Futuristic racers are always popular choices to show off your game console because they frankly look sweet. Nintendo's F Zero series pioneered futuristic racing whilst Wipeout brought it into the main stream, other successful attempts at the futuristic racer includes Star Wars Pod Racer and the series from Acclaim Extreme G. The Extreme G series has spawned 3 games so far (2 N64 titles and 1 Gamecube game (that was ported to the PS2)) and whereas the first 2 were ambitious they were poorly executed and they hardly beat Nintendo's F Zero series or Psygosis Wipeout b. The concept has always been the same, you race in super fast hover bikes to win and if needs be knock your opponents off the track, very much in the vein of wipeout.

The Extreme G series is literally the fastest of them all, yep, faster than Wipeout and F Zero and so naturally when Acclaim announced a fourth XGRA (Extreme Gravity Racing Association) forward to yet another drop-dead speed freak of a game right? Well actually no.

Acclaim has stated their change of direction for the series is taking it to more vehicle based explosive action as opposed to racing. Whereas weapons have always been present in the XG series they have always been an add-on to the gameplay, not a vital way of winning a race, well that looks to change. The scenery is now fully destructible, which is always nice, and creates the possibility of multiple routes, an idea used to smaller effect in Wave Race. The weapon system is being overhauled to make it all feel more erm 'fluent' but all this new destructive and violent gameplay is going to take hold on the speed, in other words Extreme G is slowing down.

Should we worry? I doubt it, it is nice to see Acclaim, a company usually content on keeping with similar games year in year out, actually changing one of its popular series. The series reached its peak last year with XG3; Acclaim Cheltenham had taken aboard ex-members from the Wipeout team and had managed to tighten the controls, improve the graphics (and are highly similar to Wipeout's) and realize the potential Extreme G has always had. The only snag the game had was the disappointing size, ten tracks that were all relatively easy to finish, only the multiplayer kept its length. Certain new concepts give the impression that XGRA could have a longer lifespan. You are hired by companies, the more and better companies will higher you the better you do, this career mode of such will add length to the games. The weather effects that actually vary each time (wave race style) will mean that each track will play differently depending on the weather, again something that will add length. Other ways of improving the length is the promised six new race types and the in-depth characteristics about the various teams.

Expect the decent multiplayer mode to return with more head to head or cooperative action plus a nice few extras. The Extreme G series despite appearing on rival formats has always been a Nintendo series at heart and I wouldn't be surprised like XG3 before it to see special extras in XGRA. One worrying sign for the series is the way Acclaim is trying to push Extreme G closer to the critical acclaim of Burnout, despite the tracks not being littered with vehicles the increased violence, destructible scenery and improved and enhanced crashes are all showing acclaims desire to push the series with the violence and crashes that take place much like Burnout. Nevertheless change is always welcome and as long as the Ministry of Sound music pumping is using the excellent Pro-Logic II sound system then I'll be happy… what they are? Great.