Classic Game Room presents a CGR Undertow video game review of F-ZERO GX from 2003 for the Nintendo Gamecube. Just a few seconds with F-Zero GX, however, is enough to remind even a seasoned gaming veteran why video games can be such a precarious endeavor. Gliding atop beltways designed in cursive, F-Zero GX takes us through twisted curves and corkscrews at velocities more than twice the speed of sound. The glistening lights of nearby cityscapes and passing roadsters coalesce into syncopated fluorescent smears, indecipherable flares of color and luminescence which fly by our windshield at dizzying speeds and impossible angles. It's no wonder our parents warned us about sitting too close to the television. Developed by SEGA's bygone Amusement Vision studio, F-Zero GX was one of the most blisteringly fast racing games on the market when it released in 2003. Seven years later, the game's jaw-dropping sense of speed is as thrilling as ever, but unfortunately, it's a thrill many players won't be able to experience. As great as it is, F-Zero GX is also prohibitively difficult, and without a good memory and better reflexes, it will demoralize you after just a few laps. F-Zero GX is a racing game, but it has little in common with peers like Need For Speed or Gran Turismo. This isn't a game for car junkies or Vin Diesel wannabes—rather, F-Zero GX takes a more unconventional, arcade-like approach to racing, reminiscent of what one might get by mixing NASCAR with Tatooine's alien cantina. F-Zero is a distinguished circuit where drivers of all shapes, sizes and species race lightning-fast hovercraft atop dramatic tracks, twisting and turning through spectacular extraterrestrial locales at supersonic speeds. Somehow, it's even more bizarre than it sounds, but there's a charm to the game's futuristic kitsch that makes F-Zero GX's unearthly aesthetics and themes as enjoyable as its driving. This CGR Undertow video game review of F-Zero GX has gameplay from F-Zero GX showing video game play on Nintendo Gamecube (played on the Nintendo Wii).
