Review - STAR WARS - EPISODE 1 RACER - Very fun arcade game, but...

   When you were 9, did you dream about being Anakin Skywalker, knowing what it feels like to handle a podracer, flying a couple of meters above the ground, and racing at an insane top speed of 968km/h? (600mp/h)
 
  Well, in 1999, "Star Wars Episode 1: Racer" gave us all this pleasure.
And now, GOG has added this game to its collection to celebrate May 4th (quote: "May the Fourth be with you, a play on Star War’s famous “May the Force be with you” and now a day that serves as a celebration for the franchise". I prefer "May the Schwartz be with you" myself though😄).

  I actually got the game back in 1999, and I remember that it was one of these games which was really harshly criticized by pro journalists, but quite appreciated by gamers.

  I remember my friends and I borrowing from each other the CD in school... ha ha
Almost 20 years later, what is it worth now? Let's find out!

WHAT IS IT - THE BEST STAR WARS RACING GAME EVER MADE

  Released on PC(the best version with high-quality soundtrack and additional cutscenes, and now HD resolutions!), Dreamcast, and Nintendo 64(and also apparently Gameboy Color? Skipped that one...lol), what was more commonly called back then simply "Racer" was based on the ONLY memorable scene of "Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace", the Podrace scene! (Sue me!😝 I watched it once. NEVER AGAIN.)
 

Although the game is based on the Tattoine race in "The Phantom Menace", Racer takes place on 8 different planets!

  As Anakin Skywalker himself, or any of the other 21 podracers(you'll have to unlock most of them, and they all handle very differently!), you'll have to race through 8 different worlds, ranging from the underwater Aquilaris levels to the high-speed "Oovo IV", the asteroid-like world!
  My favorites are Baroonda(the jungle world) and the obvious Tattoine desert! (Quite lifeless to say the least but it feels like being in the movie.😄)

Baroonda world! Baroonda... It reminds me of that silly French song, "La Balunga"(kinda sounds similar. Okay, I promise this is the only obscure reference in this review.😅)

Two single player game modes are available in the game. 

- Tournament mode, the main mode in which you compete in a championship. 
One interesting detail is that you can change how much you'll be rewarded after you win a race.
The game is so easy that I always set it to "the winner takes all". lol
After you get enough money, you'll be able to buy parts and repair droids, unlock higher tier tracks, and new racers! 

- Free Race mode allows the player to practice any previously unlocked courses using any unlocked racer. The player character cannot earn money or unlock tracks and racers, but can set the difficulty of the opponents.

Isn't it cheating to have that many hands? lol

MULTIPLAYER?

  Multiplayer doesn't work anymore since a long time, but you can follow this tutorial if you want to play online with friends though => Episode 1 Racer: Multiplayer Component

BY THE WAY, WHAT IN THE WORLD IS A PODRACER?

  This is the beast you'll be riding, baby!😎
"Climb on, strap in, and experience the pure adrenaline-pumping excitement of the full-force blast of two massive jet engines at simulated speeds of up to 968km/h."

Note!

Don't forget to change your video settings FIRST!! 
You'll find the shortcut in Start=>Programs=>GOG.com=>Star Wars™ Episode I - Racer™
I set mine to 1920x1080! Usually, you want to match your screen resolution.😉👍

In case you don't find the file, here's what you should do =>
1) Create a shortcut of the SWEP1RCR.EXE file which is in the main game folder.
2) Then right-click on the shortcut, and add " -v" at the end of the name.
On my side, it looks like this:
"G:\GAMES\STAR WARS Racer\SWEP1RCR.EXE" -v

Finally, some people have to use Windows 7 compatibility mode to avoid crashes, but I didn't, strangely.
In case you need it, here are the required steps =>
1) Go to the game setup folder
2) Right-click "SWEP1RCR.EXE", go to properties, then compatibility tab, and enable "compatibility mode" for "Windows 7"
3) Enable "reduced color mode", and set it to 16-bit

Sometimes, I wonder if they didn't make the textures blurry on purpose, just to give an even stronger feeling of speed.🤔

GAMEPLAY - WIPEOUT 64 IN STAR WARS UNIVERSE, WITH MICROMANAGEMENT

  Fast and frantic.
You can't deny that you WILL feel thrill and excitement as you're in awe at the impressive speed feeling for the time. (again, remember, 1999!)
That's the one thing this game got perfectly right. 

