Extreme-G 3

"Let's say this: I hate racing games, and this is one of my favorite games ever. That's how good it is."

Back on the Nintendo 64, this game rocked the racing world. This futuristic sci-fi racer had some of the most detailed graphics, innovative gameplay, and some of the most awesome techno beats composed by some of the worlds best. Extreme G 1 and 2 were awesome, but will Extreme G 3(said to be made by another team than the previous)live up to it's predecesor's? In some area's, yes, but in other, a big fat NO!

The XG3 graphics are absolutely brilliant. Every single track puts you in a diverse, colorful world that seems very, very large. It gives a sense of civilical advancement with it's huge skyscrapers looming overhead as you race down the wide tracks. The effects are great with weapon bursts shooting at your opponent leaving sparks to fly. As you go extremely fast, the screen will blur and the music will stop, thus signaling you have broken the sound barrier which is awesome.

The sound is what I am most disappointed in. The sound is great, yes, but the music fails to impress like XG 1 and 2 did. Those techno beats fit the fast paced race perfectly, and could have you humming them all day. They really showed how cool techno music can be. But in this game, you get a sort of boring mix of bland techno crap. The bikes sound much better, and the sound effects are pretty good. For example, you can hear how far away an opponent is when he is firing at you. I like the sound in some ways, but hate it in others. Maybe I would not think this if XG 1 and 2 weren't so great.

The gameplay is pretty much the same. You control a very very fast paced bike through mysterious futuristic worlds. The controls take a minute to get at first, but once you got them, they are great. There are many teams to select, and even among the teams you have individual riders you can choose from. But one thing about this game: you have to do good. And that is sometimes very hard considering even if you win 1st place in 5 races, you will always start every race in 12th. Otherwise, the gameplay is smooth.

If you are trying to decide between this and Kinetica, then this is definately your choice. Kinetica not only looks completely stupid, but it plays like crap too. For fast paced racing, there is no power greater than Extreme G.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/08/03, Updated 01/08/03