F-Zero GX

The gameplay modes are modest at best. The obligatory Grand Prix, Versus, and Time Attack modes all make their standard appearances but are joined by the newfangled Story Mode this time around. Story mode basically puts the player into the cockpit of the Blue Falcon, piloted by none other than Captain Falcon himself. The "story" unfolds in a series of racing challenges that reveal the motivation behind this balls-to-the-wall racing competition, although it's not any more engaging than you might expect. Apparantly Captain Falcon is some kind of good guy trying to thwart the plans of some bad guys who will stop at nothing to smite Falcon and unleash some manner of diabolical plot by racing in the F-Zero Grand Prix. Yawn. However, despite the forgivable lack of depth in the story (really, who wants to dwell on a complex storyline while speed-hovering at over 2000 KPH anyway?), gamers will find that the levels become downright challenging by the second mission, and all but impossible by the third. Truth be told, managing to complete the story is definately possible, although you probably won't think so once you hit the Grand Prix challenge level.

The devilish challenge isn't only limited to the Story mode though, so don't think for a second you've got a bye. Predictably, in Grand Prix mode, tracks are separated into cups, are played in the same order each time, and will be more or less challenging based on the difficulty class you choose to play on. Whether you get third, second, first, or worse at the end of each cup is determined by how many points you have by that time, which are divied up among racers based on their place in each race. Better rank equals more points. Simple. Fortunately after only a few laps in the Novice class most gamers will find solid domination over the touchy controls and will be speeding by opponents with authority in no time, making themselves ready to move on to the more seriously competetive class levels -- Standard, Expert, and the unlockable Master classes.

Controlling your F-Zero craft is comparable to controlling a speeding bullet, only you can turn it. In fact, not only can you turn this bullet, but you can turn it very well. Before each race, you're given the option to calibrate your craft in favor of faster acceleration or higher top speed. By adjusting a single line on a graph, you either increase or decrease your acceleration which inversely adjusts your top speed. Your turning capabilities are proportional to your accelerating status -- higher top speeds cost you some turning radius. Since you're given a crude map of the course you'll be racing prior to engine start, you can strategize whether you need mad top speed for straightaways, or rapid acceleration to offset unforgiving sharp turn sequences. As per tthe norm, the A button makes you go and the left analog stick controls your basic steering functions. Slam it all the way to the left or right for the most extreme turns or feather it for some fine-tuned maneuvering. F-Zero GX also includes the ability to use the shoulder buttons to sharpen turns to their relative sides, and the ability to powerslide through hairpin turns by depressing both of them at once. Powersliding will be much easier to do if your machine is calibrated towards acceleration over top speed, and will award you with a slight increase in speed for so long as you can hold the 'slide. GX introduces offensive tactics into the franchise, affording you the option to either damage a handful of opponents by pressing the Z button along with directional input, sending you momentarily into a crazed spin, or by pressing right/left plus X to slam an opponent on your side. Your steering will be docked a bit in the area of accuracy for your troubles, but time it right and you can effectively eliminate the competition by sending them off course. Be on the lookout though, because the competition is out to eliminate you too, so don't be surprised if you see these tactics being used against you as well. I think there's a brake button too, but who cares? All the customization, finesse, and pinpoint accuracy come together to make for some strategic methodology to your game.

In the Grand Prix mode, the only way to end a race other than winning is by depleting your machine's shield unto your explosive demise or by choosing to restart the level due to unacceptable personal performance. The amount of times you can restart is limited, further adding to the steep challenge served up. More often than not you'll boost yourself to death rather than simply choose to restart a race. After the first lap, each racer's boosts are activated, and by pressing the Y button you can warp speed yourself to ungodly velocities. The boost effect can be used for as often as you have power left in your shield (indicated by an on-screen display). Balancing between boosting to keep up with the competition and maintaining a safety net for steering errors is usually what makes the difference between sweet success and fiery failure in this game. It's very good that your shield can be replenished, often completely, simply by cruising over strips of, I don't know, colorful shield-replenishing road material found in long strips about the courses. Don't ask me, it's the future.

Time Attack and Versus modes are no more than you'd expect from any racer to date. Time Attack mode pits you against the clock to vie for the best overall time on a given track. Stats for max speed and best lap are automatically recorded as well. Versus mode falls short of greatness simply because the maximum amount of racers is limited to an underwhelming total of four. That's it -- you and three friends, tops. The frenetic feel of Grand Prix mode is almost completely diminished unless you're playing friends of comparable skill level. Even then, you'd likely have more fun just swapping the controller back and forth going through the Grand Prix and Story modes together.

There is also an option to build a custom craft by buying an ensemble of parts from the parts store available at the beginning of the game. The parts are bought with tickets earned by completing challenges in Grand Prix and Story modes. When you beat a given challenge, a predetermined set of machine parts will become available for purchase. You can decide which body, cockpit, and booster you want for your craft but that's it for the hard tangibles. Any combination of colors can be selected for your craft, as well as a selection of ready-made decals. You can further customize your machine with your very own decals if you want to make some with the game's included decal editor depending on your level of interest. Unfortunately, I've made several cars that look really, really cool, but I've yet to craft one that is competetive in the Standard or Expert modes. In fact, even most of the unlockable machines piloted by rival racers are pretty much unmanagable on the track. Even still, the customization process itself is pretty fun, as futuristic hovercraft aren't exactly run-of-the-mill automobiles to most of us. If you don't care to build your own machine from scratch, you can choose any one of the other machines from the other racers you've purchased with your tickets as a starting point, although cosmetic changes are the extent of that option. Finally, by playing F-Zero AX at the arcades with your memory card inserted into the machine will make new machines and pilots available as well as letting you race with your own custom machine at the arcade, but the apparent extinction of arcades greatly affects the likelihood that you'll ever get to enjoy this nifty feature even once, let alone enough times to unlock everything.

GX runs like a lightning bolt and the frame rate never appears to skip a beat. If it did, you probably wouldn't notice anyway. The graphics are usually abstract, but are mostly beautiful, often hypnotic, and always endearing to the futuristic theme. The fact that each racer has his/her own appearance, and every craft on the track is unique in appearance only adds to the quality of the graphics. Track designs look like they came from the mind of insane scientists which is great because, while intimidating with loops, twists, half-pipes, hundred-foot drop offs, and upside-down portions of track they're well-crafted and loads of fun to race. The only graphical messiness to be seen is at the end of a victorious circuit during your "interview" with some obscure media personality. The characters don't look bad, but they're not altogether brilliant either. Brightly colored and animated, they are nice, but still don't match the visual awesomeness found in the core gameplay screens.

Sound basically serves its purpose well too. All the machines' engines have an identical high-pitched whistle to them, with an explosive blast accenting takeoff from the starting line. Crashing into walls produces a grating sound that will really drive you to regain control of your steering, and the sudden whoosh from a booster on the road sounds nice as well. The small amount of voice acting in the game is surprisingly well done, even if the dialogue is laughable. Fast paced techno beats predictably comprise the game's soundtrack, and are usually successful in building up excitement, but are too often repetetive. The frenzy of the gameplay usually subdues an otherwise mediocre musical score, so there's no reason to bemoan it too severely.