There were several gems on the N64 that are forgotten today to some extent. Blast Corps is one of them. While not the most famous game released, it was its first released on the N64 and undoubtedly helped make their mark on the platform. And how else than give kids the chance to smash things with construction vehicles?
You control a Blast Corp. Worker clad in green clothing. Your primary objective is to clear a path for a runaway nuclear missile carrier by any means necessary to prevent it from detonating.
You'll control an assortment of vehicles ranging from a bulldozer, muscle cars, a dump truck, and even thirty-foot tall robots. Occasionally you must exit your vehicle to quickly commandeer another one to accomplish your mission
The music, composed by Graeme Norgate, is quite good. It mainly consists of a lively and metallic mix of 70s style pop music and urgent music you'd hear in disaster movies. There are even a few particularly catchy fan- favorites, such as "Time to Get Moving" , "Simian Acres", which has a country, Cotton-Eye Joe sort of vibe, and the "Replay" is quite notable too.
The sound effects and graphics were great. You'll hear realistic tire screeching from your vehicles, explosions and crashing sounds throughout as you plow through buildings. Dirt and debris being kicked kicked up and smoke clouds from all the destruction was a nice touch too.
But there's more to the game than demolition and puzzle solving. Given the sheer size of the maps combined with hidden features, such as satellite dishes and scientists add a bit of adventurism and exploration.
My main complaint is the difficulty in controlling certain vehicles, especially the infamous Backlash with its frustrating skidding attack. There's also the repetitiveness of the missions. Of course, the fun factor of smashing things with construction vehicles holds up for a while, but not forever.
Although it didn't reach the same level of success as Banjo Kazooie or Goldeneye (also released by Rare) it's still a cult classic that is fondly remembered by many players who grew up in the 90s, including myself. I highly recommend this to people with a Nintendo Switch with an interest in Retro games.
