Extreme-G 3 review (GameCube)

But Extreme G-3 saves its most impressive visual effect until near the end of the game. Once you garner a higher-capacity engine, hitting the turbo-boost button sends you to speeds so fast that the screen ripples and distorts, and the sounds all around you drag and muffle like they're coming at you through an underwater tunnel. After a singularly dramatic momentary pause, everything begins rushing by at intense speeds--your payoff for making it so far, extreme Gs. You can maintain this speed for only a handful of seconds, but you'll want to quickly start hunting for shield energy once you come down so that you can do it again. To the game's credit, it provides an excellent feeling of speed from the start, and once you get to the final few courses, it spoils you with the extreme-G effect. But it's give and take. The feeling of speed is intense, but it's provided at the expense of some of the other graphical niceties. The environments lack some of the visual flair that we've come to expect from the series and that we might anticipate on the GameCube. Extreme G-3's sound effects, though, are excellent. The jet engine whine of the bike's motor builds as you get closer to an opponent, or as one speeds up on you, gaining or losing pitch as you race up or down hills. It's such a gradual and effective sensory feature that you can close your eyes and still know what's going on in the game, save for being aware of the bends in the road. The same words of praise can't be said about the game's soundtrack, however. It's composed of a number of UK techno tracks that are certainly serviceable but somewhat basic and repetitive ("Give me a fat beat! Give me a fat beat!").

The main differences between the GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions of Extreme G-3 are in the areas of multiplayer and control. The GameCube edition allows up to four players to compete in its multiplayer mode (while the PlayStation 2 only allows two), and it runs at an impressively steady frame rate. Extreme-G 3 also controls better on the GameCube than it does on PlayStation 2. The functions are laid out on the GameCube controller in a way that you can very easily fire your weapons or turbo while holding down on the gas, and the analog control is less touchy. Those who waited for the GameCube version of Extreme-G 3 have been rewarded with a superior version of the game.

The sum of Extreme-G 3's parts is a smart and solid racing game that provides an amazing feeling of true speed. It's only salient drawbacks are that there are some holes in its AI that you can exploit to race through the leagues, that there aren't enough tracks, and that more eye candy isn't possible with frame rates this high. It's an enjoyable racer that should help satiate GameCube owners who might be considering getting a PlayStation 2 in order to play Wipeout Fusion.