the previous games. It really reminds me more of stuff like Poy Poy, which is no bad thing. It's totally random and chaotic. The number of multiplayer stages is small, but there are FOUR unlockable stages. The challenge you have to complete to unlock them is nearly impossible, but good news! You can just tap Start very rapidly at the main option screen and they will be playable until you turn off the system!

I can't really remember what else I wanted to say about the game, so I'll just mention the visuals: very nice. The crappy computer rendered boxart makes Bomberman look like ****, which is possibly why I've never approached this game before. In the game, he looks NOTHING like that. He's fatter and rounder, and everything has an almost cel-shaded cartoony quality to it, which is very appealing. The actual design is also really attractive, and some of the enemies look fantastic (my favourites are the volcano boss and the city sub boss).

Once again, I think the mag was quite harsh on this one. I'd probably give it a C+ or maybe even a B. When you first play it, it appears a little dull (like the 2D single player campaigns), but after scratching the surface, it does have more depth than you'd expect. So the single player mode easily outstrips classic Bomberman, and the multiplayer mode is also fun so long as you're not demanding a faithful 3D adaptation.

[S3M]

Baku Bomberman an under rated gem

Insanely hard however in places, getting to the real final boss is quite a feat. Then there is the small matter of beating the game in under 3 hours with all gold cards to locking the gold suit.

Good stuff but the second game was also better.

[noobish hat]

Beating the game in 3 hours is relatively simple, but getting all the gold cards in one go? Unacceptable! The bosses alone would trip you up because you have to get all the cards at once!

There's quite a variety of Bomberman games on the N64. There's the US/Japan exclusive sequel to this one, Baku Bomberman 2. There's Bomberman Hero, a completely different 3D version of Bomberman, apparently. Finally (and I do mean finally because it was one of the last N64 titles to be released), there's the Japanese exclusive Bomberman 64, which, aside from anything else, seems like a deliberate attempt to obfuscate the localised titling scheme. It's one of the rarest Japanese games in my experience, but I did manage to get a copy recently so I was chuffed to bits with that. It's a traditional 2D, multiplayer-focused Bomberman and it looks a bit like Saturn Bomberman, which is no bad thing, but of course I haven't played it yet.

[Wools]

A little advice if you'll be so kind!

I've just brought a US N64 and it's come with the original US N64 power cord that is plugged into a converter. It's a bit bulky and from my memory, it's possible to switch them.

Is it possible to buy a UK N64 power cable and it'll automatically work if I plug it in without needing the step down?

[nakamura]

I am 95% sure you can use a UK power supply. Same with SNES too.

[Wools]

Thanks Nak, I'm sure my old Japanese N64 was rocking a UK Power Cable so just wanted to check it's the case with a US console too!

[noobish hat]

Yeah, I use my PAL power cable with my Japanese N64 and it's fine. I think it's because the "block" is on the outside, on the cable, not inside the system.

[charlesr]

Yeah, they are all compatible at the N64 end. Use a UK PSU.