This part gave me epileptic pleasures. I mean, seizures.

  Tracks are unfortunately way too empty and most of them feel lifeless, which creates quite an unsettling contrast with the soundscape which is, on the contrary, full of energy!
The are some shortcuts though, and a few hazards to avoid here and there, like methane lakes, meteor showers and Tusken Raiders, but it wasn't particularly a challenge to avoid all of these.

  The only challenge I encountered was trying to avoid becoming too confident about going full-speed all the time, and avoiding ramming headfirst into walls at almost 1000km/h. 😅

My left engine starts being damaged and I have to countersteer to the right!

  The second negative thing is actually double-edged:

  On one hand, the arcade-like controls will allow you to play this game right away, without even having to take a look at the manual. I even learned how to use the boost without any help!
It's perfectly intuitive and very well-thought! 👍

  On the other hand, unfortunately, it also means it's a bit "dumbed-down".
Controls are SO simple that first, the game is actually rather easy, even when you reach higher tier races.
As for the physics... You don't feel at all the "weight" of your podracer(alright, it's floating, but...shut up! lol), you "bump" into walls like a ball in a flipper game, and overall, it just feels... satisfying and underwhelming at the same time.🤔

  Now, I realize that for such an ultra-fast racing style, having something too realistic would have proved too difficult to master, but maybe developers could have tried an in-between solution?
  

I can see my house from heeeeeeeeeeeere! (no idea why my hud disappeared in this screenshot!)

  On the - very - bright side, a few things surprised me, in such a seemingly "arcadish game":

First, the "micromanagement".
You have to manage the individual components of your podracer.
Everything costs money, especially if you go look for special components at the "junkyard"! You won't be able to buy everything at first, so you'll have to choose in what area you want to specialize your podracer.

Sheesh, the game is always going so fast, that you miss lots of details. While looking at this screenshot, I realized that these black shapes on the walls are actually people..😧

You can upgrade all of these parts:

• Traction
• Turning
• Acceleration
• Top Speed
• Air Brake
• Cooling
• Repair

TIP!

Most of the time, just letting go of the accelerator is enough to deal with corners.
(except the few hairpins, of course! lol) 

And keep in mind these rules: 

• The default parts never get damaged
• Parts can only be damaged when finishing a race for the first time
• Each droid you own will prevent one part from being damaged
• And finally, droids will repair damaged parts after a race!

You get the idea... GET SOME DROIDS, they're extremely valuable.

Something tells me I'm going to need band-aid pretty soon.

  Even more surprising, the developers included a durability mechanic!
As you crash or even just bump other podracers during a race, your components will deteriorate over time, until you can't use them anymore!
Don't forget that you can use the repair mechanic during a race though! But it'll cut your engines for a brief moment... Don't get overtaken!😜

Nice shorcut! Except I ram into the wall headfirst.🤗 The Baroonda tracks are actually quite technical.

  
  Finally, there's a boost mechanic that overheats your engines, and you have to be careful as you can use it only for a few seconds before your engines explode! 
Not gonna lie, I'm addicted to it and I think it's very fun to always "play" with this mechanic, trying to get your engines to their limits! 😋

Marty, when you reach 88- I mean 856mp/h, you'll finally provide enough power to the flux capacitor and time travel will be possible! Wait, what...

  
  Oh yeah, and I almost forgot another thing which we don't see usually in arcade games...
Your podracer will handle differently when it's damaged!
Keep bumping your left jet engine and your podracer will slightly hover to the left so you'll constantly have to counter-steer! 

Looks scary, huh? Well, don't worry, as even the HIGHEST jumps in the game won't damage your podracer!

Note!

DO NOT underestimate the value of "nose up/down"!! You'll use it much more often than "roll left/right"!
Examples:
- When jumping, pitch up for a longer jump! Pitch down for a faster jump!
- While racing, pitch down to get higher speed! Pitch up for better steering!

Don't worry too much about these narrow passages. Truth is, you can actually pass through even without rolling. You do have to be very precise if you don't roll though. Your podracer's engines will be VERY close to the sides. lol

  When you think about it, all of these positive points result in a logical conclusion:
This game is GREAT for speedruns!
  The comprehensive customization of your pods will let you optimize your podracer and test tracks until you get the perfect configuration! 

A FINAL POSITIVE POINT: NO F****** RUBBERBAND A.I.!!!

