have to hand it to Sega: F-Zero GX is one of the few games that I’ve come across that can kick my ass up and down the street. After spending a full day with this title, I walked away from my GameCube physically exhausted, hoarse from yelling at the screen, and bloodshot from not blinking for hours on end. With speeds that border on being too great for the human eye to comprehend and computer opponents that never once falter, F-Zero GX is designed specifically for hardcore gamers and people who are gluttons for punishment.
Oddly, the beginning of the game is incredibly easy. For the first few races, you’ll laugh at how downright awful the computer adversaries are. However, just when you think that you can conquer the game without effort, the difficulty curve shoots through the ceiling and kicks into high gear. In some of the stages, if you don’t hit a turn just right or activate the turbo at a precise moment, the computer will blow by you and leave you in the dust. This is a feature that can be viewed as both a blessing and curse. On the one hand, I love the fact that the difficulty is relentless and geared toward improving your reflexes and all-around gaming skills. At the same time, I don’t feel compelled to beat myself senseless by playing the same track over and over again. The sense of gratification is fantastic, but the means of reaching it is sometimes similar to being locked up in an iron maiden.
The controls are implemented perfectly, and the framerate never wavers from a constant 60 frames per second; but, like I said, all it takes is one mistake to throw a race. Thankfully, the game does a good job of rewarding players. By winning races or completing circuits, you’ll earn tickets that can be used to purchase a wide variety of things that range from additional characters and vehicles, parts to build your very own ride, and Story mode stages. Unlike all of the previous F-Zero titles, this one has some semblance of a plot. Each stage in Story mode begins with an FMV sequence that usually describes why you entered a specific heat or challenged a particular foe. The cinematics rival the likes of Final Fantasy in quality, which should be reason enough to convince gamers to want to see more.
Like its predecessors, F-Zero GX is an attractive game that continually dazzles the eye with its vibrant neon backdrops, blinding particle effects, looping track designs, and tremendous speeds. The split-screen multiplayer is decent, but it’s not as intense as battling the large field in single-player. Sega has also made this version of the game compatible with the recently released arcade machine. It’s a bit of a hassle to drag your butt down to the arcade, but if you really get into this game, you can insert your memory card and unlock new material through the coin-op.
F-Zero GX is just as entertaining as it is frustrating. If you’ve broken controllers before, it might be in your best interest to skip it. Conversely, if you seek challenge, you’ll get it in spades.