Star Wars: Galactic Racer Preview
Although many hold Star Wars Racer on the Nintendo 64 in high regard, the game hasn't held up very well over time—I'd go so far as to say that by today's standards it's as dated as blue milk. That's why a new racing game set in a legendary galaxy far, far away is such an exciting prospect. Add to this the fact that the game is being worked on by creators who previously worked on Burnout, and I feel a pleasant outrage in the Force.
In my hour of testing, I was able to try out the game's race-based story mode, which gives it an almost roguelite-style feel, as well as some pod racing, a much more frantic and clunky arcade mode that will no doubt find its audience among sadists who think crashes are cool.
Like the recent Star Wars Outlaws, Galactic Racer is set in the lawless Outer Rim as the New Republic struggles to rebuild and syndicates and rogues form an unruly underground. Since gambling is a huge problem for these cartels, out of this chaos an unsanctioned racing league is born and it is a high stakes competition where speed is of the essence and only the best will make it to the finish line.
I'll admit, I was surprised to discover that Galactic Racer even had a story mode. I was expecting it to just be a series of events with a little bit of explanation to explain everything that was going on. So while having an authentic campaign was a pleasant surprise, I felt from the start that there were a few key points that could cause the game to fall apart under the weight of its own mistakes.Shade, the game's masked, wisecracking protagonist, has all the makings of being a forgettable character, and for the first hour of play, I didn't care one bit whether he succeeded or not.
Thankfully, there are characters like Darius Pax, the humble repulsorship mechanic and league architect, to fill in the gaps and add intrigue. He, like an unseen benefactor, recruits you into the league and sponsors you to join it and defeat the reigning champion Kestar Bul, whose iron grip on the competition has given him too much power for Pax's liking.
Since this is a racing game, all the action takes place on the track. This was a bit of a setback for the team, who clearly wanted to add another element to help further the story, so the game features several out-of-the-car sequences where you can walk around before the race, chat with Darius, and experience the bustling market life that we see in Star Wars. The problem is that these moments are limited, not very interesting and could just as easily have been a cutscene leading to dialogue. There is potential for more effective use of this idea in the further development of the game; however, in my experience, it's more of a disappointment than anything new.
Fortunately, such shootouts are not the main feature of the game; The main thing is racing, and racing in Galactic Racer is simply exciting. They turned out to be as exciting as I had hoped, knowing for sure that they would have the spirit of Burnout in them. In addition to the usual racing elements with combat elements that are reminiscent of Burnout's Takedown era, allowing you to make your opponents crash in spectacular fashion, there are several different speeders to choose from, each with their own abilities.I chose the Landspeeder, which is the "all-round" vehicle in the game and provides the most balanced gaming experience.
In Galactic Racer, where the campaign is based on races, there is an element of character development. While failure often means the end of the race and the need to restart, successes provide upgrade points that can be invested in any of the speeder's six main stats, as well as spare parts and abilities, to further improve your build for a given race. In addition, certain racing styles can be unlocked through gameplay and applied to gain small upgrades in certain areas, adding a unique feel to each race.
What makes the campaign the most authentically Star Wars experience, however, are the moments of banter and back-and-forth between the racers. Sure, your character is fairly quiet, but hearing others trade barbs or seeing the cockpit camera flash of the pilot letting out a bloodcurdling scream before being hit by the debris littering the surface of Jakku never gets old, and adds a cinematic feel to each race.
Due to shaking off the rust, so to speak, from finishing the main campaign, I was unable to progress beyond the first stage, although despite frequent restarts, I did get a good feel for the variety of missions. Again, since this is a turn-based playthrough, each run consists of a branching set of random missions, and this alone ensures that no two runs will be the same.The first planet is Jakku, which, as I mentioned, is littered with debris and is a fairly narrow and winding series of tracks, and in addition to the standard races, I was able to have a good ride in the Eliminators and Field Trials.
Although Eliminator mode has appeared regularly in many racing games, it is completely borrowed from Burnout. With the leading rider dropping out with remarkable regularity, the knowledge that just one hit can decide the outcome of the race makes these events especially tense. While the game isn't shy about using the rubber band effect to advance the story, these events can be particularly challenging if you're not careful.
Field trials, on the other hand, are shorter, more entertaining events designed to provide racing fun outside of pure, cut-throat competition. From the ones I've seen, they range from time trials, where you might be asked to break a track record on a fast bike, for example, to endurance tests, where you're expected to maintain acceleration for as long as possible over the entire course distance. Although the racing isthemain event, I also enjoy these small deviations from the main route.
Towards the end of my time with the game, I had the opportunity to check out the pod racing, which appears to be limited to an arcade mode outside of the main campaign. Having spent most of the preview racing, which was quite fast-paced in itself, I was amazed at the incredible speed that the developers perfectly captured in the pod racing. While other speeders are quite ponderous, it's in pod racing where the Galactic Racer shines in terms of combat; As you'd expect from such compact cars moving at such incredible speeds, every little hit can be explosive.It's intense and fun at the same time, and I only realized after finishing the game that I was holding my breath to concentrate.
Although everything around you blurs as you zoom past at hundreds of kilometers per hour, there are several moments in Galactic Racer where you can jump off a large ramp and take off into stunning scenery. I particularly remember one moment at Lantanna, a place where lush forest meets volcanic force, where I crashed several times while trying to admire the view. What's most interesting is how the environment can influence certain elements of the race; for example, water sources such as rivers can be used to cool the speeder's acceleration systems. This is a nice detail that adds some strategy when navigating certain routes.
Star Wars: Galactic Racer made a big impression on me. As someone who still considers Burnout 3: Takedown to be the pinnacle of racing video games, I feel like this game captures the same nostalgic, uncomplicated fun vibe. That's not to say there aren't challenges to its mechanics, as its approach as a replayable race-based campaign should give it the longevity that most racing games lack.