GENRE
	Racing
	DEVELOPER
	Probe
	PUBLISHER
	Acclaim
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-4
	CONTROLLER PAK
	yes
	RUMBLE PAK
	yes
	RAM PAK
	no
	BUY NOW AT

I didn't expect a lot from Extreme G, of course, I've heard the praises given by gaming critics but I was too preoccupied with the other games in the N64 library to care. When I finally got the opportunity to test drive Extreme G, I quickly became attached to the game. What caught my attention were the game's incredible visuals, that was enough to keep me playing for awhile but before I knew it, an hour had passed and I was still having a blast playing the first three tracks in the "Shoot 'em Up mode". Sure, the graphics are great, but the bottom line is, the game is just plain fun, no argument about that. Despite playing almost all of the racers on the N64 (with the exception of Lamborghini 64) you would expect me to be tired of the racing genre, but Extreme G is an exception. The 13 futuristic roller coaster like tracks (12 regular tracks, one bonus track) and four battle arenas provides enough variety both in-terms of environment and track design to keep one occupied for hours.

visuals

Extreme G takes the honour of being one of this holiday's most beautiful games. Probe has done a great job by cramming a great deal of textures into the game and still managed to give us a large and option packed futuristic racer. Although I thought the lens flare effects was a bit overdone, their presence helped the overall atmosphere and mood of the tracks. Too many games are "sunless" and it seems like these games takes place on a foggy depressing planet. Speaking of fog, it was not as bad as I thought. The fog is simply there to help distant object fade into view rather than pop-up out of nowhere. In most cases, it adds to the mood of the tracks, and 90% of the time, you won't even notice it because the track environments are stunning. On top of that, the game is very fast and things seem to fly by you in blur. The weapons all have their individual deployment animations, complete with luminous explosions among other things.

The probe team has done a great job with the textures in this game. Not only did they keep the quality relatively high (they don't blur until you drive your futuristic bike up right next to them) there are also a wide variety of textures. As a gamer well acquainted with the limitations of the cartridge format, I'll spare you the bull about Probe working some kind of miracle to cram in a ton of textures. To a trained eye, one can easily pick out textures that are being reused. A metal wall texture could later pop up as a texture on a light post and then a floor texture. However, Probe's way of implementing the textures was very ingenious. They reuse them but not the point where every track begins to look the same. The use of real-time lighting effects also means that a texture could look completely different in different areas. Further more, the balance achieved by Probe between the number of different textures in the game and the reusing of the textures is commendable. Probe didn't go too far by filling all the space with new textures and leaving little space for sound and gameplay elements. They also did not hold back on the textures and end up with a dull looking game either. As far as texture quality goes, they are sharp and clear for this game's purposes, although the mip-mapping doesn't seem to work as well in this game because the textures pixellated in a weird way when they are up close. In some cases they don't blur into a smooth smudge like the other games but get rather ugly with 32-bit style pixellation (but not as bad).

audio

Extreme-G surprised me with its numerous high quality techno soundtracks. The music matches the theme of the game well, and there is no major gripe on my side. The sound effects in the game has the usual engine noises, explosions and other machine sound effects. My only gripe in the sound effect department is that the weapons lack cool (identifiable) sound effects. It would have been awesome if some of the more powerful weapons sounded more "awesome" when they are deployed. Aside from that, Extreme-G's sound department is great, and is surely above and beyond the rest of the N64 games in this field. Considering that only Rare, Nintendo and a handful of third party developers can make outstanding music for N64 games, Probe should congratulate themselves for doing such a fine job.

gameplay

This is where the game really shines. I'm still in awe that the Probe team can cram the 64-megabit cartridge full of textures in addition to several good soundtracks and still have time and memory space to work on the gameplay aspect of the game. The controls are very easy to learn, and I particularly like the acceleration button being moved to the "Z-trigger" instead of the usual "A" button. This set up allows for maximum co-ordination between your thumb that is on the analog stick and the index finger on the acceleration button. Your right hand is then free to do less reflex intensive work such as adjusting the camera, firing the primary and secondary weapons, firing the nitros and pressing the "R" buttons for sharp turns. The options packed in this game are not redundant and as far as I can tell, most of them are planned out with care and don't feel like an afterthought. I spent hours playing on the Single player "Shoot Em' Up" option simply Its just so much fun shooting the drone cycles. Other options in the single player mode include "Time Trial" and "Practice mode". I appreciate the fact that the guys at Probe were smart enough to include these options. They provide the absolute best training ground for a novice. Unlike the all to common "Training" option in other video games, Probe opted to divide it up into three separate albeit interconnected modes. The "Time Trial" mode gives the player the freedom to race on the actual tracks in the game without weapons or rival racers to worry about, while the "Shoot Em' Up" mode give players the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the weapon systems in the game. If players spend sometime playing in these two modes, they can then feel more confident when they go ahead and try out the "Practice Mode" which is a similar to the actual "Extreme Contest" set up including rival racers and weapons.

multiplayer

The multi-player mode includes a ton of variety a gamer can invite all of his/her game-playing friends and still have enough room for each of them to have a place in the game. To begin, there is the "Cup Challenge" will allow up to 16 players, although only two players can race at one time. Then there is the "Head to Head" which is like the VS. Mode where Two to Four players can slug it out in a race in all the available tracks in the game, minus the computer controlled bikes. There is also the "Flag Game" and the "Battle Arena". Both modes allow two to four players to join in, but the "Battle Arena" is Extreme G's version of the "Battle Mode" popularized by games like Mario Kart 64. In "Flag Game" the players race in the game's regular tracks and collect flags. Whoever collects the most flag wins.

overall

As a gamer, there isn't much more that we can ask from Probe. Everything in this game works. I walked away from this game feeling like I've just been to "Extreme-G: The Ride" at a major theme park. The experience is simply incredible, and although its is not alone in its class (F-Zero X is coming and Wipeout XL is also a wonderful game) its probably the best thus far. While graphics is certainly not everything, Extreme-G's impressive visuals are probably a major selling point for the game. Considering the gameplay side of the game is more or less evenly matched with its cousin Wipeout XL, Extreme G's superior graphics give it the edge. The way Probe utilized the cartridge should is also a notable achievement. We've come to assume that games on a 64mbit cart tend to have rather bland textures and uninspiring color schemes. Extreme G breaks the barrier by giving us varied tracks complete with lighting effects, road side lamps, and a lots and lots of clear textures that would silence many naysayers. This should also serve as a lesson to other developers developing a 64megabit game. Extreme G should rank in the top ten spots of your "Must Buy" list; there's no game on the N64 that is quite like it.

9.5/10