Wave Race
Reviewed by Ben Cohen
One of the four Game Boy player's choice games, you might expect Wave Race
to be an excellent. Well, it isn't terrible, but it's not excellent. There are
some pros and a handful of cons. Read on to find them out.
Graphics A-
The graphics are one of the better features of the game. These are almost
as good as Game Boy graphics can get. They could be a little more realistic
looking, and sometimes they're a little tough to see, but overall, these are
probably the best part of the game. It has excellent motion quality, right
down to the very last detail. Also, the racer's faces have a lot of detail, so
you can tell at a glance that they're not happy about not getting a faster boat.
Music and Sound B+
The sound corresponds well with the game. For example, the sound when
you cross the finish line sounds like it is congratulating you, while the
sound when you miss a turn sounds like it is pulling you back. Although Game
Boy cannot produce stereo sound, the invincibility sound is as close as it
gets to stereo. Overall, the sound quality is exceptional.
Game Challenge A
Believe me, this is not only one of the most challenging games for Game
Boy, it is also one of the most challenging games that Nintendo puts out!
It is very tough to earn a faster boat, because the points are pretty low.
This is defiantly a very challenging, and I don't know if you can find a more
challenging game. If you like challenges, then go and beg your parents to
buy you this game, but if you don't have a lot of patience, stay well away
from it at all times, because it can take weeks, even months to get a
faster boat.
Game Play-Fun C-
Like I said before, earning a new boat can take longer than a year's worth
of weekend chores. Although I find racing games to be fun, this one ranks
pretty low on the fun-o-meter. While it is fun to bump into your opponents
when you have invincibility power, having a limited turbo supply that runs
out very fast is not real fun. If you enjoy this, then please don't E-Mail me
asking why I gave this a C- fun rating.
Frustration
This is defiantly a game with tons of frustrating, in fact, it seems like
the developers used up about half the space putting in frustration! The
opponents seem to speed up when you pass them, and they constantly ram
you off the "water road." Also, it is very frustrating to have to make
several turns at odd angles in order to advance to the next lap. Also, if
you don's have any turbo power left before a jump (which wouldn't be a
surprise, since it takes so long to build up), you'll get stuck near the
middle and slow down drastically. Overall, this game has a very high level
of frustration. Also, the control is very bad, not only because it's not easy
racing with a D-pad, but also because the directions seem to be
switched - left is right, and right is left! Also, having the B button as the
accelerator is not very good, since it's easy to get B confused with brakes,
since in most games, the accelerator is A and the brakes are B.
Replayability A-
This game has pretty good replay value. It's good that you can go back to
other races that you've already completed so you can perfect your boating
skills. However, it's annoying to have to type in your name at the beginning
of the game. I'd say that this game has a good replay value, overall.
Game Value B
This game has pretty good value. It's a good thing that it has a pretty low
price, since is has several cons. But this game is probably worth the price,
since it's a player's choice game. I'd say that this game could have a little
lower price, but it's mainly worth the price in some ways, although it's not
in other ways.
Overall C+