I always used to state
this game as “the reason I dislike Mario Kart”, but honestly my opinion of said
game isn’t that low at all- it’s a great party game, I just wouldn't buy it to
play by myself because of my personal preferences when it comes to the genre. I’ll
make it clear now that some of this review will be based on my subjective
taste, but I’ll try and give a good idea of the reasons for my opinions so
you’ll know whether this game is for you. Believe me when I say this game isn't
for everyone.
You are Captain
Falcon, the famous spandex-clad bounty hunter with a passion for racing. Oh,
and we’re in the 27th century now, so don’t expect your races to
involve wheels, or gravity, or any acknowledgement to health and safety laws
whatsoever.
 |
| Flat roads are far too boring. |
Being a futuristic
racing game, you might be tempted to compare it to games from the Wipeout
franchise, but instantly you would notice the complete lack of weapons. You do
have a couple of somewhat tricky to execute ramming attacks, but you won’t
really need them until later on. This is a pure racing game, and if there’s one
thing it does well, it’s the sense of speed. You’re also given a great deal of control over
your machine, although it may take a while to get the knack for the manoeuvres.
You don’t have to stick with captain Falcon (unless you are doing story mode),
and the ship you choose will make a difference when it comes to handling. There
are over 30 and they all handle differently, plus you can custom-build your own
machine with parts unlocked through doing races. There is a grand prix mode of
course with various different cups and difficulty levels.
And then there is
story mode.
You've made it near
the front of the pack for the final lap, and Black Bull and Blood Falcon have long
since been dealt with. Fingers twitching at the controls, you barely manage to
retain control after an impossibly tight curve. You can see in your peripheral
vision the icon alerting you to another racer following close behind you and
you mash the Y button, blasting your last shred of shield energy out the back
of your machine and accelerating you forward even faster. As an alarm starts to
sound, your heart moves to your throat as you narrowly avoid a burning area of
track. You can’t take a single scratch now or it’s all over! The icon returns
to your screen, gradually getting bigger as the other ship gains distance but
everything’s ok, you know you’ll hit a recharge strip in a few seconds. The
track twists a bit more, and you somehow manage to take the best line, hitting
the healing area dead on and letting your ship’s shields recover almost to
maximum capacity as you immediately begin to frantically mash the boost button.
This should be enough to last all the way to the finish line- and there it is
ahead of you! Holding your breath as you keep your machine on course, you can’t
believe you’re going to succeed this time!
A familiar light blue
ship speeds past you.
As your stomach drops,
you watch on in dismay as victory slips through your grasp. It crosses the finish line before you.
As the screen changes
to show “Mission Failed” in angry red lettering, you picture the racer in the
other ship- “What the hell, Leon!” you find yourself thinking, “You’re terrible
in grand prix mode!”
Indeed, the difficulty
level when it comes to the story mode is not always what one would consider
sensible. The most infamously difficult level being chapter 7, which is
basically a normal grand prix race save for the other racers being dirty
cheaters. Completing all of the chapters on the hardest difficulty is a
significant achievement, but it is pretty much the only way to unlock machines
from the now virtually extinct F-Zero AX, GX’s arcade counterpart.
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| It's a real shame they're gone. |
As a summary of
everything else- Graphics are very good, game runs smoothly most of the time,
save for one particular course. Music is the kind of fast paced techno you’d
expect with a game like this, with some metal thrown in.
But really, all you need to know about this game is that it is faster than a speeding bullet and tough as nails. And it is glorious.
But really, all you need to know about this game is that it is faster than a speeding bullet and tough as nails. And it is glorious.
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