Extreme-G 3

"Wipeout Fusion on Motorcycles"

Extreme-G 3 is a futuristic racing game on motorcycles and is the third in the series, with this being the first one on Playstation 2.

You play the part of a member of a motorcycle racing game, set in the future. Only this is no ordinary motorcycle you are racing. This vehicle has weapons attached and is capable and going at exceedingly high speeds. As with all racing games, the aim of the game is to be the first to cross over the finish line. Your arsenal includes weapons such as lasers, heat seeking missiles and floating mines to throw your opponents off course.

The main part of Extreme-G 3 is the career mode. You pick a team, then start off with a basic motorcycle, and must win races to earn money to upgrade your ride, by making it faster with expensive engine upgrades or spending your hard earned cash on extra weapons to give you the edge on the racing track. The controls for Extreme-G 3 are fairly simple, and do not take much getting used to. The simple hold X down to accelerate and shoulder buttons for weapons works brilliantly. The bikes seem to handle very well, and take tight corners at high speed with ease. The races progress in difficulty gradually, but not so fast that you become stuck and struggle to get better positions. The basic concept of winning a race is just to ride over turbo pads and spread your turbo boost out well. The sad thing is that if you do not balance them out well enough, you can easily be pipped to the finish line at the dyeing seconds of the race. This is a poor fault that should have been filtered out in development, but can be overcome with plenty of practice. There are a wide variety of levels to play in, all with very different layouts to keep you on your toes. Overall the gameplay in Extreme-G 3 is very good and will not fail to please.

The graphics in Extreme-G 3 are great and have amazing detail, especially in the background of the levels. Snow falls softly on the ice level, making you believe you are really there. Light shines beautifully on the inner city levels as you speed past the buildings at high speed. When I first played this game, I took the time to sit down and appreciate the detail put into every level. Light glares off of your metallic bike in realistic fashion. The blur effect kicks in once you gain high enough speed, showing the speed that you are going at very well. This blur effect is done well, unlike in other racing games, so it does not spoil your fun.

The sound in Extreme-G 3 is fair enough, but nothing to get excited about. The constant hum of your motorcycle grows louder and softer as you alter speeds, and appears to be sampled from real life motorcycles because they sound that realistic. The other main sounds are the explosions and high pitched sound of missiles being launched from your vehicle when you fire weapons, along with the sound of a fast firing machine gun. The sound made when bullets hit motorcycles is as good as it could be, and adds more tension to the game as you are racing around. The music played is very techno and more like club dance music, with it's hypnotic feel. This suits the game very well, and does not feel out of place amidst the action going on in the game.

The replay value of Extreme-G 3 is fairly low, because although it will take you a good couple of weeks to master all the levels and unlock everything, there is nothing more to do after that. 2 player mode is fun for a while, but gets boring after a while with only 12 tracks available for you to choose from.

This game is worth buying for serious gamers if you can find it, because it is an underrated gem. Even though it is short for a racing title, you will get plenty of satisfaction from playing it. Casual gamers will not be so easily pleased, but it is still worth them renting it for the week though.

Overall, Extreme-G 3 is a shorter version of Wipeout Fusion on motorcycles. Racing fans will enjoy it, as will most gamers.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/28/03, Updated 07/28/03