Pros: Great graphics and sound, and insane speed.
Cons: The framerate can't quite catch up with the game's speed.
The bottom line: Ok, so it's not the most original game, but the gameplay is fast and frantic, which is what you should expect from a game in this genre.
It took me ahwile to get a hold of Extreme G since it's release in 1997 (I finally got it six months ago). Now I wonder why it took me so long to get this game, especially considering the other N64 bombs I had to soldier through.

XG is purely a racing game with a major influence from the WipeOut series. The objective is to go really fast, and keep opponents out of your way. As easy as it sounds, the gameplay is really fast, and the AI does not want you to win on higher difficulty levels.

Graphics: 8.8
The courses look great, especially for a first-generation N64 game. The pop up is pretty minimal, thanks to the fogging used on courses. The one drawback here is that the game's speed does not go so well with the framerate. It still has the appearance of high-speed, it just doesn't move smoothly.

Sound: 9.2
If you think the N64 isn't capable of pulling off good music, then maybe you should hear what this game has to offer. XG has some great original techno music, and it's pretty clear. Even with some of today's games, the music here is way better. The sound effects are great, but the explosions tend to get really loud.

Gameplay: 8.5
The play control could have been a little more refined. The cycles tend to be a little, how should we say ... heavy. They don't feel like the speedbikes in games like Moto Racer 2. The game plays pretty well, and is straigtforward. You have the choices of championship, single race or multiplayer. I wish the courses would have had names, though.

Replay Value: 8.0
Depending on how much you would play the game, it's hard to determine how long this game will last. I played it for about a week straight, and then just now and again gameplay. I haven't tried the multiplayer mode, so those of you who have extra people may be able to play this longer. I think replay value goes down due to repetiton in championships and only 12 courses.

Overall: 8.9
Extreme G is an N64 classic that is easily obtainable today for less than $10 used. If you haven't played it yet, or are just new to the N64 (poor you), XG is definitely worth a try. It'll make you look forward to XG3 on Gamecube even more.