Beetle Adventure Racing

Back a long time ago when I was a wee lad enamoured with the N64, I had a nasty habit of purchasing games that generically sucked to everyone but me. Now, I did stumble on some games that are accepted now as hidden treasures such as Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon and Quest 64 (Okay, maybe not Quest 64). But looking through my collection, I find games like this.


Beetle Adventure Racing is a game where you race Volkswagen Beetles. I'm not exactly sure why I decided to get this game over any "Serious" 3D racers, but I suppose the game allured me in a strange sense. In any case, dusting off my old N64, I played this game again.

The game itself is not super-horribly bad. Granted it blows ass compared to games like NFSU and Gran Turismo, but it has an interesting theory: The general public does not want to have a hardcore race sim, they want to have fun with cars and racing. Thus, the game is basically one big expansive racer.

The interesting part about this game is the "Adventure" tie-in. The game itself is a decent racer, but nothing special. However, the maps are very very deep- for every path, there are about three ways to do it. In fact, in many of the races, you can literally get lost in the depth of the game. It also makes for some fun exploring- the Vegas level especially- where you find things you've never found before.



Of course, this doesnt fight the fact that:
1. You're racing beetles no matter what,
2. The car choices are about as deep as a puddle, and
3. No matter how "Good" your beetle is, it still sucks.

If you can put up with that, then god bless you- this is a game for you. The game has pretty decent graphics for a Nintendo 64 game, though I wouldnt say they would pass for any awards. The sound is probably NEVER going to win any awards, being as the only thing I'd say is up to N64 sound standard here is the announcer, which repeats stupid stuff over and over.

Another interesting addition to this game is the somewhat deathmatch mode. The game allows you to pit 4 players against each other on semi-large maps. While these arent game maps, they still pass off for decent maps (Though, I will say you can race 4 people on a map, just no deathmatch). In deathmatch mode, which reminds me of the game "Streets of Sim City", you can pick up rockets, invisibility, bombs... you get the idea. Another good analogy to this game would be Mario Kart with VW Beetles.



Overall, you can tell I don't want to be too hard on this game. I've never really wanted to be too hard on a Nintendo 64 game, being as it allowed developers to actually expand on gaming, instead of worrying so much about "What happens if I don't make sales?". In fact, generally, that whole period of time was like mecca for gamers- game companies were going out of the lines.

Now, for my rating. I can't ignore the fact this is a shoddy racer at best, with limited expandability. However, if you're looking for a good time with friends, and you like exploring maps, this is your game. Its a trade up- big hidden areas in maps with cool stuff or driving realism. I think I'll take the cool stuff, thanks. Two stars.

2 star(s) out of 5

Discuss More N64 Games More Racing Games