http://www.n-philes.com/php/epypkpvpfufvykylppz.php
All along I've been intrested in this game... it looks like it'll be a nice improvement over XG3, which is nice. XG3 was fun but badly lacking in some ways, especially when compared to XG2. :)
But this one looks better... better weapon system, better track designs and look, better bikes, more tracks, etc... it sounds like a great racer in many ways.
XG3 has a clumsy system where you switch weapons with Z or the d-pad... from a list you predetermine before the race depending on which you choose/can afford. Its quite hard to switch weapons at high speeds and many of the weapons are just completely impractical for use on the high speed classes.
XGRA changes that to one where you, like XG3, have a predetermined list of weapons before the race... but you have just one loaded on your car at any given time and switch them by going over weapon change/powerup spots on the track. Closer to XG1/2's 'pick up single-use special weapons on the track' system, which is good. :)
It also has only one bike model, and the various teams you choose from have the sole purpose of changing your car color... they have NO gameplay impact.
XG3 has three bike types, each quite different... I think the teams might even modify the performance of bikes some now too, adding two layers there. :)
Etc.
These shots are really nice... and really confirm how much progress they have made since XG3 (which, it was VERY clear, wasn't made by the same team as XG2).
... but you don't care about the gameplay system and just want to see shots, right?
Click the link then. :)
Boy, talk about bad timing. Does Acclaim really think that people are going to buy this game when F-Zero is just around the corner?
Its coming out in mid September.
That's two weeks later than F-Zero... they should have released it at least two months before it. Or three months after.
Yeah, the release date is a bit strange, but it still looks like a great game... and those latest shots are REALLY nice. :)
I didn't care for the past three games (hated the controls), but this new one does intrigue me a bit.
XG2 was a truly great unique racing game. XG3 was a good cross between Wipeout and F-Zero, but it lacked the style, quality, and ... uh... 'soul' (:D ) of either. XGRA looks like a nice infusion of some XG2 and some great new ideas into XG3.
Well I think it was similar to XG1, but I have barely played that game and it was years after I played XG2.
Oh... I know XG2 for PC got a fairly good review in PC Gamer... I remember it.
Hmm... why is it unique. Well its not completely unique of course, but compared to XG3 it is...
Weapon system. Its got the standard gun on one trigger, with limited ammo that you recharge in the recharge areas, and the single-use (or in the case of the homing missiles, up to 5 shots) specials you can pick up on the track on the other trigger (uh, using a Sidewinder Gamepad... :) ). Simple, and completely different from XG3. Or other futuristic racers with weapons... sure its a decendant of Wipeout but it makes it different with the machine gun you always have and the weapon variety. Much, much better than XG3's poorly thought out weapon system at high speeds.
Boosting... in XG2 it uses a standard 'you start with three nitros which you can use at any time in the race'. XG3 had the great idea to change it to F-Zero's 'boosting drains your shields'. Which is great in F-Zero, but doesn't work as well in this game... you end up stopping on the health strip in each lap just to have the health to finish the lap and place decently...
Oh, and I love XG2's tracks. They have great variety and are very nice looking... it has 12 tracks, each with three different track variations, and a mirror mode that makes the total number of 'tracks' 72. :) Compared to XG3 and its ten, unchanging, and mirror/reverse (something not in xg2 either)-free tracks.
Graphics. Sure, XG3 is nicer looking, and has higher top speeds you can reach (that is its one great improvement -- more speed), but the tracks are just ... bland. Oh, each is unique, but you never interact with them. You see surroundings but they are really irrelevant -- you are always on a same-looking track with the rumble-strip sides and yellow/black slanting walls. With in many places rings around the road for 'support'. Which is JUST BORING! XG2 has NONE of that! Every one of the 12 environments is completely unique and you actually feel like you are there, not like you could be on a track anywhere depending on the trackside graphics... the bland, unvarying track design and style is a major downgrade in the series from the great variety and look of XG2.
Similarly, XG3 has various teams... but they are all the same! XG2 isn't unique either, but at least the various bikes are all quite different, giving each person a choice of riding styles... in XG3 you have one and only one style to 'choose'.
