F-Zero GX has been a long time in coming, and now it just seems like a normal game. But it's not a normal game at all and if someone had told you about it three years ago you would have laughed long and hard.

Descended from an arcade platform co-developed between Nintendo, Namco and Sega, this is a key Nintendo IP, running on the GameCube, developed largely by a high-profile Sega developer.

It's a racing game, the latest in the acclaimed F-Zero series that needs no introduction. And it's really, really fast.

Imagine if Road Runner were to breed with Speedy Gonzales. Then that child was genetically engineered with a rogue Billy Whizz DNA strand. Then fed only nitrous oxide and equipped with a turbo-charged jet engine. Multiply how fast that is by a trillion and you're not even halfway towards understanding how fast F-Zero GX is.

The game is a true evolution of the series, and combines the wondrous sprawling 3D world found in the Nintendo 64 classic F-Zero X with up-to-date GameCube sparkiness and something very, very special indeed.

That something is the creative genius that is Toshihiro Nagoshi, development director at Sega. Having invented 3D gaming with his bare hands, creating in the main as he did the seminal Sega Model 1 arcade board and Monkey Ball, his leading franchise - alongside Daytona - has been shelved until now. Nagoshi has been working flat out with Amusement Vision on a game franchise of which he is a lifelong fan.

The new game is massive, complete with 20 courses and 30 pilots. Broken down into Time Attack, Grand Prix and versus modes, a new story mode augments what has proven time and time again to be a winning racing formula. Captain Falcon predictably takes centre stage in a massive and pretty engaging plot, taking place over nine chapters.

Indeed, story mode is more than a gameplay diversion and evolves into a specific training mode that will see players forced to perform certain manoeuvres and master techniques. Story mode is designed to make you a more complete racer and it works brilliantly.

The scope of F-Zero has been hugely expanded from the somewhat closed offerings of the past. Racers can now be customised to an unbelievable extent, with the complete garage mode included in the game. This offers everything form customisable liveries in the decal-editing suite to specific parts to adjust the handling and performance of each ship. Gran Turismo in space. Perfect!

Add to this a multiplayer mode that offers four-player split screen mode, with individual player recognition, with no slowdown or noticeable graphical degradation, even when pushed to the absolute limits of what should be possible, and you'll find that F-Zero GX offers one of the most complete and visually stunning racing games the world has ever seen.

Also, did we mention that it's very, very fast? Oh yes we did. You have been warned.