Sega's view of F-Zero stays true to the original games, but comes with an added sense of style. The characters in F-Zero GX have a lot more depth and purpose than in any previous effort - they have back stories and distinct advantages and disadvantages, rather than just a portrait and three ratings. Once you've selected your character, you choose your engine's output settings, leaning towards either top speed or acceleration. The first thing you'll notice when you start racing is that F-Zero GX is fast - not just fast like an ordinary racer, but insanely fast, like Regis Philburn on speed. It's fair to say that F-Zero GX has the greatest sense of speed in any videogame to date. You should all be aware that with great speed comes great difficulty, because F-Zero GX is one of the hardest games we've played. The first few tracks of the GP mode will ease you into the experience, but once you try the Story Mode, the difficulty shoots through the roof.
F-Zero GX comes with all sorts of different modes. The meat and potatoes of the game are located in the GP Mode and Story mode. GP Mode is the same thing you've experienced in previous F-Zero games, that is, you race in various different cup types at different difficulty levels. Story Mode is a new addition to the series. You play as Captain Falcon, the winner of the previous F-Zero season, in his attempt to gain back to back titles. Throughout Story Mode, you will have to pass various challenges, and win different races. The story progresses between each of these races/challenges with FMV cut scenes. When you finish a chapter, you have to purchase the next one from the F-Zero Shop, where you can exchange tickets you've earned in GP and Story modes for new characters, ships and other doo-dads.
One of the big complains in regards to F-Zero X was the fact that Nintendo sacrificed graphical detail to get the game running at a constant 60 frames per second with 30 racers in a race. While there are still 30 racers in a race, and the game runs at 60 frames per second, Amusement Vision haven't held back on producing some of the most jaw dropping graphics on the Gamecube. Each car is intricately detailed, but it was the race track environments that had us foaming at the mouth. Environments are filled with life - neon signs litter the sides of the tracks, rain pours from the sky, which is periodically lit up by lighting strikes - it's gorgeous. There's also widescreen support for those of you equipped with widescreen televisions. Sound is relatively good as well, with many of the classic F-Zero tunes re-recorded in various different styles.
We're impressed with F-Zero GX, but there are a few things that hold it back from being a great title. This game is really unforgiving - you could rave on about how writers are crap at games, but GX is something else. We doubt that anything will drastically change before F-Zero GX's PAL release in October, so if you like your games hard and fast, we fully recommend trying F-Zero GX.
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