Just in time to take advantage of Fox network’s hype machine gearing up for the cartoon of the same name comes F-Zero GP Legend. And while its erratic difficulty level sometimes makes the game an exercise in frustration, the game continues the solid legacy of the series that originated on the Super NES.

Unless orcs have had you imprisoned underground for the last ten years, you probably know what F-Zero is all about. The game consists of racing vehicles faster than the speed of sound around courses, winning cups, etc. The vehicles are almost rocket-like with no wheels and a lot of get up and go. Tracks are futuristic and filled with hairpin turns to challenge the player.

Since we’re now looking at a game tied in with a cartoon, a story mode has been added to F-Zero GP Legend. The player takes on the persona of the cartoon characters and plays through the story by meeting certain challenges. Initially only a young racer named Rick Wheeler is available, but with progress the opportunity to play as other characters opens up. The story is a sordid tale of long-ago injuries, intrigue and is about as deep as you’d expect a Saturday morning cartoon to be. No matter what the story situation, some kind of racing challenge is the answer. The problem is the challenges vary from very simple to almost unfairly difficult just from one challenge to the next; they don’t just ramp up in difficulty.

Grand Prix mode is the expected bronze, silver and gold racing levels. Each race consists of five laps. Points are awarded according to how the player finished in each race. The driver with the most points at the end of the cup series of races wins.



In Zero Test mode drivers compete against preset times on courses in four difficulty levels with 12 challenges in each. Beating the time set results in the presentation of a bronze, silver or gold cup, depending on how well the driver did.

Time Attack lets players challenge established lap and full race times, but the tracks are limited to those completed in Grand Prix mode. Training gives the player the opportunity to practice on his favorite courses with control over number of laps, bots to race against, and the race class to compete in.



Graphically the game really does not improve much from the first GBA F-Zero game, F-Zero: Maximum Velocity. If you’ve seen that game, there won’t be any surprises. It doesn’t look spectacular, but the graphics get the job done. Sound is a little anemic, but it serves well enough too.

Some tweaks to the control scheme have been introduced. Boost control is now a press of both the L and R shoulder buttons simultaneously for a short boost of speed that uses a set amount of booster energy. A side attack is initiated with a double tap of the right or left shoulder button, depending on which way the player wants to attack a rival. With the shoulder buttons already used to lean the vehicle, these extra duties turned out to be just a little too much for my large hands. It made the game quite hard for me to handle and I had some real cramping issues. If your hands are a little more supple, or smaller, it probably is not as big an issue.

While it may not be the greatest GBA game ever, F-Zero GP Legend is a solid and often fun driving game that fans of the franchise will gladly embrace. If you already own F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, it is going to give you a definite sense of having seen the same thing before, but for first-timers it will offer a nice value.







© 2004 GameShark.com