Oh, and XG2 is long and quite challenging. 50 tracks to beat the game's campaign. Fifty. And it has three difficulty levels, if you want to make it harder.
XG2 has a 27-mission campaign, with no difficulty levels to give you more to do once you beat its substantially easier (than even XG2's Easy campaign, which I STILL HAVEN'T BEATEN) campaign...
Sure, a big part of XG2's challenge is the annoyance that it only saves after every four races so if you lose the fourth track of a set you have to go back to the first one, while XG3 lets you save after every race. And I know I complain about how hard circuit racers are fairly often... but honestly in some ways they are better that way. Sure, it makes games way harder, but it also gives you a much stronger sense of accomplishment once you finally beat them when compared to ones where you save after every race...
edit -- revised and expanded review
Where was I today? Well I went to the mall... spent $97 (inc. $5 tax) on videogames. And for that I got six games... Beyond Good & Evil ($20) and Rayman 3 ($10) for PC, Goemon's Great Adventure used (loose cart) (when I saw it I could not pass it up!) for N64 for $15, Gradius Galaxies ($10) and Lunar Legend ($18) used (loose carts) for GBA, and the relevant game for here --- XGRA for Gamecube for $20.
Oh I'd put this in one of the XG threads I know we have, but I can't find them. ... Hey, I found it! And here it is! :)
Okay, here's a review of XGRA, based on several hours of gameplay! Why? Because I want to! When Weltall says he fixed the review system I'll post this there too. Actually this probably should be in a new thread because I just spent over half an hour writing this and I want people to actually read it... It could be better but for now it's solid I think.
XGRA, or the Extreme-G Racing Association, is a very fun game. It is far too easy (I'm already halfway through in just a few days! It takes a little while to get used to but within a few races you'll have gotten it down and then it becomes simple to do very well. Other than the rare hard race the main challenge is achieving the optional team goal --- some of which are hard. But they aren't required.), and simplistic, but very fun... the game is a major improvement over XG3. As I suspected, it is like XG3 with some XG2 added to make it better, which is great! Now there is a lot of customization. The 'sports network' theme is pretty cool too. The menu layout is somewhat plain, without the interesting looks of XG2 or XG3's menus. But it's got a lot of style. It's like it's in a sports TV broadcast... with announcers before races at times. Before the first race of each challenge will be instead of a standard 'track description' voiceover while it shows you the track, commentary with the two hosts. Also, the game intro is like the start of a sports show. The game doesn't have much of any story other than this, so it's not perfect, but it does have something as a story/theme, which is more than I can say for many futuristic racers...
One of the most important parts of a racing game is its tracks. This game has 14 tracks in 7 environments... nice variety. And the tracks are very nice. Much better than XG3... XG3 had okay tracks but they felt, as I've said, sterile -- you never interacted with the environments and spent the whole time on the narrow tracks. Now there are many surfaces you drive on. It varies from streets on the ground to floating roads like XG3 (though even those are more varied, with parts solid and parts metal-grate floor), and some parts on the ground. And the width varies, from narrow roads to big open canyons. You'd be surprised how big a difference the track design changes make... oh, and the tracks have FAR more splitting. Pretty much all of the tracks have splitting, different routes, and more... when mixed with the other changes it makes for much, much more interesting racing. Oh, and there is a weather-effect version of each track too... like the desert track in a sandstorm or city at night. Pretty cool, and it affects your play too -- finding where to go can be hard, especially in the larger open areas! XG3 had big, wide tracks but the road surface was always the same (that road surface and those big rings over the track) and you never actually interacted with the world, not even driving on it! And there was a noticable lack of splitting and multiple routes. Only one track had a shortcut and only a couple of others had splitting sections. These tracks are a huge improvement. They are also narrower, again more like XG2, in many parts.
