[img width=640 height=468]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IRB-box.jpg[/img]





Heading back to the N64 this week, let’s take a look at this unique racing style game. Like many games for the last few Nintendo systems I'm afraid that most people probably avoided this game because of its "cutsie" and colorful art style. But if you can look past that, or if it doesn't bother you, then definitely check out Iggy's Reckin Balls.

IRB plays as a 2D racer. The concept at its most basic is very similar to Uniracers for the SNES (which is a fantastic game also). Instead of just having a long solid track, which would be quite boring for a 2D racer, IRB has you climb and follow a 3D perspective. So even though you only progress left or right with the controller, bent areas in the track cause the entire course to bend and twist as you progress (kind of like in Super Monkey Ball, but not exactly).

[img width=600 height=480]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IggyRace-gameplay.jpg[/img]

Each racer also has a chain they can shoot out to help them progress. This can be used to grab higher ledges and pull your ball up, or to grab other racers and toss them around. There are many tracks with other useful items such as: Springs (Sonic Style), Fans, Bubbles, Speed Booster Doors, etc. In addition to these helpful items there are many less than helpful things such as: enemies, grass (makes you slow), steel plated track (can’t grab through them with your chain), moving platforms and more.

To top off the mayhem, each lap starts your racer with 4 speed boosts which can be activated at your choosing by pressing the Z trigger. Items are also available during most races and can vary from temporary invincibility to projectile weapons and other useful goodies.

[img width=540 height=405]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IggyRace2-gameplay.jpg[/img]

Each character has their own unique attributes, but overall most of the racers seem to be extremely evenly matched. Since even in single player there are 4 racers, this leads to a lot of neck and neck races. 

Each level is divided up into 10 tracks. You start with 5 levels open and have 5 more to unlock. That is 100 tracks in total! Some tracks are short and sweet and some are long and require multiple laps. Levels have a unique theme to them, so if you find a track you really like there are bound to be a few similar ones too!

Multiplayer is fantastic on Iggy's Reckin Balls, and like a lot of Multiplayer games it gets even better with more people. With balls being flung off the course or crashed into left and right it can get quite frantic and is always interesting.

The last thing worth mentioning is the music. It’s got a techno sound track, which while I'm not a fan of that genre, it seems to suit the game quite well. Very upbeat and gives you the illusion that things are happening faster than they actually are.

Final Score - 7/10

Here is a quick minute and a half long review, so that you can see the interesting visual and 2.5D styles I mentioned above:

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