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System:
Gamecube
Genre:
Racing
ESRB Rating:
Release Date:
8- 2003
Racing
ESRB Rating:
Release Date:
8- 2003
Publisher:
Nintendo
Developer:
Sega
Nintendo
Developer:
Sega
MetroidHunter
Published:7- 2005
User Views: 910
User Replies: 0
It is the year 2703, and you step into the cockpit of your F-Zero machine, the Blue Falcon. You cruise up to your position for the starting of the race. Your heart is pounding, your hands are wet—you try to shake your nerves, but you know that this race will decide whether or not you will win the Grand Prix. You look to your left, and a man in a black machine shakes his fist angrily at you. You try to relax, when suddenly a screen appears in front of your machine. It begins to count down. It starts at three, and you grip the steering wheel tightly; reaches two, and you begin to rev your engine; strikes one…expires; and you blast off at a mind-boggling speed down the track.
That is what F-Zero racing is all about. F-Zero GX is the sequel to the smash hit on the Nintendo 64, F-Zero X. Several things have been updated and changed for GX, which comes as no surprise. This time around, Nintendo had some help from former rival Sega. Together they collaboratively worked on the development of F-Zero GX, and made it into a great sequel to the popular Nintendo 64 game. F-Zero is now in the arcade as well; GX's sister title, F-Zero AX, is scheduled to debut in North American arcades this September. The two titles will allow for the player to transfer data by memory card, meaning he can take his memory card to the arcade, plug it in, and begin play from where he left off at home. By doing this, one can unlock new parts of the game exclusive to the arcade and other bonus features. F-Zero AX is not something to miss out on if one owns a copy of GX and has an arcade with the unit nearby. But the big question everyone is asking is, "Is F-Zero GX the sequel we all hoped for?"
The first noticeable detail waiting for the player when starting up F-Zero GX is the many different modes of play selectable from the title screen, including grand prix, versus battle, time attack, practice, and story—as well as additional options including vehicle customization, game play options, and F-Zero pilot profiles—all of which are available for play from the beginning.
Grand Prix mode is the heart of the game and will be where one spends most of his time. Before one chooses a cup to race in, he will choose the difficulty from one of the three different levels—novice, standard, or expert. Afterward he can select from one of three available cups—Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald. In each cup, there will be five different races that will ultimately decide the winner. Ruby is a beginners’ cup and is where all players, experienced or not, should start; the Sapphire cup is an intermediate cup for those who can triumph in the Ruby cup; and the greatest challenge of the three is the Emerald cup, which is for advanced or experienced players and should not be taken lightly. There is also a cup to unlock upon completion of the three remaining cups.
Once one has completed a race, his time will be compared with the respected times of the twenty-nine other competitors and ranked; points are awarded based on which place one receives. These races are very challenging; small mistakes, such as turning a corner too sharply, can place one in the back of the pack in a matter of seconds almost regardless of his prior position. At the end of each race, these points will be tallied, and the competitor with the highest number of them at the end of the five races will win the entire cup. If one wins the cup, Mr. Zero will interview him and allow him to answer one of a series of questions; and the questions available depend on which cup was won and what difficulty level was selected. It is very interesting to listen to each player’s responses. If you are interviewed while playing as Black Shadow, GX’s "King of all Evil", Mr. Zero cowers in fear and will stutter during the interview. After the interview is finished, the camera will progress to a screen that broadcasts the words "Thanks for Playing." This is not essentially needed, but it is another added detail. The player will then be rewarded tickets depending on how well he performed and the level of difficulty he performed at. These tickets can be used to purchase parts and accessories in the F-Zero shop. One might also receive an F-Zero machine part for use in the garage, which will be discussed in greater detail later.
Versus Battle is F-Zero GX's multiplayer feature, and if one can manage to get four players together, he will have an all-out brawl. Two to four players can race against each other on any track simultaneously. One can choose the split screen method when only two players will be competing—either vertical or horizontal—as well as the number of laps and several other options at all times. The restore feature comes into play significantly in this mode of play. If one is run off of the track or has his F-Zero machine destroyed, a robot will seize him and place him back on the track with little energy. This is a good feature to use because simply watching one’s friends race and enjoying themselves can become monotonous very quickly. Apart from in the rules and options listed above, versus mode plays almost identically to the grand prix mode. F-Zero GX's multiplayer is a blast and can be enjoyed by all types of players.
Time Attack mode has the player racing against his greatest adversary—himself; his main objective is to beat his best time on a given track, with the premise of constantly improving his time and making it progressively more difficult to shave additional seconds off of it. At the end of each race, he is given the option to save his "ghost data," which is a copy of the lap he previously performed. After saving it, he can race against his ghost head to head, which gives him an indication how fast he needs to be and where he should be on the track at a certain time in order to accomplish a faster lap than before. The memory card records each of a track’s top ten times, so defeating a friend’s time at a track and having proof of it on his memory card can be a rewarding experience.
Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes; and it holds true for F-Zero GX. Practice mode allows one to race on a selected track and learn the essential in's and out's of it in preparation for a coming cup or race, and this option is completely necessary for familiarizing oneself with the tracks participating in a given cup. Those who neglect this opportunity and do not prepare ahead will not be ready for an unexpected sharp turn or where the pit areas are located to reenergize one’s machine. This mode of play is also a great solution for improving at a track one is having trouble with.
