This article is about the 1995 PlayStation video game. For the essay by José Vasconcelos, see La raza cósmica.

Cosmic Race[a] is a spaceship-themed racing video game for the PlayStation. It was developed by Neorex (the company's only game) and was released exclusively in Japan in January 1995 as one of the console's first titles. Cosmic Race is notable for its largely negative critical reception with common complaints relating to its presentation, controls, and collision detection.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot

Cosmic Race is a spaceship-racing game. The game consists of six different ships, including the Borg, Couga, Hito-01, Propeller, and S-lagon, each with their own anime-style driver.[2] The game had sorts of humanoid cats, dogs, and humans.

It has multiple gamemodes, including:

  • "point time try"
  • "cosmic race"
  • "chase 1pad" (two player)
  • "chase 2pad" (two player)
  • "scramble"
  • "story"

Development and release

Cosmic Race was developed by Neorex, a Japanese systems architecture and information technology firm. Founded in 1987 in Nagoya, Neorex was one of the first third-party supporters for the debut of the PlayStation. Kenji Nakamura led a team of more than 20 people on the game's production and had to convince the company's president, who was initially against game development, to allow the project. Neorex's online profile describes Cosmic Race as its "first and last (?) game software."[3] A release date of December 1994 was initially reported.[4] Some of the game's graphical assets were allegedly taken directly from the PlayStation's software development kit.[5][6] Early footage on video shows a number of changes that were made in the final release.[7] The game was released exclusively in Japan on January 20, 1995.[1]

Reception and legacy

Cosmic Race suffered a generally negative reception and has been considered by some publications to be among the worst video games of all time due to graphical and technical issues. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a lowly 16 out of 40.[8] Next Generation rated it one star out of five, and stated, "Although there are only a few titles available on the PlayStation, it is obvious, in comparison, that Cosmic Race is substandard on almost every level. The graphics are childish and uninspired and the control is entirely awkward. If all were right with the world, this game would never have been made."[9] The French magazine Player One offered similar complaints, shaming the developer Neorex for its design.[12] The Spanish magazine Última Generacion scored it 35 out of 100, stating that the game coined the term "octopus player" due to the number of gamepad buttons that must be simultaneously pressed to successfully play it.[11] Ultimate Future Games gave it 25% and commented, "The polygon crust hides, not very effectively, an annoying game which shelters in the shadow of Ridge Racer. Please do not buy this. You've been warned."[2]

One publication with particular disdain for Cosmic Race was Game Players. Writer Mike Salmon first mentioned it as the PlayStation's worst offering in its July 1995 issue.[13] The magazine, which reviewed games on a percentage scale, eventually began equating its 0% grade to Cosmic Race.[14] It even gave it a "Special Achievement Award" in its 1995 holiday issue, stating, "A game this bad is no accident. It takes special planning, long, hard work, and a dedicated group of evil geniuses."[15] In September 1996, just before changing its name to Ultra Game Players, the magazine commemorated the occasion by finally giving Cosmic Race a proper review where writer Chris Charla bemoaned long loading times, poor graphics, a counterintuitive control system, and a complete lack of collision detection.[5] The use of Cosmic Race as the bottom of the Game Players rating system was referenced in a presentation about kusoge ("crap games") at PAX East 2017.[16] In an article about kusoge, Video Game Collector noted Cosmic Race alongside Twin Goddesses, Exector, Not Treasure Hunter, and Metal Jacket as "terrible" releases in the early PlayStation library.[17]

Despite its mostly unfavorable reception, there have been some positive perspectives on Cosmic Race. Both Última Generacion and Ultimate Future Games commended its polygon graphics.[11][2] François Garnier of Consoles + issued an overall score of 71%, concluding that its multiple gameplay modes make up for all of its other shortcomings.[10] GameFan editor Dave Halverson initially considered Cosmic Race the PlayStation's first bad game but warmed up to it after getting used to its vehicle physics and handling.[18] In 2007, GameSetWatch columnist Danny Cowan was disappointed the game did not live up to its infamy. "The inexplicably awesome soundtrack alone keeps it out of 0% range, and the simple race-to-the-finish gameplay is compelling precisely because the game's programmers botched it so badly," he wrote. "It's more fair to call Cosmic Race the stupidest game of all time, rather than one of the worst."[6]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: コズミック レース, Hepburn: Kozumikku Rēsu

References

  1. ^ a b "コズミックレース". PlayStation Official Site Software Catalog (in Japanese). Sony Interactive Entertainment. 2020. Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Ultimate review sector: Like hey, take a trip with the Cosmic Race... man". Ultimate Future Games. No. 5. Future Publishing. April 1995. pp. 86–7. ISSN 1355-7289.
  3. ^ "Corporate Profile" (PDF). Neorex (in Japanese). 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  4. ^ Kuboki Kei (January 1995). "Sony makes their move and a new platform is born". GameFan. Vol. 3, no. 1. DieHard Gamers Club. p. 130. ISSN 1092-7212.
  5. ^ a b c Charla, Chris (September 1996). "Review: Cosmic Race". Game Players. No. 88. Signal Research. p. 74. ISSN 1087-2779.
  6. ^ a b Cowan, Danny (July 7, 2006). "COLUMN: 'Bastards of 32-Bit' - Cosmic Race". GameSetWatch. Archived from the original on July 15, 2006. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  7. ^ ASSEMBlergamers (June 17, 2021), ASSEMblergames Youtube Archive, retrieved September 6, 2024
  8. ^ a b Famitsu staff (January 27, 1995). "NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: クライムクラッカーズ (PS)". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 319. ASCII Corporation. p. 38. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017.
  9. ^ a b Next Generation staff (July 1995). "Finals: Cosmic Race". Next Generation. No. 7. Imagine Media. p. 64.
  10. ^ a b Garnier, François (March 1995). "Playstation Review (CD+): Cosmic Race". Consoles + (in French). No. 41. M.E.R.7. p. 124. ISSN 1162-8669.
  11. ^ a b c Última Generacion staff (May 1995). "Versión Final: Cosmic Race". Última Generacion (in Spanish). No. 3. MV Editores. pp. 64–5. ISSN 1135-4135.
  12. ^ Le Flou, Stef (March 1995). "Cosmic Race". Player One (in French). No. 51. Média Système Édition. p. 37. ISSN 1153-4451.
  13. ^ Salmon, Mike (July 1995). "World View". Game Players. No. 54. Signal Research. p. 87. ISSN 1087-2779.
  14. ^ Game Players staff (December 1995). "Reviews". Game Players. No. 59. Signal Research. p. 57. ISSN 1087-2779.
  15. ^ Game Players staff (December 1995). "1995 Annual Game Players Awards". Game Players. No. 60. Signal Research. p. 41. ISSN 1087-2779.
  16. ^ Yoshimura Mira (March 11, 2017). "「Oh, What a Kusoge!!」日本の名だたるクソゲーを紹介する企画にアメリカのハードコアゲーマーたちが熱狂した夜【PAX EAST 2017】" ["Oh, What a Kusoge!!" A Night of American Hardcore Gamers Going Wild Over a Project Introducing Famous Japanese Kusoge (Crap Games) [PAX EAST 2017]]. Famitsu (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 24, 2025. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  17. ^ Wilcox, Greg (July 2008). "Made in Japan". Video Game Collector. No. 10. p. 14.
  18. ^ Halverson, Dave (April 1995). "GameFan Preview: Cosmic Race". GameFan. Vol. 3, no. 4. DieHard Gamers Club. p. 84. ISSN 1092-7212.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_Race
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