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| The first F-Zero was the second Super NES game that I bought. Ah, the memories. I loved that game, and played it practically non-stop until I found other games that still hold a nice place in my memories, but that's another story. Hearing about F-Zero with the graphical power of the N64 was quite exciting, and each screenshot I saw of the new game almost made my mouth water (I know, that doesn't make sense, but you know what I mean). Boy, time sure flies, because before I knew it F-Zero X was out on store shelves and I was itching to play it. In case you don't know what F-Zero X is, let me tell you. The original F-Zero for the Super NES was one of the first games to sport the so-called Mode 7 scaling and rotation graphics. Basically, this made the graphics flow smoother as you raced along the future-scapes, but unfortunately, everything was quite flat. If you've played Super Mario Kart for the Super NES, then you know what I mean. No futuristic towers or domes here, only flat land as far as you could see. There were jumps, but they launched you from one flat area of the track to another. No drops, hills, etc. It was limited. You could choose from four hovercrafts in which to race with, each with different abilities. Everyone quickly found his or her favorite vehicle. F-Zero X boasts many improvements. Let me tell you racing fans, don't let F-Zero X pass you by. At least rent this 64-bit wonder. Everything you loved about the original F-Zero is here, plus more. The most noticeable difference between F-Zero X and the first game are the gorgeous visuals. No more flat race tracks, no siree! This one not only features hills and slopes, but loops, spirals, and all sorts of disorientating twists. Your equilibrium will be tied in knots after a few tracks, because you almost feel like you're going upside down at times… That is if you can see the ground. The ground is the main part of the experience that makes you feel as if you're upside down. Seeing the ground above you is quite a trip, especially when traveling at the scorching speeds. Now sure, 1600 KPH would make your vehicle impossible to steer accurately in reality, but this is only a game. Maybe you don't feel like you're going 1000+ KPH, but you sure do feel like you're going fast, that's for darn sure! As far as hovercrafts go, you can choose from a total of six at first, but gain access to more as you finish in first place on the tracks. With each cup that you place first in, you can choose from six more vehicles than before. With three cups, you can get a total of 24 hovercrafts to choose from. That still leaves six more that you can't race with yet. Well, when you place first in each of the three cups on "Standard" difficulty rather than "Novice", and can race a new cup, with even more tracks of increasing difficulty and trickiness. Each cup holds six tracks. So, in essence there are 24 tracks that I know of. I couldn't get first place in any of the cups on the "Expert" difficulty level, so I can't tell you if anything is beyond that. Leave it to Nintendo to leave pleasant surprises like this. Isn't life great? What about the modes of play you ask? There's the all-famous GP race in which you race against 30 other hovercrafts in F-Zero X. With this many competitors, it's all for him or herself! The GP mode is one player only, however, if you have a few buddies over (and a couple of extra controllers) you can party with the four player mode. Surprisingly, the four player mode doesn't slow down at all. The only problem you have is trying to see the upcoming track as it approaches at screaming speeds. As with other four player games, it's just too cramped to see much. If you happen to lose before everyone else you're competing against, you don't just have to sit there and wait. You have the option to try your hand at some slot machines, matching characters from the game. If you're lucky, you may be able to take some energy from the player leading the race, and more. Another mode that was also fun and challenging, was the one player only Death Race. In this mode you race through a track that just loops over and over. Your goal is to take out the other racers as quickly as possible. Your best times will be saved to the game's memory. My best time was two minutes and something. It definitely takes some practice. Time Attack and Practice modes are also available, for practice. In the Time Attack mode, your best times are saved to the game's memory, and you can race against up to three of your own ghosts. I think you can even save one or two of your best ghosts to memory, so that you can race against them again later. There are lots of options in F-Zero X. There isn't much else that I have to say, except to try F-Zero X. Even if you only moderately like racing games, rent this one. You'll thank me. |
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