Publisher - Acclaim
Developer - Probe
Platform - N64
Release Date - October 1998
Type - Racing

Development of Extreme-G 2 is speeding along as UK-based Probe is working feverishly on completing a playable version for E3. Although the sequel to the super-fast bike racer faces tough competition with WipeOut 64, F-Zero X, and another -- still secret -- competitor, the game promises a number of improvements that could leave the other games in the dust.

Bigger, better, smoother -- Acclaim says it will do everything to make the second XG an even cooler experience than the first one. For starters, Extreme-G 2 is currently slated for a 16MB (128 megabit) cartridge, that's twice the size than most racers available on the system. Where does all that space go?

Well, how about 35 tracks with day and night races and 16 bikes? Although the original wasn't stingy with tracks, Extreme-G is pushing the envelope to rival even Nintendo's own racing games. To make things more interesting, each track now also has multiple short-cuts that can only be found upon blasting holes in areas with powerful weapons. Speaking of which -- the weapon system has reportedly been revamped completely, with many new mines and projectiles added to the arsenal.

Like Acclaim's other major titles, Turok 2 and Forsaken, Extreme-G 2 is also endowed with sweet new lighting effects, including plenty of light-sourced glows and halos. Although it remains to be seen how much Probe can do, one of the major problems of the first one, the excessive fog, is also being "pushed back." Probe is reportedly also working on some techniques where the programmers super-impose sky textures toward the top of the screen while still preserving the depth of vision, so no more staring at brown walls of fog.

Here is a list of features, straight from Acclaim:

*Improved game engine running at twice the speed of the original
*More than 35 tracks
*Increased arsenal: Greater variety of secondary weapons and all new Maxi-Bolt primary weapon
*Smarter enemies: Biker gangs team up against you
*16 new vehicles with detailed characters
*Improved analog interface and bike handling
*Improved physics
*Battle Mode: Revised to include new arenas and vehicles
*Wider, longer, faster tracks
*Dynamic lighting: Weapon fire lights up the environments
*Environment mapping
*Picture-in-picture for rear view and missile cams
*Optional "hi-rez" mode planned (if Nintendo releases 4MB RAM upgrade)
*Dynamic 3D camera
*Mirror track mode
*Ghost racer: Race against your previous best time
*Races can be saved to memory paks