Gamers all around the country should be thanking Acclaim. Not only did the company release more games on Nintendo's new console than any other third party developer, but they also released more games on the console than Nintendo themselves! The best of the bunch is the critically-acclaimed (pun intended) Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2, but Extreme G3 isn't too far behind.

Extreme G3 is all about speed. There is a bit of depth within the game, but the developers primarily concentrated primarily on making this one of the fastest, most exciting experiences you'll ever have in your living room. Combining superb track design with a fast and reliable frame rate, Acclaim achieves their goal of creating a roller coaster racing game.

Every track is like going on the ultimate roller coaster, featuring the steepest of drops, thrilling loops and an extremely impressive amount of speed. The only time your vehicle ever slows down is when it's going up a loop or one of the game's many steep drops. The sense of speed is amazing, and somehow or other, Acclaim managed to make you feel like you're really flipping upside down in the loops. I'm not sure how they did it. The scenery is very convincing. Obviously Extreme G can't actually flip you upside down, but when you see a tree hanging from the ground above, you begin to realize that you are in fact racing through a loop.

Oceania is one of the most entertaining tracks in the game. The whole course is set up in the middle of the ocean! There are a ton of drops and a few sharp turns as usual, but the best drop of all takes you under water. A clear glass tube encircles the track to prevent you from drowning, so you're not actually in the water. But the tube allows you to see everything inside of the deep blue sea, and when you get closer to the top of the water, the sun shines through, creating an impressive water reflection effect on the track.

Extreme G3 doesn't demonstrate any new graphic effects, but the effects featured in the game are presented pretty well. Most speedy games neglect background detail and developers usually add fog to keep the frame rate up. Acclaim kissed the fog goodbye in this next-generation sequel and threw in a ton of extra things to look at. Trees and mountains are featured in almost every racing game, but some cool things you might not have seen before are the impressive weather effects that send a constant stream of raindrops on the screen (a la Metal Gear Solid 2); intricate backgrounds with enormous buildings, futuristic vehicles (that fly through the air), moving windmills, etc. The real-time shadows are great, changing perfectly with your vehicle's every movement, but once again, this has been done before. To the game's credit, at the time of the PS2 version's release, there weren't as many games available with impressive real-time shadows as there are now. Technology changes and advances every month, so it's not Acclaim's fault that XGIII doesn't match the graphic quality of Wave Race: Blue Storm. On the other hand, Acclaim did have a few extra months of development time and could have made the GameCube version look and play even better. They added two new levels to Dave Mirra 2, so there's no reason why they didn't include such extras for this game as well.

Extreme G3 doesn't have many game modes. There are four in all, but only three of them feature racing. League is the main mode in the game. There are several cups in League mode, all of which include three tracks. You must earn a specified amount of credits to win each cup and gain access to the next series of races. Because the game uses a credit system, you don't have to be perfect every time to win. Winning first place on any two of the tracks practically guarantees that you'll win, because you only have to get seventh place to pass the other course. Credits accumulated from winning races can be used to purchase engine upgrades, missiles, mines and other weapons, as well as special time trial tracks. Arcade mode tracks are unlocked by beating the League mode. That's about it, and personally I feel that's all that is needed for a game like this. I like deep racing games and I love variety, but truthfully, most gamers don't even play the oh-so-wonderful extra modes. I played Wave Race: Blue Storm for more than 2 hours at the Cube Club and never once touched the Stunt mode! That's just one example. People buy a racing game to race! Next to Crazy Taxi, this is the best racing/driving game on the console.

Gameplay: 8.5
There's no doubt in my mind that you'll enjoy Extreme G3. I know this because I loved it, and still do love it, and I am not a person who is pleased easily. Generally, games that I like, other people love, so that should give you an indication of how good XGIII is.

Graphics: 7.9
You can't look at XGIII without thinking about Wave Race: Blue Storm. It's human nature. Plus, the GameCube is an extremely powerful console. Taking that into account, XGIII does not look like a stellar racing game by any means.

Sound: 7
XGIII's music is really annoying at first, but after a while, the techno tracks began to grow on me.

Difficulty: 7.8
XGIII will take some getting used to. Air braking is the key to making sharp turns, but mastering it is tough.

Concept: 7
XGIII may be the third game in the series, who can tell? XGIII plays much better than the first two games and is in many ways a brand-new racer.

Multiplayer: 8
The PlayStation 2 version only has a two-player mode, but up to four players can race simultaneously on the GameCube. Awesome!

Overall: 8.4
Most people can't buy a new console without a new racing game. Sales of Wipeout, Ridge Racer V and Project Gotham at their respective console's launches proved this. Now the GameCube is out. You have three options to choose from in the racing genre -- Wave Race: Blue Storm, Crazy Taxi and Extreme G3. WR: BS is a rehash of the original; CT is a port of a two-year-old Dreamcast game; and while XGIII is a port of the PlayStation 2 version, it's basically a brand-new game. Take your pick.