Blast Corps

Blast Corps (or Blast Dozer in Japan) is a video game for the Nintendo 64 developed by Rareware that was released in 1997, in which the player must clear a path for a pair of defective nuclear missiles.

Plot

Two defective nuclear missiles are being moved to a location for a controlled detonation. However, they start to leak, and the carrier they are onboard automatically is set onto a direct course to the detonation site. However, there are many obstacles on the way, as the course takes it through many built-up areas. The Blast Corps demolition company is given the task of clearing the route for the carrier and its missiles, to avoid a catastrophic explosion.

The game

The game starts you in a world map with only one accessible Carrier Level (read below). Beating this level opens the "Easy" set of Carrier Levels. When these are beaten, the next set of Carrier levels is opened. Bonus levels are earned in a different fashion. To open a bonus level, one must find a satellite hidden in another level. Sometimes bonus levels have hidden satellites that will open other bonus levels. And so, the game expands from a single Carrier level to many different levels of two types (Carrier and Bonus).

Each level is initially marked with a shadow, but this can be filled with a medal by fulfilling the secondary requirements of a Carrier mission (by destroying buldings, freeing survivors, and collecting RDUs), or by getting a good enough time in a Bonus mission. Each level is also circled in a green or red outline. A green outline means that there is at least one satellite in the level that has not been found (which will open a bonus mission when found), whereas a red outline means that all of the satellites in the level have been found.

The first objective in the game is to clear all of the Carrier levels, but many more tasks await afterwards. Persistent players may try to earn all of the gold medals available in all of the Carrier and Bonus levels, only to see that even more tasks await.

Carrier Levels

The Carrier Levels form the focus of the game. Here, the nuclear carrier has a set route, which takes it through a series of obstacles, usually including a number of buildings. You start in a demolition vehicle, such as a bulldozer, but may find other vehicles in the level. The main focus on such levels is action, as you must destroy buildings in the way of the carrier, before it crashes into them, but some obstacles require the solving of puzzles to solve. Some of these obstacles require the use of TNT blocks to destroy, whilst sometimes holes must be filled in with blocks, or a route through water or over railway lines must be covered by boats or trains respectively. Clearing the path of the missile earns you a gold medal.

Once the route is clear for the carrier, there is are still things for the player to do. On each level are a number of secrets to find. On every level to fully complete it, almost all buildings must be destroyed, thus saving anyone trapped inside. Also, a number of Radiation Dispersal Units, or RDU's are contained around the level. Some of these are set up to guide the player around the level. There is no time limit, once the carrier's path is clear, for finding these secrets. A second medal can be earned by destroying enough buildings, freeing enough survivors, and activating enough RDUs. 100% completion of the tasks results in a gold medal, meaning that you can get a total of two golds in each Carrier Level.

Time Trial Levels

Bonus Levels involve a race of some sort. Some of them are straight races, where you must complete a course of four laps in the fastest time possible. In others, you must demolish a certain number of buildings, or pick up RDU's. In some of these there are enemies, who you must not touch, or you fail the mission, whilst others have other deadly obstacles, such as water.

Practice levels are time trial levels that introduce some of the more unusual demolition vehicles. These give some instruction in operating the particular vehicle, and sometimes have arrows to guide the play. However, these levels function in a similar way to a normal demolition style Bonus levels.

On some of the levels, you can choose the vehicle for the race. Here vehicles are only available if they have been found and driven on one of the carrier levels. However, some levels restrict the choice of vehicle. In any case, the player cannot change vehicles in the middle of a race.

Finishing Bonus Levels will result in a Bronze, Silver, or Gold medal, depending on the finish time. In the later stages a Platinum medal can be won. You can only have one medal in a Bonus Level (as opposed to two in Carrier Levels).

Other Time Trial levels include clearing a path for a space shuttle to land, which unlocks a demolition Time Trial level, set on the moon. This, along with later levels set on Mercury, Venus, Mars and Neptune, have lower gravity than normal. Here, as with the Bonus levels, a single medal can be won on each level.

