Grabbing the “F-Zero GX” box off the store shelf, one can feel the nostalgia and tradition that has taken place in the “F-Zero” series.

The series has a rich history in the video game world, dating back more than a decade. On Aug. 1, 1991, the world greeted “F-Zero,” the first installment in the series of three. The following two games haven’t swayed too far from the foundation set by the first.

“F-Zero GX” is basically a carbon copy of the Nintendo 64 title, but with more features, including an in-depth story mode and better graphics.

The game stars Captain Falcon, the fearsome bounty hunter known best perhaps from his appearance on the hit game, “Super Smash Brothers.” The story mode puts Captain Falcon, the immensely popular defending F-Zero Grand Prix champion and notorious hunter of villains, against Black Shadow, the king of all evil and owner of the galaxy’s most feared racing vehicle, the Black Bull.

Black Shadow’s mission involves not only outracing Captain Falcon, but somehow killing him in the process. To make things easier for himself, Black Shadow clones Captain Falcon to get his evil twin, Blood Falcon.

The soundtrack, the game’s most improved element, features upbeat, high-energy music for every track. Each racer even has his or her own taste in music and a theme song that best fits his or her style.

As players progress in the story line, they earn points with which to buy the next chapter of the story or one of many unlockable racers. Altogether, there are 30 characters, each with a unique history and personality.

Another way to gain points is through racing in Grand Prix mode. There, you face all 30 opponents as you weave through the course and hit every corner with blazing speed.

Players can race in three different classes, each one more of a challenge than the last. The game contains 20 different courses on which gamers can test their reflexes or lack thereof.

Each course is set in a different spot in the universe and is filled with boost power-ups, sharp corners and of course, the clutter from the racing machines.

Frustration occurs after the first chapter in story mode. You must race against Samurai Gorah on his home track set in a ravine plagued by never-ending rock slides.

The faster you drive, the more difficult it becomes to maneuver your moon-man vehicle around the falling rocks. And, of course, Gorah himself has no trouble avoiding each and every falling boulder.

This element takes the fun out of story mode. It becomes almost impossible to win, and therefore the gamer finds him or herself racing in Grand Prix mode several times just to get enough racing points to unlock characters.

The coolest feature that has been added is the element of being able to create your own racer and recruiting your favorite driver to pilot it. Each set of points buys the gamer parts for his or her racer. With enough points, one is able to concoct the ultra-durable, ultra-fast racer and destroy all 29 opponents.

Perhaps the most enjoyable part of the N-64 “F-Zero” is battle mode, where players duke it out with all of their opponents. It is basically a race against time to see how many opponents can be eliminated in the least amount of time.

Those previously unaware of the series might not be turned on to this game and hardcore fans could be turned off by the difficulty of story mode and the absence of battle mode from the previous game.