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> Results: F-Zero GX
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Speed Has A New NameYouﾒve never played a game like F-Zero GX before. Sure, there have been other futuristic racers before this one and yeah, a lot of them looked good and ran fast. But F-Zero GX is on a brand new level all its own. When you get to Master difficulty in this game, you know youﾒve earned that title. You truly are a master of the game at that point, but with even more that you can learn to be even that little bit better. F-Zero GX takes you to the limits of your abilities and then tells you youﾒre still not good enough, that thereﾒs something more to be learned and mastered. Itﾒs exhilaration on a disc. The game wouldnﾒt be half as impressive if it wasnﾒt such a technical wonder. The graphics sizzle your eyes from the moment the title screen appears. The game never slows down. You feel like youﾒre racing just to pick your options. The catchy music is part of the pull here with techno beats that demand action. Once you hit the tracks, itﾒs like lightning struck. This is one of a few games on this generation of consoles that you stare at in amazement wondering ﾓHowﾒd they do that?ﾔ With thirty opponents on-screen, weﾒve been conditioned since the Playstation days to expect some kind of concessions like weaker visuals in order to maintain speed. Not so with F-Zero GX. The tracks are filled with spinning, flying and undulating eye candy. Youﾒre going so fast that it takes watching someone else play to really enjoy the scenery and then you can finally enjoy its beauty. It doesnﾒt stop with the sides of the road. You can see each driver sawing on the steering wheel in replays while electricity dances playfully underneath the craft as it rockets over a boost pad. Itﾒs a visual tapestry that sticks with you long after youﾒve stopped playing. Blazing graphics may be the first thing that nails you with F-Zero GX, but the next will be the challenge. The game demands you to become a better game player in order to discover all its secrets. Amusement Vision has done the right thing though and given you fifteen tracks to race in both Grand Prix and multiplayer modes right out of the box. You donﾒt have to earn the right to learn these courses. Where the developers have put their foot down is in story mode, where youﾒll spend a lot of time trying puzzle-style races multiple times in order to progress. Theyﾒre just this side of frustrating, but the high level of challenge only serves to make you better skilled. Whatever mode you choose to play, youﾒll always know itﾒs your own abilities that are deciding the outcome. Never do you feel cheated by the AI or ripped off by some fluke event you couldnﾒt anticipate. Youﾒre in complete control of everything and your success or failure is all decided by your eyes, hands and head. The reason you know itﾒs all you is because control is spot on. The game controls like a dream with different vehicles exhibiting different performance based on various characteristics. Even better, with tickets won racing, you can build your own craft from parts you buy. Putting together different racers of your own design and then adorning them with cool ﾓstickersﾔ that you create is beyond the call of duty. There are some thirty pre-built vehicles and drivers that you can buy along with a multitude of parts to build a pile of custom crafts. When you drop them onto the well-designed and varied circuits, you can immediately feel the different performance between all these designs which is just amazing given the sheer variety. Chalk that up to the physics of the game which react just as you would expect. There are moments where youﾒll sit in awe of the technical artistry of this game and the tight, tested and focused gameplay is the most impressive aspect of it all. Kid Factor: Any kid thatﾒs played Super Smash Brothers Melee knows Captain Falcon and probably thinks heﾒs pretty cool. Taking the Blue Falcon and ripping around the courses in F-Zero GX is heady stuff for kids of all ages. The game is not easy and young children may get frustrated, but then again, they might find the game so eye popping that it wonﾒt matter. Young kids can easily handle the less twisty tracks and since those are some of the best because of sheer speed, this game may really light a fire with them. But definitely donﾒt underestimate the challenge the game offers because it wonﾒt be easy to unlock the Diamond Cup, Story Missions and beyond. With that said, we welcomed games like this in the golden age of the arcade and the 8 and 16-bit era of consoles. As kids, we mastered the challenge and said, ﾓThank you sir. May I have another?ﾔ F-Zero GX is so good you and your kids will be coming back for more again and again.  Ages: 5+ ESRB Rating: E Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Amusement Vision/Nintendo/Sega 
Any kid thatﾒs played Super Smash Brothers Melee knows Captain Falcon and probably thinks heﾒs pretty cool. Taking the Blue Falcon and ripping around the courses in F-Zero GX is heady stuff for kids of all ages. The game is not easy and young children may get frustrated, but then again, they might find the game so eye popping that it wonﾒt matter. Young kids can easily handle the less twisty tracks and since those are some of the best because of sheer speed, this game may really light a fire with them. But definitely donﾒt underestimate the challenge the game offers because it wonﾒt be easy to unlock the Diamond Cup, Story Missions and beyond. With that said, we welcomed games like this in the golden age of the arcade and the 8 and 16-bit era of consoles. As kids, we mastered the challenge and said, ﾓThank you sir. May I have another?ﾔ F-Zero GX is so good you and your kids will be coming back for more again and again.
Kid Factor by Dave Long
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