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| Star Fox Assault Reviewed by Pirate Yoshi Over-view: In the beginning, there was straight-forward flying and lasers. Alright, so that's not entirely true, but for the world of Star Fox, it is. Little forest creatures in an elite fighting team, piloting sci-fi spacecrafts and soaring through the depths of space with a like-minded teammate or two flying alongside, just to keep things from getting hairy (animal pun). Then, with the GameCube's first Star Fox title, Fox McCloud and his fuzzy crew of furries got their chance to edxperience a genre of game quite unlike anything they had yet experienced: an on-foot adventure title, full of Zelda-like combo-based combat, item-hunting, and puzzle-solving. Unfortunately for McCloud, his out-of-ship experience left a rotten taste in many mouths, and Nintendo was quick to place him back in the cockpit to cover up the blunders of Star Fox Adventures. Finally, however, a formula has been reached--a formula for picking out the positive aspects of on-the-ground action, and the pluses to keeping our furry hero in his ship. This formula's name is Star Fox Assault. Graphics: 9.3/10 Star Fox Assault is full of many strongpoints, so it doesn't seem fair to immediately talk up how big a boost it gets from its animation department. That said, however, this is a truly remarkable and stunning achievement for game graphics. The characters are detailed and seem full of life. The environments are lush, vivid, and flavorful. The cutscenes are fluid and gorgeous. Heck, even the menus and status bars are eye-candy! Of course, that's not to say that some improvements aren't possible, but such matters are pretty small cake, compared to the brilliance this catagory reflects. Sound: 9.6/10 I can say, without any guilt or fear of exaggeration, that the score to Star Fox Assault rivals that of movie composer John Williams...if it doesn't completely overtake some of Williams's scores. Assault's fantastic soundtrack ranges from classic Star Fox tunes returning to awesome remixes, and even adds some incredibly terrific original songs and melodies. The music is completely fantastic, and even though I personally don't enjoy listening to some songs so much, ALL the game's music fits extraordinarily well once in context, during a level. I'd rant more about the awesomeness of the music, but it's time to hit on the change in voice acting. Some of the voices sound similar and have some spark to them still--as a fan of the older Fox voices (check out Star Fox Pole Vault for proof), I was very skeptical about many of the voice changes. However, I got adjusted to and became a fan of the voice acting for certain characters--specifically, Fox and Slippy. Meanwhile, however, there were other voices that I despised right away, and still do: General Pepper, Peppy Hare, and Krystal. Falco's voice was decently neutral, although his slight accident from past games was missed. Controls: 9/10 There's really not a whole lot that can go wrong in this catagory, because Assault comes with three pre-arranged control settings, for the gamer who *just doesn't like* the default option. All three settings differ substantially, and, therefore, can be very hard to adjust between. The only real complaints to be had are with some of the more technical matters, such as aiming your weapon while on the move. Also, rolling seems "sticky" at times, like your command just doesn't get through to your character until the fourth try. "Looping" in your Arwing can also be a pain, since you're not always *permitted* to accomplish one, it seems--the game seemed very particular about how often I could loop, and under what circumstances. But, I degress; Assault proves to have very solid controls, with some clever alternate schemes for the unaverage gamer to use instead. Replay: 8.8/10 A lot of people will argue with me: there's endless replay to be had, or there's barely any! In my humble opinion, neither of these arguements are at all accurate. I'd like to take a minute to glance over what Assault has to offer: a points-system for high-scores, plenty of unlockables, three difficulties, a multiplayer mode, and 8 secret flags to be obtained in each level (good luck with that one!). How can that NOT be enough replay? Simple, because it's all too repetitive, and--particular to the secret flags--too challenging! I don't like to sound like a whiner, but when you can't even SEE all the flags, and have to fire at random things you'd never notice otherwise, it becomes not fun, but burdensome instead: a downright chore, one that most gamers will never accomplish! Why go to so much trouble for as