This makes me think SO much of the Wipeout games. On a side note, my favorite game ever made in the "hovercraft racing" genre is BallisticNG. Will review it someday!

GRAPHICS - OUTDATED EVEN BY 1999 STANDARDS

  This is where the real problem of the game lies.
The 3D is extremely crude, to a point that sometimes the game almost looks UNFINISHED.
Podracers themselves are acceptable and not too shocking.

  As for the textures, they're simply not tolerable, especially coming from LucasArts.
They're so blurry and abstract that many times, I'm not even sure what I'm actually seeing on the screen.

  Still, keep in mind that game was released in 1999...
I was a very active gamer back then, and I can tell you, some very nice looking racing games came out at that time.

For example, in 1998, we had Speed Busters, which had many more animations during races, better textures, and rather convincing car models.
In 1999, we got "Re-volt", easily the best RC cars racing game ever made.
And how about "Need for Speed: High Stakes"?

  Even by 1999 standards, Star Wars Episode 1 Racer always looked very outdated.😞

ONLY 929km/h? Ugh, come on, faster!!

 On a side note, the cutscenes videos are very tiny and I don't think there's a way to fix this!

Yep, this is how the glorious cutscenes will look on your 23" screen!😞

 

MUSIC & SOUNDS - MOVIE-LIKE SOUNDSCAPES WITH JOHN WILLIAMS EPIC MUSIC

   The soundtrack is marvellous!
Of course, it's taken directly from "the Episode 1: The Phantom Menace" movie!
Congratulations to John Williams, as usual!😍 (get it on Amazon HERE!)
Imagine racing to the sound of "Duel of the Fates" on Baroonda, the jungle world!
(I always love jungle levels in any game, for some reason...🐯)

   By the way, there was never any music in the podracer selection screen, right?
20 years later, I still wonder if it's on purpose or if it's a bug. lol
I don't know, I just think they missed a big opportunity to use some nice jazzy Star Wars music.🎶

  SFX is as great as the music! LucasArts doesn't disappoint in this field, at least! And no surprises, it comes from the movie too!
Booing and cheering crowds, realistic crashing sounds, and the famous timeless podracer sounds contribute to create a VERY lively racing experience filled with gushing movie-like soundscapes! 

  For those interested like me in sound and music, you can listen to all the sounds in the game folder!
For me, it's "G:\GAMES\STAR WARS Racer\data\wavs". 
Or wherever you installed it.😉

RATING BOX

	VERSION TESTED: 1.0 Publisher: LucasArts Developer: Lucas Arts Release Date: 17 May, 1999 Genre: Racing single-player/multiplayer (using ipxwrapper and Hamachi) Difficulty: Easy/Normal
GRAPHICS: 57%
The only fatal flaw of the game. The already ugly ultra-blocky 3D gets even worse thanks to abstract-looking textures that look like smeared paintings which went through a paper shredder. Terrible, even back in 1999.
MUSIC: 89%
Epic compositions by John Williams himself, taken directly from the movie! It surprisingly fits perfectly the racing genre, and will make your hands sweaty! Too bad the loops are a bit short though. Also, why no menu music? This is baffling.😦
SOUNDS: 90%
Very good! Despite the fact that podracers sound a bit like current electric racing cars(that is, without an agressive roaring engine sound), you still feel the incredible satisfying power when you accelerate and it eventually gets addictive! Everything else is great, from crashes to crowd sounds!
GAMEPLAY: 80%
There are enough tracks, but they're a bit flat and uninspired.  Podracers handle like pure arcade machines, which means instant satisfaction even for beginners, but also that it gets boring pretty fast.
OVERALL RATING: 78%
It's always hard to rate games like these... They have almost everything to be great, but end up feeling flawed because of a few details...  As it is now, let's just say that it's a great arcade racing game(and the best Star Wars racing game ever made), with unfortunately limited replayability. It gets a bonus appeal potential for being part of the Star Wars universe... I did have fun the whole time I played it. Do I feel like playing it a bit more after this review? Nope.😕 (on the other hand, I do keep it though! he he😋 I'll definitely play it again later someday.) This game NEEDS a HD remake.(sequels are not worth mentioning, so let's just remake the first one. lol) With better graphics, improved semi-realistic physics, and enhanced tracks, it could be a huge hit, in my opinion.

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