At first when I heard of a jet ski game on the VC, I thought it would be stupid. Then, I heard how people really liked it, so I gave it a try.
Gameplay: The gamplay is amazing. It is a fun racing game that isn't too hard, but is challenging. It has the best water effects on any watercraft game on any system up to date.
Graphics: For N64, they are pretty good. I really liked how the water was very detailed. The racers were sometimes blocky, but that didn't effect on how fun the game was.
Sound: The actual jet skis sound somewhat realistic. I also liked how the waves had unique sounds that didn't seem to repeat themselves.
Final Thoughts: This is a great game that is worth 1000 Wii points. Really, the only major downside is that it is short, and could've had more racers to choose from. Other than that, I highly recommend it for any racing/watercraft fans.
It's hard to rate a game with a clear mind of the past with out the current games coming to mind. I will do my best to keep them seperate and do an unbiased review. Wavve Race was one of the launch titles of the N64. It really show cases the abilities of the console. On the Wii it does it right again. There are several different modes you can pick from, challenge, versus, time challenge, trick challenge and practice.
It's pretty basic even for racing games from it's day. There's nothing special here as far as modes go. It would have been nice to have some kind of online tally for this game to complete with people around the world like in XB live, but it's Nintendo, we're lucky we are getting on line right now at all.
The controls are pretty standard, not quite as sharp as I would like them. Turning the craft can be a bit touchie at times. You can adjust that on the vehicle selection screen. Speaking or which there are only 4 vehicles to choose from. None of the cast of Nintendo characters make it to the line up. The impacts of the waves do make you change your tactics of racing and can effect your abilities. It's pretty cool how this is done. It's not like many of the racing games on the ground or in the air.
In order to keep racing you have to get a certain amount of points and stay within the bobber's. Otherwise you don't move on or retire. The graphics are quite nice and really show case the N64's capabilities. The water is really nice and refreshing looking. It's animated quite well and has a great reflection quality to it. The characters are blocky ,but are animated well and react well to the movements. There are only a couple of animations though, so it can get kind of repeditive. The sounds, voices and music are pretty average.
Nothing you will really want to hear over and over again. You may just want to mute the TV and put on your favorite CD. All in all Wave Race is a solid racing title for anyone looking for a good budget title or want to relive the days of the N64. It's worth the 1k points you'll spend.