The game is, as advertised, slower than XG3. But that's a good thing. It also changed the bike controls. It made them heavier and quicker turning -- like the graphics, a cross between XG2 and XG3. I really like the improvement here. I don't mind the loss of speed because it's still a very fast game and it's more exciting now. And I like the change in controls. It also, as they said it would, greatly improved the weapons system. In XG3 you bought weapons and switched beween them inrace. It was hard to aim and hit people with most of them and often you just didn't use them. Also everything was on one trigger. Now, you have two triggers, like XG1 and 2. There is a main weapon -- which varies depending on which team you are (more on that later) -- and the secondary weapon system which for the best explanation I'll say Gradius. There are power ups scattered on the track. Like Gradius, each time you get a powerup it moves to the next box on the list on top of the screen. And like Gradius when you're at the weapon or powerup you want you press select to activate the weapon. Then, pressing that button again will fire it if it's a weapon... the secondary weapons include returning things like the Leech, speed boost, and mines (the main weapons are a machinegun, lightning gun that bounces, grenade launcher, rockets, etc) and a sidecannon, but there are new ones like a nuke bomb, options to fill up your weapons or shields (more on THAT later too), and the Deathstrike. Oh, the Deathstrike, as the reviews say, is a problem. I did just get it but I can fully see how it unbalances the game. It's the last powerup so it takes a few to get to but once you get it you can target someone and have them instantly killed. It makes most all the powerups before it not that useful... and is just too strong. Not that great for a games that is already too easy...
On to the drivers. There are 8 drivers. There are also 8 teams. There are 3 different bikes. Each team uses one of the three bikes -- the team comes with the bike. You choose the rider seperately. Each rider is rated in three categories but honestly I'm not sure what they do... you can't change riders in campaign mode and in Arcade you don't choose a rider. I assume it affects how you race somehow, though. The teams and bikes are more clear. You get periodic opportunities to change teams, and as you beat better speed classes their stats get better... faster, more powerful, etc. Each team has its own stats in 5 categories and uses one of the three bikes (and has a different main gun), each of which is a bit different, so the teams each are nicely different. Also, there are three bike control options you can vary -- the height of the bike, braking, and one other, that let you change how you brake and turn greatly so that it's the way you like it most. Very nice addition. They did remove the shop, however... now you get upgrades by succeeding in challenges your team gives you in races.
The racing itsself clearly takes XG3 as a base. Then it slows it down, adds a completely different weapon system, and changes the powerups. First, you don't have boosts. There is an accelerator special weapon, but it isn't a boost it just raises your top speed for a little while. And it is used like other weapons so you'd use it at the expense of secondary weapons... however they make up for that by having a LOT of boost strips on the tracks. Now the tracks are littered in rows of boost arrows. So you don't exactly go slowly. The other huge, huge change is healing. There are NO, I repeat NO, health or weapon power recharge strips! This is a huge change for this subgenre... those are almost a required feature in futuristic racers. Well they're gone. First, your shields and weapon power auto-regenerate, and depending on your choice of team it can be quite fast. So just wait and it'll fill back up. Second, falling off the track draws a respawn and not instant death like XG3. And third, the weapon system has options in it to instant-fill your shields and weapon power.
This change really changes the dynamic of the game from XG3. In XG3 to fill up your shields and weapon energy you had to sit on the heal strips... on fast speeds stopping was almost needed to get full. Slows you down a lot. Now you have regeneration and you can heal yourself with the weapon orbs. It really speeds up the game. It also makes it harder to die, or to kill people -- I haven't had my bike blow up yet and I've only killed a couple of people. They too have regeneration... of course the Deathstrike 'solves' that problem, but that isn't the best solution I think... you just need to not choose the team with the mortar. It's really hard to hit people with... But even with the lightning you need to hit fast because they regenerate -- you can't wait a long time between hits like you could in previous games. It makes you have to hit harder and then you hit the time limit between shots... you can't just fire constantly. I think it works pretty well overall... you shoot a lot and can kill cars. The weapon system is a lot better and the racing as a result is a lot more interesting... the tracks aid this too of course. They are well designed. But the end result is that despite the speed drop the game is probably more fun than XG3.
