Super Bombad Racing

Pros • variety of gameplay modes • nice sense of speed • Easy control	Cons • further dumbing down of the Star War universe • Some slowdown
Bottom Line Believe it or not, it's a Star Wars rally kart game that works. There certainly is no shortage of Kart-style racing games for any given console. In fact, it seems like the first thing that any company does upon securing a movie/TV license is to release a Kart racer. It doesn't seem to matter how appropriate or in demand the license is (was the world really breathlessly awaiting Woody Woodpecker Racing?). One day I fully expect to see The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Rally where you can race as big-headed versions of Leatherface and ChopTop... Ok, back off. That all being said, Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing is surprisingly good. It has the majority of things that Kart racers have--cute characters, power-ups, non-lethal weapons, and tracks with hidden areas and shortcuts. While it might be a strange subject for a Kart game, it's more consistent with the old LucasArts formula (release the same kinds of games the other guys are making, but give them a Star Wars theme and lots of polish) than many of their other recent releases.

So, you can choose from characters such as Queen Amidala in her royal cruiser, Sebulba in his pod racer, Anakin Skywalker in his Naboo starfighter, Jar Jar Binks in that submarine thingee, and so on. The characters have their own top speed, mass, acceleration, and turning stats, plus it is possible to find a power-up that will enable a special attack. Darth Maul will throw his lightsaber, Boss Nass spits on everyone (ewww!), etc.

Additional power-ups--lots of 'em--can be found that will boost your racer, give you shielding, plus there are power-ups that grant forward weaponry and rear weaponry. There's everything from nets to drop, probe droids that seek out the leader of race, and simple lasers to shoot the other racers. There are different racing modes, such as single race, circuit race (player races on three different races, the best overall racer wins the circuit), and multiplayer racing, including team racing (up to four players total). There's also a combat mode called Arena, a last-one-standing deal where you use weapons to take down the shields of the other racers.

As you can see, this could be a description of several different Kart games, but what can I say, it's done well. The game is designed to be instantly playable, and it is. The gadgets are amusing and the variety of them means an almost strategic element is added.

One thing that comes off especially well in the game is a sense of speed. It may sound like a no-brainer, but many racing games don't capture this well, and you sometimes end up feeling like you're just moving your craft from left to right as the track comes at you. In Super Bombad Racing, you feel like you're moving. If your craft has poor acceleration, you will feel it and grit your teeth as it slowly chugs up to top speed. If you crash or get hung up, racers will pass you at different speeds.

The imaginative courses are nice and graphically crisp, and are set on places from all over the Star Wars universe--Hoth, the city of Theed, Coruscant, a droid control ship...There are hazards on the courses such as drops and monsters that will attack the racers (like Jawas firing shrink rays). There are shortcuts and hidden paths concealing some of the more useful power-ups, or sections of the track that are easier to race on than paths you first see. There is occasional slowdown when the screen gets busy, the usual knock against PlayStation 2 game performance. Load times are ok, but not great.

Sound is a weaker element than the graphics. Because the game is cutesier than other Star Wars titles, much of the sound is toned down and nothing really stands out. And one word of warning: the soundtrack consists of cartoonized versions of the John Williams score. I'm serious. Some pieces from the score are unrecognizable this way, but once you do make the connection you might find it difficult to stop listening. If you want to hear the Imperial March via Looney Toons, this is your game. Fortunately, you can turn the music down separately.

If it matters, Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best, who played Anakin and Jar Jar in the movie respectively, provide their voices for the game. Some pretty good imitators do the rest of the voices, although I think Darth Maul's voice sounds more like Sebulba. I was more interested in the voice of Scott Lawrence, who also does a character in the game. And if you know your Star Wars games, you know exactly who that character is.

If you're like me, there might be one thing that prevents you from truly getting into SBR. I didn't actually mind the movie The Phantom Menace as much as some people did, although I have a hard time accepting that any man who could hack off his son's hand said "Yippee!" a lot as a child. And like many people, I wouldn't mind if the first ten minutes of Episode 2 were dedicated solely to the violent and pointless death of Jar Jar Binks, utilizing many close-ups and slo-mo replays. If you've entertained similar notions, then you might find the idea of big-headed Star Wars characters zipping around tracks in an imitation of Mario Kart somewhat sacrilegious. Yeah, yeah, it's aimed at younger gamers (hence Lucas Learning releasing it as opposed to LucasArts), but I can't help but feel there's something wrong about watching Obi-Wan get shrunk to tiny size, then passed by Jar Jar Binks, who tosses off a Jar Jar-ish taunt. Then again, if you like Kart games, maybe you won't mind the cutsey stuff so much.

The control scheme is nice and easy to pick up, even if you're a relative newcomer. In addition to steering, firing weapons and accelerating, there is a break button so you can do the powerslide (called the Bombad turn here), and jump, boost, and taunt buttons. Complex enough to give you some options, but not so many as to be overwhelming.

As usual in these games, the better you do, the more tracks will be released, as will mirror modes, and a hidden character. Fortunately, the game does reward you for placing in the top three. I hate rally games that only reward you for coming in first (ahem, South Park Rally).

So while it's not the most brilliant Star Wars game ever, Super Bombad Racing stands pretty tall, even when you consider that this is one Star Wars game nobody seems to have expected to do well, and even if you compare it to other Kart games. If you like Kart games, it's worth picking up.

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