AeroGauge

AeroGauge is a cyber racing game in the vein of the Wipeout and F-Zero series, where the racers fly in Aero Machines on tracks consisting of banked turns, bridges, hills, spiraling tunnels, and alternate routes.[4][5][6] There are four modes (a four-race grand prix, a single match, a time trial, and a two-player vs. mode) that can be played from a choice from six tracks, four of which are already unlocked and have varying levels of difficulty (the beginner Dug Rug, an ocean-themed level, the neon-colored China-themed Chinoispolis, and the metropolis Earth Cream Circuit for experts).[5] All of them are playable at three different difficulty settings, which only determines the speed of the vehicles.[7] In grand prix and single match, the player races with seven computer opponents.[8][9]

AeroGauge features 10 Aero Machines, five of which are available from the start.[6] Each of the vehicles is rated based on speed (maximum air speed), steering (turning capability), accele (acceleration), aero limit (speed needed to get airborne), shield (endurance), and stability (gripping power).[6] The white, old-school Mitia is the weakest car, Fusaha has the quickest descending and floating, Zero has the greatest handling, the orange Gazpecs is the fastest, and Interceptor has good movement ability and is meant for begineers.[4] An N64 controller is also usable as a vehicle, although must be unlocked.[3] An Aero Machine can move up to 186 miles per hour and have its position from the bottom changed, allowing for alternate routes at different ground levels.[4][6] The hovercraft also has a damage meter that increases when it collides with rocks and walls, and each course has a pitstop to re-charge.[6][8] Most Aero Machines have flats for turning tight corners. A button combo is used to activate turbo boosts, which can only be done when getting out of corners.[6]

AeroGauge was presented at the 1997 Nintendo Space World event.[10] In North America, the game's release date was changed several times. It was initially set for February 1998 by November 1997 before moving to early January the follow month.[10][11] On March 17, 1998, it was delayed to April 2, then to May 21, 1998 a day later as a result of manufacturing issues.[10][12][13]

AeroGauge was met with universally mediocre reviews from professional critics.[14] They almost unanimously compared AeroGauge unfavorably to other cyber racers such as the Wipeout games and AeroGauge's contemporary Extreme-G, recommending those waiting for F-Zero X, Wipeout 64, and Extreme-G 2 to have Extreme-G as their holdover title.[lower-alpha 1] Critics found the game same-y, dull, and lacking depth; even a positive Game Players review described it as nothing more than "an enjoyable, but pretty standard racer" with little replay value.[17][19][20][8] At best, N64 Pro acclaimed it as "a brilliant racing game that gets your adrenaline rushing", highlight how rapid the speed was in comparison to other racers that had been released on the Nintendo 64.[7] At worst, Computer and Video Games (CVG) called it "an appalling racer that would be an insult to any machine", and N64 Magazine categorized it as a combination of the worst elements of all previous racing games.[16][22]

Criticisms included were the extreme pop up, the absence of weapons, upgrades, and power-ups, the limited amount of tracks, the dull and lackluster techno music and sound effects, the learning curve for maneuvers such as power slides and turbo boosts, and AI opponents which race so flawlessly that even a single mistake is enough to cost the player all chance of victory.[lower-alpha 2] Positive comments were generally towards the sense of speed, smooth and realistic hovercraft physics, the responsiveness of the controls, and the vehicle and track design, such as the use of flaps on the vehicles and the incorporation of spirals, tunnels and fast routes for the player to search in the courses.[lower-alpha 3] The only publication to contract from the game's consensus about the speed and tightness of the controls was GameSpot.[3]

Next Generation felt the vehicles were too "clunky" and "may not fly with fans of more realistic sci-fi design", and CVG faulted their designs as "atrocious" for fast hovercrafts moving around tight corners.[16][9]

AllGame noted how the elevation of the hovercrafts changed by holding up or down on the joystick, which went against natural instinct of holding up to move forward.[15] GameSpot and IGN unfavorably described the sound as from the 16-bit era, and GameSpot and EGM panned the music as "grating" and "horribly synthesized".[17][3][5] More favorably, one of EGM' reviewers, Shawn Smith, found the music catchy, and Nintendo Power said it "keeps you pumped".[17][24]

• AeroGauge at MobyGames