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Platform Filters:   All Platforms  Xbox   GameCube   PlayStation 2   PC   Game Boy Advance   Site Sections:   Updates  News   Games   Publishers   Developers   Reviews   Previews   Release Dates   Editorials   Glossary   Contact Us		Review:       30th May 2001: Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing  A Star Wars Kart Racer - Will it Bomb? Is it Bad? Posted by John Grothier - PlayStation 2 - UK and Europe I have always thought Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was nothing more than a jumped up firework display of a toy advert. So welcome to the pre-pubescent world of Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing. Based on the characters and worlds featured in the aforementioned advertisement, bombad racing is a ‘Kart’ racer with big heads. Perhaps that is enough for the youth of today, I hope not or we are all doomed. Pick from Anakin (yippee), Yoda, Sebulba, Queen Amidala (what an actress!), Obi-Wan, Darth Maul (just the one line), Boss Nass and the most justifiably hated character in movie history – Jar Jar Binks. Characters have either low-medium-high, top speed, acceleration, mass and turning. So there is a little bit of strategy in picking the most suited racer for a particular track. There are three circuits each comprising of three tracks in each. The courses are short but well designed and are filled with creatures and features from the films. Just finishing within the top three is enough to unlock the next track. Start from the Naboo swamp, race across Tatooine and Coruscant and end up in the droid control ship. There are five classes of gadgets that each racer can pick up. Boost, force field (shield), frontal weapon, rear weapon, and a special weapon. Most of the power-ups lack imagination, but some of the special attacks are fun. Each character has their own special attack – Darth Maul will hurl his double-bladed lightsaber at a passing racer. Yoda has a powerful offensive, which causes all the other racers to turn upside down, and oh yes, Jar Jar grapples another racer with his hugely comical tongue. So what makes this a below average kart racer? The game play. The problem with Bombad is that you can pick a character and a track to race upon, and finish first. Race again – driving exactly the same – and finish eighth. So it really is all about luck and there is no real skill involved within the game. This also means that it is only a matter of time before you will unlock everything. If you beat the Galaxy Circuit, (which compromises of all nine tracks), playing as Anakin – you will unlock a darker, older, heavier breathing Anakin Skywalker. Nice touch. The graphics are not what we have come to expect on a next generation console. In fact as our American colleagues at NLG pointed out in their review, it looks a little like an N64 title. The frame rates are choppy and collision detection is far from perfect. The Sound effects and voices are very good, but the music is simply terrible. John Williams it certainly is not. The PAL conversion of Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing is not a very good one. There is no 60htz mode, resulting in black bars at the top and bottom of the screen – which on a game like this looks ridiculous. Also the lack of a screen adjust option may mean the picture bleeds off the screen, particularly if you are using a widescreen TV. Activision did a fantastic conversion with Starfighter – so why not this? Remember – do or do not, there is no try. Note to George Lucus: Let someone else write and direct, get rid of Jar Jar and release the bloody films on DVD. John Grothier             Latest Images:		Review Scores:    Graphics:   Sound:   Gameplay:   Length:   Overall: Click here for our Review Score Guidelines.  Review Summary:  Race as one of eight big-headed Star Wars characters hand picked from the worst of the films. Nine fully detailed tracks filled with living creatures and features. 1-4 players (with Multi-tap) Poor graphics and truly repellent sound makes this one for the kiddies only.  Related Games:  Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing for PlayStation 2  10  Screenshots  1  Review Click here for All Game Information.
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