Star Wars: Episode I Racer (Jewel Case)

The game is based on the pod-racing scene from Episode I, which was arguably the best and most exciting segment of the film. Players enter a series of pod races as either Anakin Skywalker or one of his 20 different alien rivals--including Sebulba, once you get far enough into the game to unlock this bonus character. Races are linked in four different circuits, each more difficult than the last. The highest circuit, in fact, can be extremely tough.

Each race is a white-knuckled ride on the wild side, as the game does an excellent job of conveying a feeling of ferocious speed. It helps that Racer utilizes spectacular 3-D graphics to depict the racetracks and their alien surroundings. But racers can't waste time admiring the scenery: tracks are not always well marked, and it's all too easy to get lost and fly off the track.

As with most Star Wars games, the sound effects and music in Racer are top-notch. True, Anakin's cutesy voice can be annoying at times, but the other racers sound great when they complain as you pass them on the track. Watto the shopkeeper, the floating alien guy who sells new parts and upgrades for your pod, is a great character who chatters away humorously as you shop his store.

Overall, Racer is a game that can easily stand on its own merits rather than ride the coattails of Star Wars: Episode I. Intense speed, unique racing action, and excellent 3-D graphics make this one a sure-fire winner. --Michael E. Ryan

Pros:

• Unique, high-speed racing action
• Excellent graphics
• Pod upgrades
• Great sound effects and music

• Becomes extremely difficult at the highest levels
• Tracks can be confusing at times
• The voice of Jake Lloyd (Anakin Skywalker)

There are three ways to play the game:
1. Single Player Tournament:
Play one race after another. Once you win you get to play the next race and so on.
2. Single Player Freeplay:
All races are unlocked. Just do each one for fun.
3: Multiplayer:
Race friends through the internet. Also there is a password for each multiplayer race.

And racing isn't the only thing you do. You can buy parts for your racer at Watto's shop, choose your Pod and character and hire Pit Droids. Also there are many shortcuts.

There are over twenty races to choose from including the Boonta Classic. (The one that Anakin does in Episode 1.) The Grahics and sound effects are great, and there is music taken from the Star Wars Episode One soundtrack that plays while you are racing...


Intense, alien, psychedelic joyride!   July 20, 2003
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Even without the Star Wars elements, this would be a great game. Similar to others in this genre (sort of), the futuristic space driving racer sim, I am reminded most of the Wipeout XL and Wipeout 3 on the playstation. In Star Wars Episode I Racer, you don't race cars exactly, nor futuristic ones, you race pods, pod the driver (you) sit in which is being pulled, not pushed, by huge engines in front of you. This whole twist adds a whole different physics than the playstation titles mentioned, and in many ways, getting the hang of this game is like learning to drive (and fly) all over again.

This is a stunning looking and sounding ride through colors and lights and wonderful 3D music from the Phantom Menace mostly (the music of which I thought one of its best features). There is also some older Star Wars themes, one of the characters even humming it at one point in the game's lighter moments. Not that there is anything too heavy going on as far as some great battle between good and the dark side. The game's story and characters are cartoonish and humorous, but the best thing here is certainly once the driving and racing itself begins. While bordering on arcade and simulation, this is more just such a treat for the eyes and ears.

This game I worried about buying a bit as the system requirements are close to what I have (3D card needed, if you don't have one, don't buy), but the game installed easily, and runs perfectly, this with all the settings on max, and the highest quality sound. The system requirements for this game are very correct. The framerate is consistent although there is a bit of fogging here and there. One hardly notices this however as once you get going in a race, there is so much eye candy and rush, it leaves one's head spinning. Epileptic prone folks or those feeling a bit queasy at even the thought of getting on an intergalactic rollercoaster may want to approach this game with caution.

In your typical driving video game, you can have the thrill of driving exotic cars at speeds of 200 miles an hour. In this game, that's crawling along. In this game, you go 600 and over, in strange crafts on imaginary planets and worlds as alien as they are beautiful to look at. The attention to detail is amazing, almost each scene animated "space art" in its own right. This is more photo realistic however than most space art, and almost looks at times like scenes right out of the movie itself. This is amazing and creates a sense of virtual reality; you are "playing" the film itself. My problems with this game are almost nil.

The game is based upon only one sequence in the movie, the pod racing one, and while there is no Jar Jar supposedly (boo, he was the BEST thing in Phantom Menace, no seriously), there are a host of other characters, many, many of them. The voices are really well done as well as the sound effects, though sparse. The MOVIE sequences are super-fantastic and are entertaining and well done, written and directed well, and you could swear you were watching a DVD video at times. The music is from a great film soundtrack and you can set it for very high quality with low system specs.

There is a lot of good-natured and funny parts to the "story" and the winning of races and moving up in rank, repairing and upgrading your cosmic vehicles with intergalactic con artists and strange looking aliens of every type, Gran Turismo type stuff but in a galaxy far far away.. Kids of all ages will enjoy this. The racing itself though is where kids of my age who thought Star Wars the old 25 cent arcade game was great, will really "get this."

