Blast Corps. Rare Retrospective

It’s well chronicled that the initial idea for Blast Corps came from none other than Chris Stamper, one of the founding members and managing directors of Rare Ltd. This, though, was way back in 1995, and during its development the project naturally evolved into something far more elaborate than a mindless demolition-fest. The storyline, vehicles, final aims, control method and even title changed time after time over the game’s two years of production, but with the driving force of a small but dedicated team never consisting of more than 6 or 7 people, Blast Corps finally hit the shelves in its finished form at the end of March ’97 (within days of its Japanese counterpart, BlastDozer). A PAL release was to follow in September.

The critical acclaim was immediate and widespread. A handful of international gamesplayers took a dislike to the non-mainstream stance and gameplay, but the vast majority greeted this break from established and much-abused genres with open arms. Not only did Blast Corps successfully straddle the borders of various genres, refusing to be classified even as a straight action game because of its mind-bending puzzle elements, but it was also hailed as one of the most playable and thoroughly addictive titles to hit the N64.

Destruction, of course, has to remain the central focus of a game with a name like Blast Corps, and the story-driven time limit for each level helps to keep the proceedings tense and fast-moving. However, there are many other factors such as immovable obstacles and seemingly out-of-reach areas thrown into the mix which require as much ingenuity as raw power to deal with, while a range of secondary objectives (triggering RDUs, locating scientists, freeing survivors) serves to broaden the variety on offer. Basically, it’s a game with many strings to its bow – and one which you can’t claim to have beaten until each and every stage is perfected…

Just in case you were wondering, the game’s unfortunate original title was Bull 64, from which it progressed through Heavy Duty Heroes, the truncated Heavy Duty, Blast Radius, Power Dozer and BlastDozer (which encountered copyright problems outside Japan) to the Blast Corps of today. Rejected titles along the way included Brute Force (also a previous Killer Instinct name), Point of Impact, Devastation Inc., designer’s favourite Renegade Dismantler Corps, NCL’s IronDozer and SmashDozer, and some distinctly odd suggestions from other corners that included Rumble Rouser, Pave Over Nature and, er, Bum Rush… Click here and see for yourself! It made us laugh, but then it would, wouldn’t it.