Intro
Chances are good that at least half of the people reading this article have either never heard of NEC, or could not correlate NEC with its past US console. For the people that draw a blank when hearing about this company, NEC is a Japanese gaming company and former giant of the industry. As a matter of fact, during the boom of Nintendo’s Famicon System in Japan, NEC released an 8-bit computer entertainment system with a 16-bit graphics card that fought punch for punch with the NES for sometime in our favorite Asian country. In America, on the other hand, the sales of NEC’s TurboGrafx-16 bombed like Hiroshima. The TurboGrafx-16, with its poor sales and arguably the worst console name in gaming history, would sadly later be joined by the ranks of the Virtual Boy and the Jaguar. Soon after, NEC deported themselves back to the land of the rising sun, isolating themselves from the major western market until they decided otherwise. Thankfully, they decided otherwise last year when they announced that they would be releasing their first console game in America in almost a decade. Tube Slider, developed by a company partially owned by Nintendo, and published by NEC hit shelves this Spring. Is this the big debut title we’ve all been hoping for from NEC? Or would this comeback be like a Nagasaki for the company? Read in to find out…
Gameplay: 7/10-Who can resist sliding their craft through a tube?
The concept of Tube Slider is, in some sense, revolutionary and complex at the greatest level of gaming, and still basic and simple at its base. Essentially, your goal is to race your hovercraft through a full course trapped in a tube, defying gravity and breaking speeds of over 1000 MPH as you go along. The fact that gameplay is actually played inside of a tube also accounts for a tremendous amount of fun, considering that the idea of driving on the walls and the ceiling is particularly intriguing. Your goal is, of course, to finish before any of your opposition can.
Basically, you’ll be spending your time in one of the title’s three major game modes. The first, and bulkiest, of these being the Grand Prix mode. Here, you race against seven opponents for the all-important Future Formula title. Once you enter the Grand Prix mode, you will be taken directly to the circuit’s first race, where you must finish in at least 4th place to continue. Just as we’ve seen in Mario Kart and other racers, 4th place is “cut” for continuing the circuit. The major problem with the Grand Prix mode though is that the AI is completely lopsided. On one hand, and untrained blind monkey could easily contend in the first of the 3 different circuits. I spent my first Tube Slider experience here, and without any prior knowledge of the game, easily finished first on all 3 tracks. About half way through the second circuit though, the game becomes nearly impossible. At this point, opponents will begin to pass you seemingly out no where, and bumps and collisions that cause your craft to lose all of its speed will become frequent. Those that enjoy a challenge should feel right at home here, while those that like a smooth pace will find this the latter portions of the Grand Prix mode tedious and frustrating. On some level though, this difficulty plays to the game’s advantage. Being as though there are only about a dozen different circuit races, you’ll be able to get some replay value of Tube Slider if you have to struggle with half of them.
To go with the Grand Prix mode, there are also training and multiplayer modes. The training mode, which is comprised of course practice, free run, and tutorial aspects will basically teach the basics of the game such as steering and using Sub Verniers(turbos and boosts), and complex maneuvering such as using your side boosts to make the sharpest of turns. The tutorial and free run modes here are very quick and uneventful, but some may actually find interest in the course practice option. Here, your goal is to use your knowledge to collect 240 targets on the course. At the end of each run, your performance will be rated.
As I stated before, Tube Slider also features a multiplayer mode. In my opinion, this is where the title’s real excitement and value lies. The ability to race a track via 4-player split screen a la Mario Kart is a real plus. Although, racing with any more than two players on a small TV makes the game difficult to see. None the less, if you can find a couple of friends that play similar to your abilities, this mode can be a real blast, and should yield some very close finishes.
Controls: 9/10-Watch out, he's a quick one
Luckily, the controls are incredibly simple as well as very intuitive. I’d go as far as to say that the majority of gamers could master the controls in their entirety on the first lap of their first race. In basic, if couldn’t already guess, you use the control stick to steer, the A button to accelerate, the R and L trigger buttons for side boosters, the B and Y buttons for boosters, and the X and Z buttons to change your camera angle. To break, you merely stop pressing on the acceleration. There is a small amount of strategy required to be successful at Tube Slider though. Mastering tight turns, and the use of your side boosters to complete those very turns is an essential if you want to compete in the latter rounds of the Grand Prix. Using turbos and boosters, and choosing which of the two to use in any course is also very important. Because turbos and boosters refill as time progresses, it’s wise to develop a plan on when and where to use them. Along with this though, if you can directly behind an opponent for long enough for you to lock onto to the opposing craft, you can actually steal other racer’s energy. Beware though, any other player can also steal your energy in the same way, so watch your back!
Graphics: 7.5/10Some of the crafts look like testies
Graphically speaking, Tube Slider is a mixed bag. On the positive side, this title is incredibly colorful and refreshing, and showcases tube-racing elements never before seen in a console game. Also, the game is notably fast and smooth, running at a standard, constant 60 FPS all the time. Along with that, the actual hovercrafts themselves are well animated regardless of their relatively low polygon count, and look very smooth while running at high speeds. Finally, the draw distances in most of the game’s courses are very impressive, and many of the tracks feature high quality background content. On the negative side though, one could critique the game for its overall lack of solid textures and low polygon counts. Also, many of the of the courses and crafts share certain design similarities with other portions of the title, which makes a small percentage of your experience feel and look redundant. Overall though, above average graphics here.
Audio: 5/10-Awkward silence...
The audio, on the other hand, is about as overwhelming as a man with 2 arms. There are two main problems that I would have hoped that NEC and NdCube would have tackled in the development of this game. One being that the game has far too little overall music and sound effects, and two being that the game has far too little overall good music and sound effects. The 10 or so music tracks, each corresponding with one of the game’s courses, consist mainly of upbeat, techno, dance music. 3 or 4 of these tracks are actually quite catchy, but the rest of them are fairly bland and generic. When push comes to shove, I’d rather hear them in the club than in a video game, but that’s just my taste in music. The few sound effects that you’ll actually hear are quite solid though. The sounds of your hovercraft jumping off of the blocks, a huge turbo booster, and of defying gravity all fit nicely into the title’s gameplay. A wider variety of these would have been nice to help keep the techno music in check though.
Overall: 7/10-More F-Zero than zero
Overall, Tube Slider is an above average title with an intriguing concept that will yield a few hours of hardcore entertainment, sound gameplay mechanics, and fast, sharp visuals. What ends up keeping this game outside of the league that includes F-zero though is its below average audio content and a fairly sizable lack of replay value. Those that are glad to see NEC back in the US, and those who are looking forward to F-Zero Gamecube should at least give this title a look. Pick it up at your local Blockbuster and see if you think you can squeeze $40 of value out of it.
Thanks for reading,
-Pav
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