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Review  F-Zero GX
- By Daniel Maraglio
[Senior Editor]
Since its release, F-Zero has always been considered the best futuristic racing title. Even the original Snes game is still great fun. Followed up by F-Zero X (N64) and Maximum Velocity (GBA), gamers had little to complain about with the series. Unfortunately, this may change for some, but things are even better for the rest of us.
Gameplay:
F-Zero GX is a sequel to the gameplay of F-Zero X. Nintendo decided to hand the development over to Sega's AV, a company with experience of arcade type racers. At first glance people may just think that this is F-Zero X with updated graphics. Not so. There is so much extra stuff here that its going to take you a long time to not only master the game, but unlock all the goodies as well. Theres the grand prix mode, with 3 standard cups and two unlockable cups. Thats 25 tracks, ranging from simple ovals to looping anti gravity turns to pipe tracks (inside and out). The time attack mode returns, complete with a new set of Nintendo staff ghosts to race against. A great new story mode that follows a 9 chapter adventure of Captain Falcon and his quest to win the F-Zero belt and beyond. Story mode is pretty tough but players are rewarded with cool intro CG videos before and after each chapter's challenge. There are also tracks that are only available in story mode which is kind of unfortunate since they are really nicely designed and I would love to play them on a multiplayer mode. Another new feature is the customization and garage modes. The Custom mode allows players to spend thier points on unlocking the games many ships and ship parts, as well as custom car parts. These custom car parts are carried over to the garage mode. Garage mode lets the player design thier own F-Zero racers by taking a body, cockpit, and engine, painting them, and adding on some decals. You can make a machine thats perfect for your playing style. You can also use an edit mode to create your own custom decals, so if you ever wanted the side of Captain Falcons ship to say the F-word, heres your chance to shine. The pilot profiles is also another surprise. I expected a lame 2 sentence description for each character but theres alot more than that. Every character has a full paragraph with an interesting background, a 3-d model of themselves and their ship and to top it all off, each character has thier own theme song. And most of them are actually very good. The story behind F-zero's racers is more than enough to have a movie based on it. Rumour has it that an anime series is already being developed.
F-Zero GX really only has one thing that will keep it being enjoyed by all, and thats a monumental difficulty. Even hardcore fans will feel the pressure early on in story mode and some of the tracks in grand prix are brutal. At first, even I was cursing Nintendo for letting Sega make the game so damned unforgiving (and this was on novice mode). I stuck with it and eventually I got the hang of things and now I can navigate most tracks with ease and eventually I beat the master mode.
I want to end this on a good note so I saved the coolest part for last. Soon in the arcades there will be F-Zero AX arcade machines. Not only do these units have a hydraulic cabinet to give you the sense of racing, it also has totally new racers and 6 new tracks and new custom parts. Thats not all though. You can take all of this stuff home with you. By bringing your memory card to the arcade and putting it into the arcade unit, you can download any tracks and racers and parts you used, you also get 20 race tickets each time you play. You can also use the cars that are in your garage in the arcade game, complete with your custom emblems. I cant wait to try all this out.
Aesthetics:
Amazing. The graphics, the speed, the 30 cars all on the screen at once. The game itself looks great, the tracks are very higly detailed with tons of eye candy and flashy effects. Even the ships impressed me. Each one has a transparent window with a pilot inside. Even with all of this (and with 4-player split screen), the game manages to keep a constant 60 FPS. I have yet to encounter slowdown and probably never will.
Sound:
Another great feature. Most of the music is techno and while thats not my thing, I really like the music alot. From the Big Blue remix to Blood Falcon's theme music. Its such a great package that theres going to be at least one song that you will really like. The sound effects are also dead on. Especially in cockpit view, the roar of the engine sounds incredible.
Control:
Since F-Zero X, sega decided that too many of the ships felt the same and decided to mix things up a bit. Your favorite ship may be alot more difficult to handle and that will dissapoint a few players. I used the Sonic Phantom exclusively in F-ZX, but in GX it was alot harder to control. I had to resort to using the Blue Falcon for a while and get aqquianted with the new controls. After a while I had the skill to pilot the Sonic Phantom again. The controls themselves are very sensitive, requiring only a touch of pressure to the analog stick and trigger buttons. A new turning technique allows players to navigate the sharper turns much more easily and its a great help.
Multiplayer:
This is lots of fun. Racing against 3 other freinds on a narrow track, trying not to get knocked off and at the same time not get left behind, all while keeping an eye on the upcoming turn. Its pretty intense and a great thrill. Unlike F-Zero X, you now have an option that allows players to get back into the race after falling off track or being destroyed. A good option for beggining racers, but experienced players will want the restore function turned off since it raises the stakes and overall skill level. One of the options that isnt included is the slot machine option from F-ZX. When one of the four players was eliminated from the race, they could keep using a slot machine which would have detrimental effects on the players that were still racing. It was alot of fun and Its missed from F-ZGX but with all the great new tracks and features, it wont be missed too much.
OVERALL:
A great game with lots of features, at home or at the arcade. Everything is so well done that I cant stop playing it. The story mode is interesting and the new custom ship design is alot of fun. While it may be a bit frustrating at first, practice and patience will be rewarded with one of the deepest, fastest and best looking and sounding racers of all time.
The Lowdown on  F-Zero GX
| Aesthetics: Awesome |
Control: Very Good |
| Gameplay: Awesome |
Multiplayer: Awesome |
| Sound: Awesome |
Innovation: 5/6 |
| Lasting Appeal: 5/6 |
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Overall: Awesome!
"Top of the Genre"
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This game is:
Awesome
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INFO |
Developer: Sega AV
Publisher: Nintendo
Number of Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: T
Release Date:
TBA
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IN A
NUTSHELL: |
| Might take some time to get used to, but its the best F-Zero yet. |
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