"Summary:
F-Zero X (エフゼロ エックス?), is a futuristic racing video game for the Nintendo 64 (N64) console. F-Zero X is the third released installment in the F-Zero series and the first released video game in the franchise to feature 3D graphics.[9] The game has a steep learning curve and its gameplay experience is similar to that of the original F-Zero title. Critics generally praised F-Zero X for its fast gameplay, abundance of courses and vehicles, track design, and maintaining a high framerate. However, the game has been widely criticized for its lack of graphical detail.
Gameplay:
F-Zero X is a futuristic racing video game where thirty pilots race on circuits inside plasma-powered hovercars in an intergalactic Grand Prix at speeds that can exceed 1000 km/h. The game can be used with a Rumble Pak, which allows for force feedback.
The tracks in the game include hills, loops, tunnels, corkscrews, and pipes.[13] Some courses have innate obstacles like dirt patches, tricky jumps, and tubes to navigate. The game introduces 26 new vehicles, and brings back the four from the original F-Zero game. Each has its own characteristics and performance abilities and before a race, the player is able to adjust a vehicle's balance between maximum acceleration and maximum top speed.
A normal race in F-Zero X consists of three laps around the track. Each machine has an energy meter, which serves two purposes. It is a measurement of the machine's health and is decreased, for example, when the machine hits another racer or the side of the track. If the player has a "spare machine"--the equivalent of an extra life--then falls off a track or runs out of energy, the race will be restarted. The game introduces the ability to attack the other racers by either utilizing a side or spin attack. Also, this is the first F-Zero game in which the player can boost after the first lap which greatly increases the vehicle's speed, but also drains its energy. Energy can be replenished by driving over recharge strips, called "Pit Zones", located at various points around the track. There are also dash plates around the track that give a speed boost without using up any energy.
The title does introduce a "death race" mode and a random track generator called the "X Cup". In the death race, the player's objective is to annihilate the 29 other racers as speedily as possible, while the X-Cup "creates" a different set of tracks each time played."
Source: Wikipedia, "F-Zero X," available under the CC-BY-SA License.