Taste-Test: F-Zero GX

Rated: RP for Rating Pending Developer: Amusement Vision Publisher: Nintendo Players: 1-4 Saving: Unknown Taste-test by Chris Tucker

As a kid, I was amazed by the graphics in the original F-Zero game for the SNES. To me, the ones which have been released since then have not felt as visually stunning for their time as the original. Although the Nintendo 64's F-Zero had its nice visuals for its time, they still weren't quite amazing. I'm happy to say that the latest addition to the F-Zero series seems to have finally captured those amazing visuals for our time. The amount of detail is insane, and combined with the incredible speed of the game, it isn't easy to spot it all. Everything is beautiful. I haven't a single complaint in the graphics department. The graphics also do not ruin the classic F-Zero feel of it. Even when making a crazy, chaotic, attempt like hitting a boost and deciding to smash a nearby car into a wall, ending in failure which results in the destruction of your own car, the comfortable, classic F-Zero feeling stays with you at every moment amidst the insanity. It is even satisfying to crash your car into a wall due to the beauty of the sparks spraying off in different directions.

Everything from the cars, to the track, the cities and buildings towering over you is incredibly detailed. The levels feel like futuristic cities and the cities are massive. There's so much going on that it's hard to point it all out, as I said before. The lighting, engines and explosions are amazing. Particles and electricity are done very convincingly. Everything flows smoothly with the game play and nothing seems out of place. The graphics are absolutely stunning and that's about all I can say of them.

Moving onto other areas, I found the game play fun and enjoyable. I loved the Nintendo 64 version, but this one didn't seem all that much different from it. I suppose there really isn't much else you could do with the game other than toss on those spectacular graphics, though. Nonetheless, it is still quite fun. It also seems to be difficult enough, as I didn't get too far ahead of any of the other cars, maybe because I kept having the urge to smash into the car beside me – doing things like that never helps. And while we're on the idea of destruction and the like, the game was full of its suspenseful moments. Attempting to pass a group of several cars packed into one spot before hitting an upcoming turn always had me grinning. I also enjoyed flying off the track and plummeting into the small cities below. The track I played was nicely created with a good touch of difficulty. I only played one, though.

I don't have much to say about the control since I only used a wheel controller. Not even the arcade. The guy would warn me that the wheel was very sensitive, so I'm not sure if that was due to the wheel or the game itself. And it was very sensitive, but that didn't ruin anything, as it seemed perfectly normal and even helped with the game. High sensitivity for high speeds. The throttle pedals were interesting. I rarely floored it since the level had too many twists and turns. The L and R buttons were used to make sharper turns, as the N64 version did. Once I realized that, I was doing much better through out the course. I don't really even know much how the GC controller works with the game, having only used that crazy wheel. I hopped in line for the arcade version of F-Zero GX, but the line took far too long and I didn't have much time to waste. On top of that, there was a certain character patrolling the area... ahem. Anyway, from what I saw of the arcade, the chair twisted around as you turned, it seemed comfortable, I'm guessing there were some pedals set up to control the speed and the wheel looked nicely constructed. Although large, the whole arcade machine didn't really seem as large as I thought it would be.

To wrap these impressions up, I found no flaws or falling framerate as I played. It definitely feels like an F-Zero title and the graphics in it are stunning. I won't be too enthusiastic about it since I really didn't play enough to get the full feel of the game, but I will say that from what I have played, it is shaping up very nicely and will undoubtedly be a top GameCube title.

Chris Tucker