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A-
DEVELOPER
EA Canada/Paradigm
PUBLISHER
Electronic Arts
AVAILABLE
Now
MEDIUM
Cartridge
PLAYERS
1-4
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t's no secret that the Nintendo 64 has its fair share of racing games. A quick look at the N64 software list as of this writing shows 126 games available for the system with 29 of those being racing games. That means that roughly 23% of all games available for the N64 are in fact racing games. Overkill? I'd say so! Even though the racing market seems to be saturated, the fact remains that many of those aren't worth playing, let alone owning. Thankfully Electronic Arts hasn't let the glut of racing games deter them from creating Beetle Adventure Racing. Never before have I been so pleased with a racing game purchase. I have put more hours into playing Beetle Adventure Racing in 2 days then I have yet to spend with games like Rage Racer, Gran Turismo, or Diddy Kong Racing (all good games in their own right). As its name might suggest, Beetle Adventure Racing isn't your normal everyday racing game. The only car available to drive is the new style Volkswagen Beetle. More cars will open up as you progress through the game, but they are all Beetles with different attributes. At first I was a bit disappointed in the lack of variety, given games like Need For Speed have multiple vehicle selections to choose from. As soon as I began accumulating the other Bugs I soon discovered that each has its own style of handling, and in the end I found myself not caring in the least that there aren't any other vehicles types to choose from.  The "Adventure" in Beetle Adventure Racing is derived from the awesome tracks you'll be driving. This game simply has the best designed racing tracks ever to appear in a videogame. First of all, each race takes place over three laps. These laps are insanely long and usually take at least three minutes to drive. Each course has a multitude of sights to see and it really does become an adventure as you try to navigate through all the twists and turns each track throws at you. Let me give you a little taste of the first course in the game to give you an example of how cool it is. In Coventry Cove, you start out driving through a quaint meadow. Hot air balloons can be seen lifting slowly up into the sky in the distance. As you hit the main road you drive by a huge roaring waterfall that's simply a wonder to look at. Moving along, you head down the next stretch of road that passes through a small town. You could stick to the main road, but you see an alleyway off to the right hand side of the road and figure "What the hell…why not?" As you crank the wheel, your car's back-end slides into a phone booth. You hit the gas and make your way down the alley and you can hear the operator's voice fading into the distance saying your phone call cannot be completed as dialed. Crashing through a few crates you make it back to the main road only to see a railroad track that leads into a nearby tunnel. "Aha!" you think to yourself. "I can probably go in there…maybe next lap I'll try that." Cruising further down a hilly stretch of road you spot a box with an "N" on it. You run into it and all of a sudden your car lurches forward, your driver yells "Wahooo!", and your speeding along at 130 MPH. Trying to regain control of your car, you accidentally veer off the road and through a haystack, only to run smack into (and through) a barn door and crash out the backside. Finally you make it back to the road and continue on your journey. Next up, the road passes into the side of a mountain with a sparkling waterfall off to the left side of the cliff. You come up to a sharp right turn, and as you scrape against the road guards you notice that had you went straight you could have hit a ramp and jumped to who knows where (but you figure you'll try that next time). Driving along a few feet more you notice that a dirt road leads off to the right and up a hill. Since you were roaring along so fast you miss the opportunity to take that route, but you're sure you'll eventually see what lies up that path. So far this game sounds pretty awesome, huh? Now what if I told you that we're only about half way through the first lap of the first course? Still interested? Thought so.  As you have no doubt discerned by now, there are multiple secret paths to uncover in the game. But why would you want to drive off the beaten path? Well, the folks at EA figured they would reward your exploration tendencies by placing crates with numbers on them in the most devious and hidden spots in the game. By crashing through these crates you will earn bonus points (2, 5, or 10 points depending on the amount of difficulty in obtaining them). Collect enough of these points and you will earn yourself a continue in case you happen to suck on a course later on. Once you become really good at what you do, you just might be able to find all 100 points hidden on each track. If you achieve this and don't disqualify you'll open up a new multiplayer stage (more on that later). At its heart, Beetle Adventure Racing is in fact a game focused on (surprise!) racing. You can only keep on racing if you place at least third in the overall rankings. At the end of each race you'll be rewarded points depending on what position you finished in. In order to beat a circuit you will have to be in first place overall, which you'll find isn't always the easiest task to accomplish. There are several modes of play. The most fun can be had in one-player adventure championship racing. This is the only way you can collect bonus points and unlock secret courses and cheats. In order to unlock cheats you will have to be on the lookout for the boxes with a flower on them. You'll know you've found one