F-Zero: Maximum Velocity

"An SNES classic brought back into the future!"

First off, I would like to say that F-Zero on the SNES was one of my favorite games for the system. Now being able to bring back this classic to the next generation of handheld consoles was a brilliant idea!

Gameplay- The gameplay in F-Zero Advance is identical to the SNES version, you race other people to win extra courses and so on. The AI of the computer is really well done and delivers easy, medium, hard drivers. Though, when you make the mistake of driving to fast and trying to make a hard right or left turn and run into the wall, you are basically finished. It is nearly impossible to get back to first because of the awkword position of the L and R buttons as said in the 'Controls' review area. I find it really hard to win. In the original F-Zero, when you would go into the pit zone area, a ship would fly over you and repair you. That wasn't put into this game for some odd reason.

Graphics- There seemed to be some updated graphics to this game. I didnt find any slow down to the game at all, it kept a descent frame rate. You could see the road from far distances as well. The vehicle grpahics, forground graphcis, and background grpahics are all in top notch form, making it a graphically impressive game for the Gameboy Advance.

Controls- In my opinion, every GameBoy Advance game that uses the L and R triggers is gonna take a while to get used to. So in other words, its awkword using the L and R for making hard right and left turns. The gas and brake buttons feel normal and respond well.

Sound/Music- The sound and music in the game was nicley done. The sound effects for running into walls, vehicles and other objects was right on cue. Other sounds such as the booster and pit stop sounds was perfect. On the other hand the music would get you into the feel of F-Zero.

Overall- Overall the game can get hard at times, and at other times it can get annyoing after losing for the 5th strait time in a role, but that's only because of my rookieness. In other words, this game will have to be a classic for the Gameboy Advance, with great graphcis, sound, and gameplay it makes it a winner.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/21/01, Updated 04/21/01