Eventually the Carrier Levels, after they have been fully completed and other tasks have been completed, turn into Time Trail levels. The task is still to clear a path for the Carrier, but this must be done in a time limit, and as with Bonus Levels bronze, silver, gold and later platinum medals are awarded according to the time taken.

Demolition Vehicles

There are a number of Demolision vehicles in the game. Each has a different method of demolition, from the ramdozer, which is just a simple bulldozer, to the J-Bomb, a robot that flies up to stomp on buildings. The following is a list of these vehicles:

Ramdozer

The Ramdozer is a fairly ordinary bulldozer, destroying the smaller buildings and obstacles by ramming into them, but with little or no effect on the larger ones. However, its scoop can push TNT blocks, which can destroy some of these buildings.

Backlash

The Backlash is a fairly slow-moving dump truck. It can ram obstacles, with some effect, but it is much more effective to go into a skid, and cause the back end of the vehicle to collide with the chosen obstacle. As with the ramdozer, this is only effective against relatively small obstacles.

Skyfall

The Skyfall is a small and fast automobile, and can be made faster using a booster, which runs out quickly, but regenerates power when not in use. Its main method of destruction is to go at high speed up a ramp, using the booster, and land on obstacles. Again, it is only effective against relatively small obstacles.

Thunderfist

The Thunderfist is a large human-operated robot that is ideal for destroying large buildings, such as tower blocks, by running at them, then somersaulting into the side.

Cyclone Suit

The Cyclone Suit is also a robot, and similarly can destroy large buildings, this time by rolling into them.

J-Bomb

The J-Bomb is the third of the robotic demolition vehicles. It has a Jet-Pack, and uses this to fly above the target building then descending rapidly, crushing it.

Ballista

The Ballista is a missile-carrying automobile that destroys obstacles by firing missiles at them. The missile are in limited supply, and extra missiles can be found on the relevant levels.

Sideswipe

The Sideswipe is an automobile that destroying its targets by driving to the side of them, and extending rams on the left and right of the vehicle into them. This can be done a limited number of times, and tokens can be collected to allow them to be used more often, in a similar way to the missiles for the Ballista.

The Grades

Blast Corps rewards the player by giving them grades as they go further in acquiring medals. There are 31 grades. The 30 promotions follow a predetermined order, as the player's number of points get higher. This number depends on the quantity and quality of the acquired medals :
-1 point for every bronze medal
-2 points for every silver medal
-3 points for every gold medal
-4 points for every platinum medal.

Every 12 points, the player is awarded a new promotion. The total number of points is equal to 42*3 (gold medals of the main levels) + 57*4 (platinum medals of the special levels and missile clearance time attacks) + 6 extra points = 360.

Here are the 31 grades :

0. ROOKIE WRECKER
1. TRAINED CRUSHER
2. EXPERIENCED RAVAGER
3. DECORATED DAMAGER
4. PROFESSIONAL RAZER
5. EXPERT DESTROYER
6. GIFTED RUINER
7. ACCOMPLISHED CONQUEROR
8. MASTER DESPOILER
9. DEMOLITION FANATIC
10. GRAND ERADICATOR
11. HEAVY DUTY WASTER
12. TOTAL PULVERISER
13. CHAMPION RANSACKER
14. MECHANICAL MAESTRO
15. CHIEF OBLITERATOR
16. COMMANDING DESOLATOR
17. SUPREME DEVASTATOR
18. ULTIMATE ANNIHILATOR
19. LEVELLING LEGEND
20. DESTRUCTIVE PSYCHOPATH
21. MINDLESS DESECRATOR
22. HYSTERICAL CLAUSTROPHOBE
23. UNCONTROLLABLE MADMAN
24. WORLD CLASS MEGALOMANIAC
25. CAPTAIN OF CARNAGE
26. SINGLE MINDED CHAOSMONGER
27. GRAND HIGH SLAUGHTERMASTER
28. LUNATIC LORD OF HAVOC
29. ARMAGEDDON ADEPT
30. YOU CAN STOP NOW.