Before I experienced it, I personally thought that Story mode was going to be a breeze; I figured it would be an easy, short process and that it would be just something apart from the main mode to enjoy—and, surprisingly, I was very wrong. Story mode is just as challenging as the rest of F-Zero GX. One will follow Captain Falcon through a series of events or chapters. In each chapter, one will watch a short opening cinema before completing a task such as beating an opponent to a checkpoint. Do not take these missions lightly while playing because they will be a test of wits as well as skills. If one fails to complete the task given to him, a message on the screen will appear and announce "Mission Failed". But if one does manage to succeed and finish, a message will come up with "Mission Passed". This is where one will begin to celebrate and sit quietly as he watches the hard-earned ending cinema. After beating it, the next chapter will be available for purchase with the tickets one earns, in the same way that parts and crafts are. Story mode is a very nice addition to the franchise, and on very hard difficulty, the player will be challenged unlike ever before.
The game’s customize option is divided into several different sections. First, there is the F-Zero shop, where new pilots and their machines and parts, as well as other items such as new chapters for the story mode, are available for purchase with the tickets one earns. Most parts will cost less than ten tickets and most crafts under fifteen. The chapters get increasingly more expensive and can get to be very steep in price. There is also the garage section, where one will use the parts he has bought to build custom machines, which can be used in any race in the grand prix, practice, time attack, and versus battle play methods. One can customize the color of each part or leave it in the default green. He can also place emblems he has designed onto the craft (more on this later). There is one large problem I have with the garage section. One’s vehicles cannot be named; he is simply left with a random name such as "G4 White Lynx". While these are okay, it would still be much better if one could have his own original name. There is also the emblem section, which was discussed earlier. In this section, one can make his own emblems in a way similar to that of the pattern making in Animal Crossing. There are also many pre-made emblems such as numbers and many other things. Emblems add a nice touch of originality to a vehicle, so as a player, you will want to add them.
Outside of the modes of play, there is a small, somewhat insignificant selection of options that affect play as well as pilot profiles available for viewing. In the options menu, one can change around the settings of F-Zero, such as the control scheme and screen display options. The pilot profiles feature includes a short profile for each character that has been unlocked—including his or her age, gender, et cetera and a brief biography of the individual. This will allow the player to get more familiar with the drivers and find the one that fits his style.
To sum up the gameplay, for one thing it is challenging. Some parts will be replayed over and over before they are finally completed. There are many different methods of play to choose from, and enough unlockables to keep even an established F-Zero fan busy for a long time. One will reach blindingly fast speed in a matter of moments and begin to crave more of it.
F-Zero GX is easily one of the most graphically advanced racers ever created. Detail is in every visual space on the screen, from the lightning blasting from one’s engine when one boosts to the sparks that will fly if he hits a rail. Most people probably will not notice these small details unless they watch someone else play. The incredible speed of F-Zero GX will not even offer the person playing it the time to take his eyes off his machine for second. The courses are beautiful; from the seas of Big Blue to the forests of Green Plant, everything looks very realistic. The scenery changes as one hurtles down the track or makes a turn. Each course is set in a different area with a different look, but one will have to zone them out and stay on task of finishing the race and getting a high rank to succeed. Yes, it is nice they put the detail into the surroundings, but one is supposed to be focusing on the track, not off looking at the scenery. But this is the reason the developers put so much detail into the background; they are showing the player what it's like trying to stay focused with lights flashing and other objects distracting him. This all adds up to a more realistic F-Zero experience.
F-Zero GX's sound department is techno fueled; one will be able to tell that the moment he hears the music. Every race, section, chapter, and area—each has its own unique music, yet all of them stay centered around the overall techno theme. During the cinemas the sound is also very nice, from the taping of footsteps on a metal floor to the characters’ voices, it is all very realistic, detailed, and of high quality. I would not have pictured Captain Falcon sounding like he does in this game, and that is the reason many games do not have voiceovers; every person has a different idea of how someone or—in some cases—something might sound when that sound is not provided to him or her. Falcon’s voice is certainly not that bad or awkward, and it is a good thing that the people behind the franchise are giving the characters voices so that everyone will have the same idea. The music gets one deeper into the game, and the sound quality is high.
The replay value of F-Zero GX is high as well; one will find himself playing it over and over. The player will want to try out all the tracks with different characters to see which is best suited for each one, and other things such as trying to beat the high score in time attack to have the fastest time warrant more than one try as well. It will always be a great game to play with friends anytime, and there are plenty of things to unlock to keep one constantly racing to get new parts, more tickets, more chapters for the story mode unlocked, and much more. Racers usually have great lastability, and F-Zero GX does just that and more.
Closing Comments:
F-Zero GX is an overall racing masterpiece, one can see that a lot of effort was put into this game. The gameplay will get the heart racing and adrenaline pumping; the graphics are very detailed and realistic and will try and pull one’s focus away from the wheel; the crisp, techno sound is great: the music gets one deeper into the racing experience; and the replay value is wonderful—the number of unlockables seems never ending, and multiplayer is a blast.
| Depth |
8.5
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| The incredible difficulty and story mode keep the depth higher than what you see in most racing games. |
| Gameplay |
9.0
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| Pretty easy to pick up and play, takes some time to get used to the mind-blowing speed, but that's what makes it fun. |
| Graphics |
10
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| Incredibly detailed scenery and eye candy, vehicles are very impressive. |
| Replay Value |
9.0
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| Like most racers, alot of replay value, and it helps that it has a great multiplayer experience. |
| Sound |
9.5
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| Technoriffic! Great variety in different tracks, sound effects are very detailed, and the voice acting is superb. |
| Overall |
9.5
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| One of the most beautiful racers I've ever seen, and the speed is of course, mind-blowing. With the techno music, and the multiplayer experience, it all adds up to one of the greatest racing games to date. |
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