Extreme-G

About Extreme-G

Extreme-G (1997) is Probe Entertainment's futuristic Nintendo 64 combat racer, sending plasma bikes at over 750 km/h around rollercoaster-like tracks with missiles, mines and a trance soundtrack.

Extreme-G in Depth

Pilots race plasma-powered bikes in an intergalactic Grand Prix at more than 750 km/h on tracks that loop like rollercoasters through hallucinogenic futuristic settings. Weapons found on the track include multi-homing and reverse missiles, magnetic and laser mines and shield boosts, along with specials such as invisibility, a phosphorus flash and the Wally-Warp, which sends any bike it catches to the back of the pack. Each round gives three nitro boosts that cannot be replenished, and falling off cliffs or the track costs only time, as the bike is teleported back and must rebuild its speed from a standstill.

Single players choose Novice, Intermediate or Extreme difficulty. The main Extreme Contest has three championships, Atomic with four tracks, Critical Mass with eight and Meltdown with all twelve, each requiring first place to progress, and wins at different difficulties unlock hidden bikes, levels and cheats for other modes. Multiplayer offers racing, flag capture and a battle mode. Critics praised its loops, jumps and corkscrews and its sense of speed, Electronic Gaming Monthly's Crispin Boyer saying no other game matched it, and compared the bike designs to Tron, while noting a steep learning curve, distance fog, slowdown with four players and dull battle arenas.

Making Extreme-G

Probe Entertainment developed it and Acclaim Entertainment published it for the Nintendo 64 in 1997, with an original trance soundtrack. Despite strong competition among N64 racers, it received favourable reviews and was a commercial success. Reviewers unanimously called its graphics outstanding, GameRevolution praised its replay value from many tracks, weapons and multiplayer options, and most agreed the techno music, though unoriginal, suited the intense races, concluding that a handful of shortcomings kept it from the very top tier. Extreme-G 2 followed in 1998.