F-Zero
Graphics
Several years ago, when I first played this game, I was amazed by the graphics. They still look really good today. There are many tracks to race on, and many of them have very distinct and interesting designs. This isn't the kind of racing game where you go through slowly through boring looking tracks throughout the whole game. F-Zero's tracks are full of twists, turns, and obstacles. Some of the races even take place at night and on unusual landscapes. And since this is a futuristic racing game, you see the interesting effect of the cars hovering over the track.
Gameplay
There are a lot of options for playing this game. You must decide which of the four vehicles you will be racing. Basically, you should decide this based on your skill level. One car is very easy to race with, one is very tough. The other two are average. You then need to pick a league, which is a set of races, and a difficulty setting.
The races themselves are fast paced and full of obstacles, as I mentioned before. You'll encounter mines, sharp turns, magnetic strips which pull your car toward the side of the track, speed boosts, dangerous jumps, and more. Meanwhile, you're racing down these tracks at incredible speeds. And you really do get a sense of speed in this game, which makes it more exciting and fun to play. There are four distinct cars, including yours, on the track at any one time. The rest are just generic identical clones serving as little more than obstacles to slow you down or damage you. They can't really win the races, as far as I can tell. It would have been nicer to get the feeling you were racing against more than just a few good opponents. Luckily, the control is great and causes no problems. When you lose, it won't be for control reasons.
There's also a mode in this game where you can try to break speed records on the tracks or practice racing whichever tracks you want. It's a lot of fun to challenge someone and see who can get the fastest time on a particular track. The records are saved in the game's memory, as well.
Sound
F-Zero has fairly simple music, but it's really good to listen to and it's the kind of music you remember long after you've finished playing. There are some interesting sound effects too, such as running into a mine, the sound of the car's engine, and more. Overall, I was really impressed with the quality of the music. It's a good thing for racing games in particular to have good tunes.
Conclusion
I bought this game on a whim after reading about it in a magazine, and it became one of my favorites right away. If you like arcade style racing games, this is one of the best there is. Lots of exciting tracks and tons of replay value with the different difficulty settings available. I highly recommend it.
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