Oh, almost forgot to expand on the goals. First, it's broken into speed classes. In each one you have a set of challenges. Each challenge is usually 3 tracks long and there are up to 6 on a speedclass... the intro class has just one challenge but the game really starts with Subsonic, with 6 challenges. Each challenge has a three tracks and one of a variety of rule sets. These include Normal Racing, one that is just one lap, one that is longer than normal (3 laps, for the class I'm in), Warmonger where there are turrets on the track shooting at you and you get points (the game keeps a leaderboard style, like F-Zero and XG2 or 3) for kills, Pure Racing (no weapons), Extreme Weather, etc. So the main goal is winning so you have enough points to beat the challenge and the speedclass. But you also have team goals. In each race your team will give you a mission goal. These vary from 'Beat Rider X' to 'Beat 4 riders', 'destroy 2 riders' (a hard one early on), or 'destroy 4 signs for team X' (this one's interesting. You have to shoot and blow up signs that are above the track for the team in question... there will be red markers on them to show they are the ones you must blow up but it can be hard if you aren't on the right paths of the track...), and some others. If you succeed, you'll get rewards -- weapons, upgrades for your bike (this is how you get them now, instead of buying them like XG3), unlocked features... but if you fail? You just won't get them. You are allowed to fail these and progress through the game, unlocking those things will just take longer. This makes the game even easier. I regularly fail. If it made you succeed these, the game would be significantly harder...
As for multiplayer, I haven't played any. I will probably a week from now though so I can tell you more then. But based on single-player arcade mode it's greatly simplfied -- no choice of drivers, no workshop to tune your bike, just choose a team and track and race...good for beginners but I hope that 2-player mode has those options in it. We'll see. Oh, and one problem here -- XG3's cool 2-player campaign is gone. Dissapointing, because I love multiplayer campaigns... I don't know why it is gone, but it is. Too bad. However, I'm sure that like XG3 it has a full field in multiplay (for 2 players at least) which is great after the major dissapointment of F-Zero GX...
In conclusion, XGRA is a good game. I haven't beaten it so I don't know exactly how long it is but once I got used to it and found a bike balance (garage settings) that I liked it became easy... I win most of the races now. I just moved up a class, but it's not a huge amount harder... the game might have twice as many races as XG3 but unfortunately despite many features it borrowed from XG2 difficulty was not one of them. The speedclasses are Introductionary, Subsonic, Sonic, Supersonic, and Ultrasonic... I've already beaten Subsonic. And it wasn't hard... the point requirement was mild. I didn't need to win anywhere near all the races and easily qualified. And since it's circuits you don't have to redo tracks much... you can save after every track but I haven't done that because I haven't had to redo a track yet. And it autosaves after you complete a challenge. So the game won't take long, but if you like futuristic racing games you'll have fun nonetheless.
Why did you post that twice? And before you say "I already told you!", remember that I didn't read your whole post.
Because this is the appropriate thread for it! As I said there ignore it in that thread...
Please someone read it, it took quite a while to write... :)
For $20 it's a good deal for anyone who likes futuristic racing games, despite its lack of length.
For $20 I can get a number of better racing games. :D
New (or at least within the last six months or so)? Not that many... :)
NFS Hot Pusuit 2, Midtown Madness 3, F-Zero GX (well, it's now $30), Sega GT Online, and a bunch of older racing games.
Older games don't count, obviously plenty of them are available for cheap... :)
As for those, I haven't played much of NFSHP2 but I played the demo some. Seemed like more of the same. NFS is okay but I'd probably still get XGRA... sure it's easier and everything but I really love futuristic/arcade racers... and I have NFSHS (and am very far from beating it; it's really hard!)...
Midtown Madness... I remember playing the PC demo of one of the first two... okay game and I like the open design.
All of the Extreme G's combined could never touch the greatness of Hot Pursuit 2.
I'm sure I would disagree.
NFSHS... it's the one in the series I've played most, obviously. As I said I haven't gotten far in the campaign. It's just so hard! I'll list why again. :)
-no way to restart current race without rebooting computer
-very severe penalties for losing -- you need money to fix your car, buy upgrades, and get new cars. But if you lose you get less money so you can maybe barely have enough to just fix the damage! You lose ground and then have to do the first circuit again or something... it is TOO nice with saving. It auto-saves after every race, after all, and 'quit race' doesn't just quit but withdraws you so you get an automatic last-place finish in that race... and autosaves it...
Oh, and I like how the game has car damage that affects performance (first in series, right?), but that too makes the game harder, and especially when you know how badly the game penalizes you for not doing really well...
