When i think of XGRA, the first thing that comes to mind are the tracks.  Sprawling accross every corner of the planet and beyond, the tracks are rendered beautifully and uniquely varied.  Besides racing on Earth, players will race on Mars and on a deep space station.
     For the most part, one race will run accross different terrain types and track architecture.  From loops and corkscrews to the frosty climate of Antarctica and the gorgeous waterfalls of Southeast Asia.  Racers will even find themselves speeding through underwater tubes and along the nuclear wasteland of the Amazon (the game is set in 2080 afterall).
    Enough with the tracks - what do i race in ?!?!
    The vehicles of the game are futuristic motorcycles.  Each cycle comes with a primary weapon and secondary weapons that can be picked up during a race.  The primary weapon can be upgraded mid-race by killing off other racers.  There are a total of 8 bikes to choose from plus 1 unlockable.
    In addition to winning, each race has a "contract" the player can complete.  These "contracts" are offered by the racer's sponsors.  Completed "contracts" together with high race finishes result in sponsors rewarding the player.  The rewards can range from better bikes to race, to new tracks for the arcade mode, to game concept art.  Racers can switch sponsors several times during a season.
    The racing season is separated into 5 classes:  Invitation, Sub Sonic, Sonic, Super Sonic, and Ultra Sonic.  These can be considered difficulty levels as each poses tougher challenges than the prior.
    The music in XGRA is quite a nice mixture of Techno and Rock.  It sounds great through a stereo system.  The voices for each character are also done fairly well.  The guys that introduce each race are quite comical and enthusiastic.  They remind me a bit of Vic Romano and Kenny Blankenship.  I will let you figure out who they are ...  A missing option is letting the player listen to any musical track at any given time.
    The one graphical hitch I found were the cut scenes.  They actually seem out of place.  Not only do they not offer any information, but they totally lack in energy.  I may get some flack for this; but, I would have actually liked some Full Motion Video cut scenes.  I am going to start a movement to bring back the FMV.  Who's with me ?!
    In my case, XGRA was a tremendous value.  I got it on EBAY brand new for $2.02 plus shipping.  If you can find it for $15.00 or less, I xtremely highly recommend getting it.

score = 7 / 10

- bman