Reviewed: October 14, 2003
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
Acclaim Entertainment

Developer
Acclaim Studios Cheltenham

Released: September 16, 2003
Genre: Racing
Players: 4
ESRB: Teen

9
10
9
9
9.3

Supported Features:

Now Acclaim is back with XGRA: Extreme G Racing Association, and once again it sets new standards for futuristic racing action, as it expands and improves on just about every aspect of the original that made it famous.

Features:

• SiNN (Sports Interactive News Network) and the XGRA (Extreme Gravity Racing Association) create a future motor sport unlike anything ever experienced.
• 8 different teams, all with unique histories, sponsors, and rivalries
• Variable missions and storylines that make each race part of a larger career.
• A game structure designed to emulate a true motor sport season with various classes and race types.
• A variety of different and completely tweakable main vehicle types.
• A wide range of characters, each with skills & statistics that affect how they race.
• A rewards system that allows for a slew of unlockable content – from game modes to new tracks, from faster bikes to character-enhancing cybernetic implants.
• Environments that bring worlds to life. From variable weather systems to realistically constructed buildings, all 16 tracks are set in worlds so startling, you may actually forget to race.
• An interactive HUD that not only provides all relevant information during the race, but can be manipulated during gameplay.
• Destructible objects – from gas pipes to bridges to spectators, the track can be changed dynamically by anyone throughout the race.
• A new weapons system that allows the player to easily select and use weapons without fear of losing focus on the race.

Once you enter the championship season the game takes on the guise of a broadcast much like the golden days of Mega Race - oh how I miss Lance Boyle. You can play the game as any one of several characters, each with their own stories and rivalries that never seem to fully develop.

The first objective is to qualify in the opening event where only the top eight racers will receive sponsorship. You get to choose your sponsor, which in turn determines the bike you will be racing. As you rise through the ranks you might receive offers to join other teams, which is how you move on to bigger and better bikes.

The store from the original game is gone and you are no longer allowed to purchase new bikes or upgrades. You can go into the Workshop and tweak your settings for attributes like downforce, ride height, and braking, but the interface for this isn’t that intuitive so you really don’t know how your changes are going to affect your ride. Some type of graph would be nice.

Races now have multiple objectives, the first being to win the race (obviously) while other goals may have you destroying other racers or trackside objects or placing ahead of a particular opponent or breaking a track record or achieving a high speed. While these help break up the monotony of a typical racing game many of these objectives just aren’t that difficult or creative and you can do most of them by accident just by participating in the race.

The controls have been totally revamped in XGRA and now conform more to the style of games like F-Zero GX. The bikes seem bigger and heavier and bounce off the walls more often. Some of this is definitely due to the fact that you can no longer lean or use your side brakes to turn sharply. You’ll definitely learn to appreciate the responsiveness of the control scheme, but your time to adapt will vary based on the last racing game you played and what you are used to.

One major improvement is the new enhanced combat system. The weapons system has received a major upgrade and is now easier to use and plays a much more strategic part of the racing experience. There are a wide variety of weapons and power-ups and knowing which ones to use and which ones to drop are critical to your overall success. In addition, your primary weapon can be independently aimed using the left stick allowing you to target other bikes or even billboards.

One of the things that set XG3 apart from any other racer was its wild track designs. In the past two years we have seen Wipeout Fusion, Tube Slider, F-Zero GX and many other racers that have taken track design to the outer limits of the imagination, but I am pleased to report that Acclaim has managed to come up with even more exciting designs that not only surpass their initial release but easily rival their current competition.

I had just managed to keep my lunch down while playing F-Zero GX and now XGRA subjects me to some of the most twisting, looping tracks in racing history. Some of this twisted design is hidden by the camera view you are racing in, but if you are playing from the cockpit cam or watching a replay have a paper bag handy.

Words and even screenshots can’t do this game justice. You really have to see the game in motion to fully understand and appreciate the flowing design of this winding tracks that loop around cities, tunnel below the ocean, or float in orbit inside diamond-reinforced tubes. Tracks have the traditional turbo pads and scattered pick-ups, so learning the design and the location of these elements is a key element for victory.

The sensation of speed is incredible, and your bike sticks to the twisting ribbon of track like some magnetic roller coaster. The tracks and environments are further enhanced with weather effects like rain and snow and the use of colors and real-time lighting is flawless. One of the coolest effects still has to be breaking the sound barrier. It’s just as cool as the first game, and really puts you in the moment as the game become eerily silent and the visuals blur and distort then pops back in when you reach the “other side”.

Thankfully, the Xbox manages to power through the framerate issues this game had on the PS2. Aside from a few hiccups that appear to be more of a caching issue than graphics related, this game is silky smooth and blistering fast. The sensation of speed and the wild looping track designs will cause vertigo in even the most stout of racers.

Sound effects are flawless from the hum of the bike engines to the various weapon noises and resulting explosions. Dialog is limited to some minor commentary and random taunts from the other racers. It’s all bundled in a nice Dolby Digital package that sounds incredible on a supported home theater system. The music has great separation and the spatial sound effects change based on your camera view and surround you in the racing experience. And nothing beats the sound and visual effects of breaking the sound barrier.

Once you have unlocked everything in the career mode you can access all of this new content in the Time Trial and Arcade modes. These will provide some additional gameplay and the four-player split-screen is always welcome, but the game does lack some overall content to keep you playing for more than 15-20 hours.

Even something as simple as unique cutscenes and fleshed out stories for each of the racers would have been enough to keep me playing through all the characters, but once I had mastered all the tracks the game lost my interest. Even so, at $30, XGRA is a steal for the fun you will have for as long as you do play it.

Even though we can't score this game as high as the GameCube's F-Zero GX everyone here at GCM who has played XGRA unanimously agrees this is the better racing game, both in gameplay and track design. If you like futuristic racing games or just racing games in general then you will definitely want to take XGRA for a spin. The Xbox does a great job of polishing up all the blemishes of the PS2 version and XGRA easily speeds its way into the winner's circle for best futuristic racer of 2003.