XGRA: Extreme G Racing Association

XGRA: Extreme G Racing Association is a futuristic, weapon-based racing game, similar to F-Zero and the WipEout franchises.

Overview

XGRA: Extreme G Racing Association is a racing game published and developed by the now-defunct Acclaim and is set in the year 2080. It features high-speed motorcycle races and vehicle-based weaponry, pitting racers against each other in a variety of futuristic environments. The game released originally, in North America, on the PlayStation 2 on September 11, 2003. It was subsequently released on the Xbox on September 17, 2003 and later on the GameCube on November 24, 2003.   

The premise for the game is that a high-speed racing sport, hosted by the Extreme-G Racing Association, has been taking place and gaining a large amount of popularity all over the world. In the year 2080, SiNN (The Sports Interactive News Network), announces it's new season of XGRA racing and is ready to televise it across the world. Dubbed the "Global Season Tour of 2080", racers will go head-to-head in what is said to be the most-viewed presentation on any television network.  

Gameplay

Similar to releases in the F-Zero and WipEout series, XGRA puts the player in control of motorcycle-like vehicles that can accelerate at exorbitantly-high speeds to the point of breaking the sound barrier. Also similar to the WipEout franchise is it's heavy focus on vehicular combat. Every bike has a variety of statistics and are all assigned one specific weapon type that can't be changed. Races take place in a host of different environments including mining facilities, arctic coves and even outer space. The bike physics are made to be extremely nimble, even at high speeds, and are magnetized to the ground (despite having rubber tires). This gives the bikes the inability to jump and allows for tracks to be extremely convoluted, featuring steep climbs followed by steeper drops, loops, twists and hard turns— all without the bike ever leaving the track.

Season 2080

XGRA's main mode is the Season 2080 mode. Here, players choose from a preset character and will race in an 'invitation' event hosted by SiNN. Winning this race will allow the player to choose a sponsor, one that will dictate which bike you will be controlling for the rest of the season.