It is very much a psychedelic ride. I must admit I am being constantly amazed at what video games are capable of today, graphically, audio-wise. I sat in those old Star Wars Atari games or stood dumping quarters into them. Now with Star Wars Racer (and other titles in the SW games), I can make this giant leap year ahead in technology, from vector green graphics to this!!! The price they're asking for this nowadays is a bargain plus. This is a mind blowing ride, with twists and turns all along the way, zero gravity portholes, giant cliffs, multi colored worlds out of the minds methinks of some darn creative and imaginative people somewhere out there in Lucas-land. Congratulations on such an almost surrealistic interactive experience.

Most of this game is about the racing, and that's what it does best. You will really get the sensation of going THAT fast, of boosting to hypersonic speeds, into warp zones with gorgeous scenery everywhere you look. As far as difficulty, it is like any great game, easy to learn, difficult to master. I beat the first level, first try, but just between us, it was because I played the demo 100 times. It gets tough, sure, but this is not really a game you're all that concerned with "beating," or shouldn't be. It's one to be enjoyed most for its beautiful production design, alien sparkling worlds, all zipping by at seizure causing speed.

If you are looking for one of the best Star Wars PC games going, you won't be disappointed. Check out the system requirements, play the demo, gamepad/joystick recommended, and if everything works out, buy it. The demo is but a small taste of the full version. This game knocks my socks off and it's a real winner. Thanks all you heads at Lucas Arts. What a trip.

Graphics: 5/5
Play Control: 4.5/5
Challenge: 5/5
Theme/Fun: 4.5/5
Sound/Music: 5/5
Storyline: 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Replay Value: 5/5
Overall Score: 5/5


An Incredible Thrill Ride   January 4, 2003
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Believe it or not, I've been waiting to play this game ever since it came out in 1999, but my previous computer didn't have the required 3-D acceleration card. However, after I finally got it to work about half a week ago, I was completely blown away by the experience. For such low system requirements (compared to today' games), Star Wars Racer is an incredible thrill ride of a racing game.

Racer drops the player into one of the many podracers seen in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. All of the contestants in the movie are included, as well as their unique vehicles, and I think Lucasarts has even tossed in a few more, for more than 20 unique selections. Players race through 8 unique worlds and 21 tracks, culminating in the Boonta Classic race, as seen in the movie. Additionally, 4 other tracks can be opened up, for a total of 25. Along the way, as players win money from the races, they can upgrade their engines for better performance. Controls are simple, with the added twist of a power boost that can be charged up. And, whether or not you liked the kid in the movie, Jake Loyd returns to voice Anakin Skywalker (and Andy Selcombe returns as Watto) for true Star Wars authenticity.

Where Racer really blows the players away is its sense of speed. The graphics are detailed, varied, and amazing, and should run with no problems whatsoever. There are jungles, ice caves, volcanos, ruins, and industrial cities; the tracks go into zero gravity tunnels, underneath moving tanks, between propeller blades, through cities suspended in the sky, and more. The areas that must be seen to be believed, however, are the various canyon jumps. Ranging from simple leap frog jumps to rocketing across bottomless chasms, they'll literally press the player into the backs of their chairs the first time through, and wow them at the fact that the podracers don't shatter upon impact. I haven't played many of the current racing games, but for a game more than three years old, the graphics and feeling of speed are still nothing to be laughed at.

Racer, unfortunately, isn't a totally complete experience. The lack of the famous Star Wars music is noticible, and the podracers, though nice-sounding, don't have quite the punch they did in the movie. While all the tracks are unique, many of them feature areas that are similiar. You might go through a third of a track that's exactly the same as one of the previous ones you went through, before venturing into new territory, and then branching back into the same track. Fortunately, save for one, most of the tracks are different enough to justify being called "unique". And the game, while a great experience, is definitely too easy for the most part. With the exception of the last few tracks, most can be whizzed through within one or two tries. I didn't even have to learn how to break until after I completed the first seven tracks. Finally, while there's LAN, there's no other internet compatibility. How many of us have LAN at home?

Still, despite its shortcomings, Racer is an excellent game. The great graphics, sense of speed, and suicidal jumps make up for the game's other flaws. As one of the Lucasarts classic titles, it's now really cheap, and is worth the money even if you only play through it once. Great as in impulse buy or mini gift, especially for Star Wars and racing fans.

NOTE: WinXP users might need to check the Lucasarts website for a patch if they experience a white screen lockup at the start of the race.


no split-screen racing   June 4, 2002
 3 out of 8 found this review helpful

...You cannot race in split screen! Sure, you can race against 2-8 other players on a LAN, but how many kids have a LAN in their house? We were very disappointed that our two sons wouldn't be able to race against each other like they can in some of their other games, like Lego Racers and Hotwheels. Buyer beware!