As for the racing itsself, it's classic NFS. Okay racing, but not the best... and really slow compared to a XG or F-Zero... :) Futuristic arcade ones are just more exciting. I know that doesn't mean more depth or anything, but they are definitely more exciting... I love their style of play.
But it's not just those that make me say that the NFS series is overrated. Good, but overrated.
Want some more games I like over it? Okay, how about Moto Racer 1 and 2 (3 wasn't that good and is completely different)? I have MR2 and have played both MR1 demos and really love those two games... MR2 is a lot more fun than any NFS game, for sure... and it has a track creator! :)
Even Burnout makes a good run against NFS... NFS says it's supercars and stuff but it's always underwhelmed me as a series.
You haven't even played HP2, have you? The game is incredible, and insanely fast. Fastest car racing game for its time.
I doubt that HP2 is fundamentally different from NFS, NFSII, NFSIISE, NFSIII, and NFSHS... I did play the demo, BTW. Seemed the same gameplay as all the NFS games back to II at least... maybe a bit different, but significantly?
Oh, okay, Porsche Unleashed was different from the previous NFS games, but that one's different... HP2 was a 'normal' NFS title and it's not so different.
And what do you mean by 'fast'?
Oh, the fact that only the PS2 version is called great has reduced my already low interest...
Deal with it, I just don't like NFS as much as you. :) As I said I don't DISLIKE the series, I just don't think its super-great...
From my point of view, I'd rather spend my money on XGRA.
Fast as in "not slow" Hot Pursuit 2 is the fastest car racing game of its time. Only surpassed by NFS Underground.
I don't know your definition of "fast", then... F-Zero X is "fast". Extreme-G 3 is "fast". XGRA is 'almost as fast'. Compared to that, NFS is 'slow'. :) Now I don't mind slower... I love Pod, after all... I just think that NFS is kind of ... oh I don't know. Bland? Fun, but it doesn't really stand out as great in any way I can think of... as I said comparing NFSHS, I'd take Moto Racer 2 easily over it, or probably Burnout... or, probably, Speed Busters, but I don't know. I'd need to own Speed Busters and see how long it lasts...
Or do you mean fast compared to NFSHS? Because for what it is I'd say NFSHS's speed is fine... it's only slow because I play so much F-Zero and Wipeout. :D As I've said, NFS doesn't do anything WRONG. It's just ... not as fun as some other games.
I mean fast as in your car moves fast. Who woulda thunk it?
It's just about the fastest car game on the market right now.
car game maybe, I don't know... but many racing games are faster than normal car titles. :)
And anyway fun is most important. The fact XG3 is faster than XG2 (or XGRA) doesn't make it better than either of those!
Car racing games are different, because they usually have more realistic physics, more saturated backgrounds, and more realistic handling. So comparing F-Zero to HP2 isn't fair. HP2 is crazy fun, think XG3 if it didn't suck.
You should try XGRA sometime. See if you agree with me that it's better (and feels more 'real', etc, etc as I say in the review)...
What do you mean more saturated backgrounds? More things going on? That was one complaint I had with XG3... I know that F-Zero is minimalist here, and it works there, but it didn't work as well in XG3. XGRA has SIGNIFICANTLY more in the environments, and that's a big part of why I went on so long in the review about how the feel of the track environments feels more solid... there's more there, in addition to the varying track surfaces, etc...
I'm talking about how the track is a part of the environment, not just a track with a background like futuristic racing games.
Hmm... like width and larger areas and stuff and not just being on a track? Yeah, that too. XG2 had quite varied areas, but XG3 went the Wipeout/F-Zero route of purely on standard tracks... XGRA thankfully returns to having MUCH more varied areas. :) As I said in my review, there are some parts on the ground, you pass through some large areas, the width changes in places, etc...
Like the jungle tracks have a few parts in the jungle as well as in this cavern (with pillars of rock in the way), some ones in more arid areas have you pass through rocky areas with rock pillars in the way to dodge, the one on the space station has this part in a power core or something where it gets very wide, the tracks have MANY splits (and sometimes they are layered and you can fall off one and land on another), etc...