F-Zero: Maximum Velocity Review

This is a review of F-Zero: Maximum Velocity for the GameBoy Advance. I wrote this piece in 2001 as a personal example of a videogame review for a local newspaper.

Game: F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (GameBoy Advance) - By Tetsuo

Fast is one word to describe GBA's premier racer. Although the third instalment of the successful futuristic racing franchise lends much of its success to the original F-Zero on the Super Nintendo, this version has borrowed a healthy slice of pace from the N64 incarnation, F-Zero X.

In single player, the game offers you the chance to race across the varied tracks set between four difficulty levels and it certainly offers a lasting challenge, despite the fact the challenge comes from overcoming the cheating computer-controlled players who, (particularly on later difficulty settings), take advantage of even the slightest mistake on your behalf to leave you reeling by the track. But, once you begin to master the tilting and cornering techniques, you'll soon be whizzing past your foes at break neck speeds without breaking sweat.

There are a total of fifteen courses, with four ships available to choose from, as well as a couple of secret ones to unlock along the way, complete with time trial and practice modes. But the real joy comes from linking up your GameBoy with a couple of friends for some multiplayer antics. One especially neat feature that is also incorporated with many current and upcoming titles is the ability to play with up to four players by only using one cartridge. This eliminates any fuss or complications of each player requiring the same cart. The result is instantaneous, super-charged racing fun that's easy to just pick up and play. Each race is always unpredictable, as one well-timed boost on the final straight can be the difference between finishing in last or first place.

Whilst Maximum Velocity can't be credited with representing any drastically different in terms of gameplay as demonstrated in the aforementioned original, it's still a brilliant launch game that really shows off what the GBA is (and will be) capable of. Despite small AI niggles, it is the undoubted four-player racing game of choice in the wait for Mario Kart: Super Circuit to arrive.