|
 |
DEVELOPER
Nintendo
PUBLISHER
Nintendo
AVAILABLE
Now (Japan) October (US)
MEDIUM
Cartridge
PLAYERS
Four
| | |
|
 -Zero was one of the first two titles released on the old SNES, and to this day, it remains one of my favourite games on that system. The futuristic racing genre has been attempted many times since then, the Wipeout series being the most notable, but all of them were a little too heavy on combat and light on racing action for my tastes.
Enter the N64, a system that Nintendo is determined to recreate their classics on. Until now, those classics have usually turned out to be average at best, lacking any real staying power, and relying on graphics more than anything. Mario Kart was a perfect example of this.
Thankfully, this is not the case with F-Zero X. Its predecessor's biggest selling point (other than "mode 7") was the unbelievable speed at which you had to navigate the sometimes devilishly convoluted courses. Nintendo realizes this, and has brought it back in a  big way with F-Zero X.
The gameplay remains identical to the original. Choose your hovercraft and take on one of three different point series, at three different difficulty levels. Your craft has a limited amount of power, but it can be recharged at certain point on each course. You also have a chance to run over yellow arrows placed randomly on each track for a short burst of speed.
Now here's the best part. The game runs at 60fps at all times. Never will you see it slow down during the single, or even two-player game. That's including 30 cars on the track during each event, folks. This is an all-important feature to me, as it means that the sensation of speed is simply unmatched. I  guarantee that this is the fastest racer you've ever played.
Nintendo has also included a speed boost button and a four-player mode. Not to be outdone by the likes of Wipeout, they've also included a more conventional mode of racing warfare. You can use your car as a weapon to destroy other craft, knock them into the electrified walls or right off the course. There's a special deathrace mode solely for this purpose. Another new aspect of the control is the factor of inertia. Unlike F-Zero, F-Zero X's tracks are banked and have a few tunnels. There's one track in particular that has a slowly narrowing tunnel, if you're not careful in there, you could go into an uncontrollable spiral and leave the track altogether when the tunnel ends. That's a quick game over.
The still-shots you can see on our site really don't do the game justice. It's no secret that the graphic in this game aren't really too special. Of course, the sacrifice was made to facilitate the blazing fast framerate, so great graphics be damned. You'll notice a lot of the tracks are similar to, and in fact share the names of, the classic F-Zero title on the SNES.
Music has never been a strong point on the N64, and F-Zero X is no different. I was happy to hear, then, that Nintendo chose to use the music much like the graphics, as a tool to generate nostalgia for this game's namesake. Almost every tune is a remix of a classic F-Zero track. I love it.
The final reason why I recommend that you buy F-Zero X is the sheer amount of extras you're getting. As you progress through the game, you'll unlock extra cars and tracks that'll bring you to a grand total of 30 courses and 30 craft to compete with. Not too shabby.
When this game hits North American shores in a few weeks, be sure to get yourself a copy. Don't let the screens fool you, as the framerate and action more than makes up for the slightly less than average graphics. This is a title that no self-respecting N64 owner should pass up. Nintendo has created the first true N64 classic since Mario 64.
-- Greg Sewart
| 
