and thats no understatement. If you've ever played Wipeout or Rollcage, your probably familiar with the premise : racing at speeds that are best described as insane with vehicles that you'd expect to find in a sci-fi or manga show. In this case, those vehicles are bikes that can, quite literally, outrun a jetplane. And naturally,they're armed to the teeth. Speed isn't, however, the first thing that will strike you about this game. Rather than throwing the player in at the deep end of the pool, your initially given bikes that, whilst still capable of 300+ mph, give you plenty of breathing room to learn the tracks and controls. And learn you must if you want to get the faster bikes - the game keeps them locked up until you start working your way up the career chain. At the higher levels, its possible to push the bikes to over 1000mph (at which point the speedo seems to break and go all over the place), and youll be having a hard time reacting to corners without bouncing off the walls. Opposing bikes also have a tendency to drop mines in you path, or blur out you view with the flare weapon, pushing your concentration (and at times, patience) even further. Multiplayer is handled well, allowing for four way competitions in arcade mode (although the AI riders drop out with more than 2 players), and providing for a 2 player "co-op" mode, where you are both put in the same team - with a shared bank account, in an attempt to clear the career mode. Graphically, this game is very sleek, and manages to be pretty at the same time. Light trails follow the bikes in a way reminiscient of "Tron", the scenery blurs and melts as you blast up canyon walls or through icy tunnels, and there's no vanishing point. the air in front of you ripples as you breack the sound barrier. However, despite the low-polycount of the tracks, there are occasional issues with slowdown, "Atradaitoshi" having the most noticable example of this, and the blurring effects employed can sometimes make it hard to see where you going (not counting the flare weapon, which deliberatly does this). I was, however, dissapointed at the lack of a 60 hertz mode. Soundwise, the game is neither spectacular, nor is it bad. The music fits the game perfectly, and the doppler effects on the bikes are very well done. However, the weapon effects almost sounded like they came from a sample cd, some seeming out of place entirely. However, nothing compares to breaking the sound barrier - a boom, followed by a silence that is only penetrated by the creaking and rumbling of your own canopy. Combined with the graphical effects, its something to show off to your friends. By the way - the game has support for surround sound, which can be usefull at times. :) The controls, however, need adjusting. understandably, there's no brakes. After all, if you tried to brake, the plates would probably just melt. there are two airbrakes that can throw the bike sideways, much like those in wipeout, as well as the analogue stick for control, and the A,X,Y, and Z buttons controlling the accelerator, weapons, and boosters. however, the shoulder buttons control the airbrakes, and this is where the problem lies. they respond to even the slightest touch, as opposed to requiring you to actually push them down, and its all too easy to absent-mindedly apply a little pressure to them whilst wondering why your bike is swerving into the wall. However, small issues aside, XG3 is worth getting hold of if your a speed junkie, or want to impress your mates with your reflexes. You'll probably beat the career mode in a few days, and there's nothing to unlock as such, but you will find yourself getting it back out of the box regularly.
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