nasty a challenge as this? The mainstream of gamers really don't care if they find all 8 of your freaking little flags in each level, Namco, so you might want to place them a little bit more OBVIOUSLY next time, so that gamers can actually INTENTIONALLY go after them, collect them, *perhaps* accomplish it, and feel good about themselves. That said, however, Assault isn't totally missing out on Replay, either--the multiplayer mode gives the game a nice kick, and the levels are fun, with the high score mentallity really driving players along back through the same course over and over again, hoping to master the secrets and come out untouched by the barrage of danger they've encountered. Gameplay: 9.1/10 In some ways, Assault has a near-miss in this catagory; had some of the missions been mixed up a little bit more with objectives (i.e. not felt like a "fly here, shoot this, run there, don't die" sort of game), it may have scored very close to perfect. On the opposite side of the coin, however, Fox's latest romp really made a drastic comeback and a notable victory from where it stood not-so-very-long ago. Considering it was the unfortunate title to trail the release of Star Fox Adventures, many fans were doubting how well McCloud and company could do on a second GCN title, but Assault really picked up from a fast start and kept the action in a whirlwind of excitement and fun. As a game, Star Fox Assault definitely delivers the joys at a high rate of speed and a constant feeling of climax-acceleration. In plain, un-flowered English, of course, it all translates to a very brilliant showing for Fox McCloud, particularly following up such a weak performance in Adventures. Well done, Fox--your mission is complete! **Story: .7/1 Oh, such a strong attempt by Namco to deliver a compelling story and a fantastic quest for gamers to undertake. And yet, they failed... Or did they? The "aparoid" story of attacking swarm-like, virus-like SPACE CRITTERS seems very cliche and overused--after all, it's become a commonplace event when little mind-sucking machine monsters take control over hardware and its operators to use them for the swarm's evil will, usually something having to do with universal domination--but, it's still unexpected, even when it seems we should've been watching for it a while ago. And, the fact that it was pretty well-written, at least for an over-used, continually-declining plot, forces me to dish some extra credit out to the Namco team responsible. Just...pick some other name next time, Namco, besides a name that sounds like 'thyroid'. I'm easily confused. **Multiplayer: .8/1 In some ways, I feel very guilty, not giving Fox and company a full multiplayer bonus point. It might be because I'm extremely bad at Assault's deathmatches, and therefore, have grown to dislike everything about multiplayer. Or, perhaps it's partially due to the lack of fast-paced excitement and non-stop action that other titles, like Super Smash Brothers Melee and Time Splitters 2, have always given me. Perhaps I'm just spoiled, but even a Mario Party or Mario Kart title keeps me more intensely active and hell-bent on destroying other players than Assault. My inability to actually "score a point" or "win" could very well have soured my taste, though, so don't rule out the merit to multiplayer; it's a novelty, but still something far from being a standalone side of Assault. Graphics: 9.3/10 Sound: 9.6/10 Controls: 9/10 Replay: 8.8/10 Gameplay: 9.1/10 **Story: .7/1 **Multiplayer: .8/1 Total Calculated Score: 9.46 Total Assigned Score: 9 Final Score: 9.23 Last Words: Star Fox Assault is definitely worth a rental, particularly if you're a fan of the series. It's quirky, fun, and intense, but it's rather short, and doesn't offer you much variety--best for the hardcore gamer who refuses to submit to achieving a so-so score. In total, Assault is a very solid game, and it definitely fits in with the long-standing crowd of other Nintendo heavy-weight titles. Rent, Buy, or Pass: Be sure to rent Assault before you go spending you hard-earned cash on it; this one could make your eyes water from glee, or make them water with frustration that you wasted fifty bucks on it. Chances are, you'll either love Assault, or get your fill (and extra) just from your rental, and save yourself a chunk of cash. Pros: Great level-design and graphics, intense action and loads of fun! Cons: Very repetitive in objectives, the voices change too much in this series, and more levels (even at expense of length!) are needed... Needed: Crazier multiplayer mode, with, for instance, weapon select, more chaotic levels, and easier kills (less constant guns-blazing for a KO) |