Экстремальные гонки будущего: Extreme G

1997 video game

Extreme G is a futuristic racing video game developed by Probe Entertainment and published by Acclaim Entertainment, featuring an original trance soundtrack. It was released for the Nintendo 64 in 1997, and was released in Japan on May 29, 1998. Despite the crowded field of Nintendo 64 racing games, Extreme G was met with moderately positive reviews and was a commercial success. A sequel, Extreme G 2, was released in 1998, followed by two additional games: Extreme G 3 (2001) and XGRA: Extreme G Racing Association (2003). In 2024, the game was re released through the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack through Throwback Entertainment, who purchased the rights to the game in 2006.

The gameplay of Extreme G consists mainly of fast paced racing through an array of futuristic environments. An array of defensive and offensive weapons are available on track. These include multi homing/reverse missiles, magnetic/laser mines, and shield boosting power ups. Special weapons can also be found such as invisibility, phosphorus flash and the mighty Wally Warp which if not avoided, can instantly transport a bike right to the back of the pack. As with all Extreme G games, futuristic racing pilots race plasma powered bikes in an intergalactic Grand Prix at speeds over 750 km/h. The emphasis is on speed and racetrack design, with tracks looping through like roller coasters. At the beginning of each round, the player is given three "nitro" powerups which provide a temporary speed boost (these powerups cannot be replenished). Also, falling off cliffs or, in some cases, the track itself results in simply losing time rather than losing 'lives'; bikes are teleported back to the track and must rebuild their speed and lost time from a dead standstill. The single player games come in three difficulty settings: Novice, Intermediate and Extreme. The main game mode (Extreme Contest) features three championships: Atomic (four tracks), Critical Mass (eight tracks) and Meltdown (full 12 standard tracks). The player must come first in each championship to progress. Winning championships on the various difficulty levels will open up the hidden bikes, levels and cheats. Once the levels have been opened they can be used for the additional single and multi player modes. The multi player modes include competitive racing, flag capture, and battle mode.

Extreme G is set in the distant future where Earth is reduced into a wasteland. From their new found planet the human colonists watch their remote controlled bikes wreak havoc through their ancient cities and fight their way to determine which racer manages to qualify.

Extreme G was developed under the working title "Ultimate Racer". It was created by Probe Entertainment, an internal development team of Acclaim Entertainment.

Extreme G received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Similarly, Peer Schneider of IGN opined that it can't compete with Wave Race 64 and Top Gear Rally in terms of graphics, physics and control, but ultimately recommended it for action and racing fans.