7th August 2003, 1:24 PM
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...
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...