F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
Reviewed by JPeeples
When F-Zero: Maximum Velocity was released as a
launch title for the GameBoy Advance, many fans of
the series wondered if the excitement of the SNES and
N64 incarnations could be replicated on the small
screen. While those new to the series wondered what
all of the fuss was about. For the uninitiated, the
F-Zero games might be a racing games, but they are
not your daddy's racing games. Cars have been
replaced by machines and the game isn't set in the
present, it's the future. As such, your machines have
control capabilities far beyond those of traditional
cars. Greater control is offered to the player by
using the L and R shoulder buttons while turning.
This single feature can mean the difference between
success and failure. You will have to master this
feature if you hope to achieve success in this game.
Also, the futuristic races have an extra added tinge
of danger to them, so much so that a life bar (of
sorts) was added to the machines so you, the player,
could track the condition of the machine during play.
If you run into the wall, or have other machines
running into you, your power will drop; be careful
though, because if you incur too much damage, you
WILL lose the race. Stay on your toes when playing
this game, you will be tested like you have never
been tested before.
The gameplay in Maximum Velocity continues the
series' trend of featuring numerous subtle nuances to
the game that really make it shine. One of example
would be the fact that each and every track has it's
own unique look and feel that actually effects the
gameplay. Maximum Velocity takes place on some rather
unique sets of tracks (just like the other games in
the series), and some tracks have multiple tracks
dedicated to them. (I.E.- Stark Farm I, Stark Farm
II, etc.) Despite all the track nuances, the game's
frantic speed never hinders the game, on the
contrary. The game's fast speed makes your mind work
faster, you'll have to think quickly if you want to
avoid the perils in this game, if you don't, you'll
end up in the junkyard. Also, the gameplay never gets
boring, in part due to the fast nature of the game,
but also due to the addictive nature of the game,
you'll always want to keep playing because each time
you play, you learn something new about the game.
The graphics in Maximum Velocity are breathtaking.
The track design will blow your mind when you first
see it, and it will turn your mind to mush when you
actually speed down the tracks. I think I rambled
enough about the tracks in my gameplay description,
suffice to say, they're very creative and full of
nuances. The game moves at a blisteringly-fast rate
of speed, it's unbelievable to see this game in
motion, it will knock your socks off. The Mode-7
effects used in the game give it a look that had
never been seen before on a portable system. With
Mode-7, you can now see the machines from multiple
angles, it also made judging distances a whole lot
easier because the scaling effects bring the machines
right into your living room (or wherever else you
play your GBA.)
They say all good things must come to an end, and
sadly, this rule applies to the sub-par sound in the
game. The music is definitely the biggest letdown of
the entire game. As someone who loved the music in
the other two F-Zero games, I figured that this game
would continue that proud tradition. How wrong I wasÉ
Most of the music seems out of place when compared to
the setting of the race. Considering that the other
F-Zero games used the music to add a sense of danger,
or a sense of excitement to a particular track, this
was particularly disheartening. However, while the
music in the game is disappointing, that doesn't
apply to the rest of the aural treatment in the game.
The sound effects in the game are just as good as the
music, the crashing sound effect sounds just like
metal crunching, and the loud explosion sound effect
used when you run out of power and blow up is perfect
because it really gets across the damage done to your
machine. All in all, the sound is a mixed bag. The
music is a few different shades of awful when
compared to that of the other F-Zero games; while the
sound effects continue the series' trend of adding
emphasis where it is needed most.
Maximum Velocity continues yet another series' trend,
that of a progressive class system for the races.
There are four different track classes, and each one
gets progressively harder than the last. There is the
Pawn series, this is the easiest set of tracks, these
tracks have very few hazards, and should be a walk in
the park for most gamers. Then there's the Knight
series, these tracks have more pitfalls than those on
the Pawn series of tracks. Then there is the Bishop
series of tracks' this series features some of the
toughest tracks in the game, but even these tracks
are no match for those in the Queen series. In the
Queen series, each and every section of a track has a
pitfall of some nature, you will need to be at the
top of your game to topple these tracks. The three
difficulty levels add a nice bit of action to the
game, the higher up in difficulty you go, the more
tenacious the other drivers will be. They will
protect their position at all costs. Maximum Velocity
is a challenging game for many reasons, yet it never
stops being fun.
The replay value in Maximum Velocity is through the
roof. The game is always a blast to play, plus, each
time you play the game, you'll learn something new
about it every time. There are also some secrets to
uncover in it, so keep playing and you'll discover them all.
Overall, Maximum Velocity is a fabulous racing game.
It's the best portable racing game I have ever
played, and it does the series proud, for the most
part. The gameplay is so intricate and addictive, you
will be playing the game for years. However, the
shortcomings in the sound department really hamper
the game, more so if you are a long-time F-Zero fan
who appreciated how the music tied into the gameplay.
Nonetheless, Maximum Velocity is a fine addition to the series.
Overall: 9 out of 10