if the announcer yells out "groovy!" (a la Earthworm Jim). There are several difficulty levels of play that will open up as you conquer each circuit. While there are only six tracks throughout the game, they are so varied and fun-filled that it doesn't hinder the game in the least. The only way to play all of the tracks is to win each circuit, and in order to do that you'll have to do a ton of practicing. The other single-race modes are Full Grid (it's you against all of the computer controlled cars), Duel (race against just one computer car), and Time Attack (drive around all by your lonesome to find new routes and beat your best time record). Two players can duke it out against each other on any racetrack currently opened up. While this mode can be fun, it's disappointing that there's no option that allows two players to race in the championship mode like in Mario Kart or Diddy Kong Racing. The last mode of play is the Beetle Battle and can be played with up to four players. In order to win, a player must collect all six different colored ladybugs and reach the finish line before anyone else does. Weapons are made available so you can try and stop the competition from beating you. Land mines, missiles, ladybug stealers, shields, and question mark boxes will certainly heat up the competition. Incase you're wondering, the question mark boxes will hinder your opponents for a limited time by shrouding their screen with fog, turning their screens upside down, or giving them tunnel vision. While the four-player mode is fun to play, it's quite limited when you first purchase the game since most of the levels aren't accessible until you collect the bonus points in each stage in the championship game.  The graphics simply must be seen to be believed. Sure, like any other game released there is some pop-up and the occasional glitch will let you see through a wall, but you haven't seen a racing game this detailed on any home system to date (not counting the Dreamcast, since I have yet to play it and it's not released in the US as of this writing). Each track is completely unique and has so many different areas that it is difficult to see where any textures have been reused. While driving the various courses I noticed a ton of special effects in place, such as sun flares, atmospheric fog, snow, real-time reflections, and transparencies just to name a few. The reflections on your car are especially gorgeous. When you drive around in Mount Mayhem there's a section of the track that goes deep inside a mountain and there are these blue glowing crystals. As you drive by them, you'll see your car light up and their reflections are simply astounding. The same technique is used throughout the entire game and is especially beautiful in Inferno Isle as you drive through an active volcano. Other little graphical touches like brake lights and tire marks really add to the realism that this game exudes. Never before have I seen a game create such realistic worlds and then allow the player to defy them with outrageous jumps and fantastic crashes. Oh yeah, you can rest easy with the framerate as well since I never once saw the game slow down despite having multiple cars on the screen. The game wouldn't be complete without some awesome sound effects, and believe me they're all in here. From tires squealing to glass breaking, you'll be convinced that you are indeed driving the real thing. Each car makes its own engine sound as well as its own unique horn. Even the shocks can be heard squeaking from a sharp turn or a big fall. The music is very upbeat and almost reminds me of the tunes in some of the classic Volkswagen commercials. There is very limited voice throughout the game but what is in place sounds fantastic. Other environment ambiance is in place to accompany the scenery. This is especially noticeable as you drive through the jungle and across the sandy beach in Inferno Isle.  This past weekend I took a trip into Best Buy and discovered something both startling and disturbing. There were multiple copies of Beetle Adventure Racing still on the shelf, but they were sold out of California Speed. Where's the justice in this? I can only hope that the store received a ton of Beetle Adventure Racing and like only one copy of California Speed. If that game outsells this one a great tragedy will have occurred. It has been a week since I purchased this game and I still find myself needing to play just one more time. This is simply the most fun you can have in a racing game and one that shouldn't be missed by anyone owning an N64. Only a couple of issues prevent this game from obtaining an "A". First of all, the four-player mode isn't as fun as I was hoping it would be. It's lacking the kind of addictive and competitive spirit needed in a game like this. It would have been great if four players could race (not battle) against each other. Also, the control takes some getting used to. Don't get me wrong, it ends up being perfect after you play it for awhile. However, it can be slightly frustrating for beginners. The last items that could be improved upon (and I'm being picky here) are the crashes. There are basically only two different crash animations. If you hit a solid structure your Beetle breaks up into a bunch of pieces. If you hit water you see a splash. It would have been nice to have a few more animations, especially since when you fall into a lava pit your car breaks into pieces, which is pretty lame. In the end, we can only hope EA makes a sequel and if they do they incorporate some of the above improvements. The bottom line: if you buy only one racing game this year, make sure you pick this one up. I wouldn't "steer" you wrong (sorry, had to use that in the review somewhere!).
-- Craig Majaski
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