Transcending all other racing games, F-Zero GX is a truly epic masterpiece with a perfect balance of challenge and fun.
It took me only two hours to realize that this is, without a doubt, the best racing game out there. This game topples others in so many ways, it's unbelievable.
First, let me get this straight. F-Zero GX is the fastest game of all times, period. With training, it's very possible to reach speeds of 2500 KM/H. Most of the time though you'll be going at a speed of about 1200 KM/H. Those aren't approximations. The game REALLY plays and feels that fast and the incredibly accurate controls won't ever let you down. This isn't an easy game. If you ever played any Burnout title and thought the speed was astounding, think again. F-Zero GX is about three times faster.
Don't worry though, the game wouldn't be that good if responsive controls weren't implemented. Ships turn faster and more smoother than most other racing games (they use boosters, no wheels to deal with) and you actually have the L and R buttons to give that extra push needed in tight situations.
Your ship has a Life gauge that depletes when you hit walls or other characters. So it's very possible to die in this game. Actually, you die a lot. When it's not because you hit the walls too many times, it's because you were going so fast you actually flown off course.
There is another side of the coin to the Life gauge, though. Apart from the ones placed on the tracks, you can activate a manual Boost anytime that will totally send you flying ahead with bursts of fire and electricity coming out of the ship. It looks so freaking good. But it comes with a price - it costs you a small percentage of your Life gauge. It's about getting the right balance of dodging walls and using the Boosts at the right time.
F-Zero GX is one of the best-looking games on GameCube, no doubt about it. You got Mute City, a track at night that hangs over a lit-up city shrouded in clouds. You're racing at amazing speeds at a plane's altitude, how cool is that? There's also a desert with tornadoes and ruins, a kind of huge hydroponic installation with trees everywhere, kinda like a jungle. There's also Big Blue with its white walls, waterfalls and underwater tubes. It looks really good thanks to high-res textures and effects.
But the game doesn't top other racers only with its graphics. It has one of the most epic soundtracks ever composed for a game, and I mean it. The soundtrack is mainly made up of hard, heavy guitar riffs and various techno sounds. Some songs will sound more on the techno/trance side while others get close to being heavy metal which is totally awesome given the game's intensity. So much speed, lights everywhere, amazing effects and badass guitar riffs in background. This game is epic to the extreme maximum and it's not even a RPG.
There's one stage that stays in my heart, it's Fire Field. In that map, you get to race on a tube with its own gravity, so you can turn around it without falling off. That tube is... inside an erupting volcano. So, you're sent flying around it, picking up boosters along the way that blurs the whole screen, the screen also keeps shaking from HUGE bursts of fire coming up from the lava, meteors also get ejected high up in the sky. Sometimes, the lava is actually above you and the sky under since you can turn around the tube. There's also a cool effect of fire constantly hitting the screen, like when a starship goes at light-speed in a movie (the stars.) And during all that craziness, you have one of the most intense metal songs ever included in a video game. Riffs after riffs, the song will pump you up like hell until a godly solo kicks in. At that point, you'll just do like me and say "OMG !!!"
This is for the time though, what about replay value? Well, this game doesn't fail to deliver. You have Story mode, Grand Prix, Time Attack, Practice, Vs. Mode for up to 4 players and Customize. In the latter, you can actually build your own ship from parts you buy in the F-Zero Shop. In Grand Prix, you can choose from three different cups, all of them have you racing through a bunch of tracks. Win first place and your character will be entitled to a TV interview where you can ask him a question. It's quite cool, character development in a racing game? Never saw that before and it's really cool, we get to know the pilots. There are so many unlockables in this game, too. More than 30 characters, loads and loads of ship parts, new songs, new tracks, higher difficulty modes and so much more.
The options are also quite interesting and worth mentioning. You can calibrate your GameCube controller to increase the sensitivity in case you want the ships to be a bit more or less responsive to turns, you can also manage your memory card's data from the menu. This is quite interesting because it's the only GameCube game to offer this.
All in all, this is absolutely a must for anyone who owns a GameCube. It has so much going for it. I've played a LOT of racing games and this is my top favorite. No other game can get me more pumped up than F-Zero GX, not even shoot-em ups.
The only thing that keeps me from giving it a 10/10 is the fact it lags a bit when you play with 4 players. The more player you play with, the more it will cancel stuff in the maps to save up memory so the game isn't all beautiful anymore with 4 players. And it still manages to lag a bit. But meh, it's a reality among GameCube games. PSO, StarFox Assault, geist... 2 players is really what I would recommend, don't go above that.
I give this amazing masterpiece a 9.5/10
F-Zero GX for life !