31st July 2019, 11:13 PM
So, I got a quite expensive thing from ebay, which arrived yesterday. I was thinking of getting a different expensive N64 game, but said 'what am I doing thinking of getting this one when I don't even have that other one I'd definitely like more', and after deciding that sadly it'll never go down in price and I missed my chance at a sanely-priced copy by like a decade, I...
N64
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Stunt Racer 64 - $175, from ebay, cart only. Yup, I got Stunt Racer 64, Boss Games' final title and a famously rare and pricey Blockbuster exclusive rental only game. This price is good -- the game goes for at least this pretty much all the time, cart only, and also getting the box or manual would at least double that price, or more. Rental copies often ended up cart only, after all. This game was published by Midway, like all four of Boss's games, but they decided to make it rental only for some reason, often speculated to be that they had Rush 2049 releasing at around the same time and didn't want to compete with themselves. Well, Rush 2049 is one of the best games ever made and this isn't so on that level I can understand it, but they should have sold both, because this is at least good for sure. I've played several hours of the game now, and while it makes a not-great first impression, once you start getting used to the loose, skiddy controls I have started to have fun with it. The games' most notable feature probably are its fantastic graphics, and it does indeed have some of the system's better graphics particularly in (the ultra-letterboxed) high res mode (and the frameratete is good and high too, in either resolution!), but the gameplay, while simple, is good. This is a tough game -- if you fall behind you probably won't be catching up, and you need to make money in races in order to upgrade your car or buy new vehicles and can only make money by finishing first or second in the race, otherwise you lose it, so I could see grinding the easier circuits for cash, unfortunately -- but it's fun anyway, so oh well.
It is kind of weird though, seeing this game have real-ish cars which look like sci-fi versions of 1950s vehicles in this somewhat Wipeout or Extreme-G-ish world of tracks on railed floating paths, but while I'd probably like the game more with Wipeout or F-Zero style controls and handling and there's no way this game is really worth the going price, I don't regret getting it at all, it's a good game and it's awesome to finally be able to play this game I've been wondering about for so long -- there were no Blockbusters in my town growing up, so I could never have played it.
N64
--
Stunt Racer 64 - $175, from ebay, cart only. Yup, I got Stunt Racer 64, Boss Games' final title and a famously rare and pricey Blockbuster exclusive rental only game. This price is good -- the game goes for at least this pretty much all the time, cart only, and also getting the box or manual would at least double that price, or more. Rental copies often ended up cart only, after all. This game was published by Midway, like all four of Boss's games, but they decided to make it rental only for some reason, often speculated to be that they had Rush 2049 releasing at around the same time and didn't want to compete with themselves. Well, Rush 2049 is one of the best games ever made and this isn't so on that level I can understand it, but they should have sold both, because this is at least good for sure. I've played several hours of the game now, and while it makes a not-great first impression, once you start getting used to the loose, skiddy controls I have started to have fun with it. The games' most notable feature probably are its fantastic graphics, and it does indeed have some of the system's better graphics particularly in (the ultra-letterboxed) high res mode (and the frameratete is good and high too, in either resolution!), but the gameplay, while simple, is good. This is a tough game -- if you fall behind you probably won't be catching up, and you need to make money in races in order to upgrade your car or buy new vehicles and can only make money by finishing first or second in the race, otherwise you lose it, so I could see grinding the easier circuits for cash, unfortunately -- but it's fun anyway, so oh well.
It is kind of weird though, seeing this game have real-ish cars which look like sci-fi versions of 1950s vehicles in this somewhat Wipeout or Extreme-G-ish world of tracks on railed floating paths, but while I'd probably like the game more with Wipeout or F-Zero style controls and handling and there's no way this game is really worth the going price, I don't regret getting it at all, it's a good game and it's awesome to finally be able to play this game I've been wondering about for so long -- there were no Blockbusters in my town growing up, so I could never have played it.