Anyone who likes racing games should know about the F-Zero series. If not, let me enlighten you; the F-Zero series has always prided itself on high-speed, frantic racing rather than pretty visuals, and has often been heralded by many as one of the greatest racing series of all time. Now, in the wake of the power that Nintendo's box of tricks can generate, SEGA and Nintendo are cooperatively realising the dream of futuristic race fans worldwide; the fastest racer ever combined with eye-popping visuals. And boy is this title shaping up to be an absolute stunner. Now officially titled F-Zero GX (the arcade version is titled F-Zero AX), the latest installment is currently wowing critics at the LA Electronic Entertainment Exhibition – That's E3 to you and me. We here at Cube-Europe think that you deserve a look at what is to come…

Firstly, onto the controls, and fans of F-Zero X on the N64 will be pleased to know that the controls for F-Zero GX are pretty much exactly the same. A accelerates, B brakes, R and L power slide left and right and after the second lap, Y fires up your booster. There is only one significant change to the configuration in that you can still perform the spinning and slamming attacks from F-Zero X, but now they're activated by pressing X and a direction on the D-Stick for the power slam, and simply Z for the spin attack. In all fairness, this does sound slightly better than having to hold one of the shoulder buttons down and double tapping the other one, due to the nature of the analogue: it would be quite difficult to double tap an analogue shoulder button. Again, like the N64 F-Zero, it's three laps per race. Using boost power lowers your energy meter, as does bumping into other vehicles, and you can still power back up in designated areas.

Graphically, F-Zero GX is shaping up to be one visual treat. When going over a zipper, or using boost power, the camera blurs slightly to make the sense of speed even more supersonic than it already is. People were slightly disappointed with F-Zero X on the N64 in that it didn't have very detailed backgrounds. Well this time round, nobody will be complaining. Three tracks were available to play at E3 (Lightning, Metropolis and the mandatory Mute City) and all of them were as detailed as a masterpiece painting; real-time clouds zipping overhead, sparks flying from metal on metal, jumping lightning bolts, high rise towers, vast cities below, gorgeous lighting and lovely vehicle design. To think that all of this is accompanied by possibly the fastest racing in existence, it's not hard to see why F-Zero GX is making heads turn all around Los Angeles.

As mentioned previously, three tracks are currently playable at E3. Mute City is the obligatory ease-in course, with long, wide straights and smooth curves. Lightning, as you may imagine, is a dark course with tunnels, lit up spectacularly at moments by lighting bolts ripping through the sky. Metropolis, also as you might have imagined, sees you racing through a huge city. Only 5 vehicles were available at E3; Blue Falcon, Fire Stingray, Golden Fox, Red Gazelle and White Cat, all of which appeared in F-Zero X. Ships' parameters are now rated A, B or C, no longer going to D or E, and the slide-bar that lets you edge your vehicle towards higher top speed or faster acceleration makes a return.

Concerning game modes, again only two were available on the show floor: One Course Race and Vs. Battle, both of which speak for themselves. One Course Race lets you race on course (unsurprisingly) and Vs. Battle lets up to four players go head-to-head-to-head-to-head over a three-lap course. Other game modes that weren't available at E3 are Practice Mode, Grand Prix and Time Attack. New to the line up is Story Mode, which sees you taking Captain Falcon and his Blue Falcon ship through a series of missions, one of which, as stated by Nintendo reps, includes getting through a line up of racers determined to block you off.

F-Zero GX is taking shape nicely. In fact, it's taking shape phenomenally. 60 frames-per-second, blistering high speeds, gorgeous eye candy, impeccable course design and a plethora of tracks (20 in total, plus the likely return of the X-Cup, which means an innumerable amount of tracks) makes for some seriously highly addictive gameplay. Here's hoping…