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Rating: Average
After waiting this long for Nintendo to finally finish F-Zero X, I was
expecting much, much more than what I got. The original F-Zero for the
Super Nintendo is considered by many to be among the best racing games of
all time, but the sequel is just more of the same. This is unacceptable in
a day and age when people can play such innovative racing games as Gran
Turismo.
The game grants you unlimited turbos in every lap except the first, but
your energy meter shrinks every time you use a turbo. Couple this with
bumping into walls or being slammed into by another vehicle, and you might
not have enough energy left over to use your turbos very often. However,
you can recharge your energy meter by driving through pink recharge
stations on the sides of the track (there are usually one or two recharge
areas per track). If your energy is running low and there's no recharge
station coming up anytime soon, you might have to race extremely slowly or
risk having to retire from the race. The whole energy/turbo/recharging
system adds some strategy elements to what would otherwise be a completely
mindless racing game.
The first thing you'll notice about the game (after the very... uh,
cartridge-quality menu music) is that it's very fast. The vehicles move
across the tracks at blinding speeds, and all the while the control holds
up nicely, there is hardly any background pop-up, and there is no slowdown
to speak of. However, this raw speed comes at a price: the graphics suck.
The game's many courses feature plenty of variety in design, but they all
look pretty much the same. The vehicles are blocky and extremely generic,
which kills any replay value that might arise from trying to collect all
the vehicles. Sure, the game is fast, but I would say that Wipeout XL
still delivers a greater sensation of speed, and F-Zero X looks like it
belongs on the Super Nintendo. As a side note, the game's ending is like
Mario Kart 64's in that it seems like it was thrown in at the last second
without much effort. And while the four-player split-screen mode is nice,
Mario Kart is still the best choice for multi-player racing mayhem on your
N64.
The field of 30 vehicles makes for some competitive races, but there are
some serious issues regarding the game's balance that should have been
worked out before the game was released. Normally it's not too hard to
finish first in most of the races in a given circuit. However, on certain
courses, it is way too easy to go flying off the side of the track to your
death. Also, while your vehicle slows down and suffers lots of damage from
bumping into walls, the computer racers often keep going close to full
speed after a nasty collision. It seems as though Nintendo has
artificially boosted the difficulty level because the game be way too easy
to beat without these issues regarding the game's balance.
F-Zero X is just another mediocre racing game. There is nothing to make
is stand out over the original F-Zero, and it certainly doesn't stand out
over the hordes of racing games flooding the market.
© 2001 ivan@mastergamer.com