Now this is pod-racing! As Anakin Skywalker or a number of other pod-racing celebrities (each with their own strengths and weaknesses behind the wheel), you select your racer and take on other luminaries in the high-speed sport, including the notorious Sebulba. Try to get ahead of the pack by knowing when to turn, brake, and take off like a mynock out of hell. But watch out - some of your opponents will try to beat you to the finish line by using most unconventional means... (Lucasarts / THQ, 1999)

This king-sized cartridge (which, with the addition of an AAA battery, boasts an annoying vibration feature for collisions) takes the game that Nintendo used to revitalize the N64...and reduces it to the overhead racing dynamic that we've been seeing in video racing games since Monaco GP, Spy Hunter and Change Lanes. And before you say the Game Boy Color just doesn't have the processing power to pull off a 3-D racer, check out the intro - a digitized, letterboxed segment of Star Wars Episode I's podracing scene. Crammed into a Game Boy cartridge. Granted, a big enough cartridge to be packing some additional RAM needed for such a feat, but wow.

The game itself is vastly simplified from the N64 edition, and this also reduces the difficulty level - in some cases. Later levels of the game are quite capable of kicking your butt, 3-D view or no. And for us old Jedi Knights who were weaned on overhead racers, it's still fun - a nice, comforting blast from the past.

Not unlike its inspiration, actually.

Rating:  Four quarters - a couple of minor irritants, but mostly a compelling and addictive game.

Reviewed by Earl Green
theLogBook.com editor/webmaster