Star Fox Assault (Nintendo GameCube, 2005)

Before I start badmouthing the game, a little praise, the story is very deep, the multiplayer is awesome, and the controls are very nice, thats about all the praise I could think of. The story is pretty good but I will always prefer the choose your own destiny feel of Starfox 64, rather then a set storyline for the game. They butchered alot of classic characters such as Andrew from Starfox 64. Not only do they kill him off in the first 5 minutes of the game, but they gave him a crappy and undignified last name Oikony. What kind of baby talk is that? I would have preffered just Andrew! Plus a starfox game where andross or his horde of ape fighters are missing... well its just not really a Starfox game. The voice actors suck and sound more like robots then people. I preffered the old voices from Starfox 64, sure slippys new voice makes him alot more definable as a guy but what happened to the personality? Let me just say, if you thought your allies gave you to much advice in 64, you will loathe them in this. 2 seconds dont go by where peppy doesnt say somthing like "Aim for its core!" or "Dodge it you nitwit!". Plus when you get shot down, the scene is less then spectacular, plus the rest of the team doesnt even seem to care that their leader just got blown to smithereens. Starwolf, I loved the old dog fights with them where you tried to shoot them all down before they took down you and your teamates but they no longer have that! And why do General Pepper and Pigma have no pupils? Did they go blind between this game and starfox 64 or something or were the designers just lazy? Further more this whole briefing screen ending to each mission... Where is the fun in that? I preffered in starfox 64 where they had a victory march playing in the background and showed the starfox team flying away after a personality filled and humorous briefing on the status of the team, "See my ship! Does it look okay to you!" Being able to get out of your ship and walk around, its cool, if you dont mind having about 40 enemies gunning for you at once! There are to many foot enemies and way to few health items. Lvl 3 is almost impossible on silver (medium) difficulty! Overall a subpar game, if you are a diehard fan of the starfox series, or one who loves to blow his friend out of the sky in multiplayer dogfights this may be the game for you. If not, I would think twice.

The Star Fox franchise has always been a staple to any Nintendo console, but unfortunately it has been the same basic setup every time. This game, albeit executed excellently, reminds me of its N64- and SNES-based counterparts more than I had wanted.

When you begin playing the game, it starts off in a giant assault on Oikonny's space armada. This is another rehash of Star Fox 64's Area 6; one rehash in a long line of them. The only change in most of the levels are the foot-based versions, where you can also get in a tank or aircraft and take off to help your friends in the skies.

As a shooter, it's extremely awesome. The controls are uniform throughout, making everything a big "move and shoot" adventure. Having this type of fast-paced action in foot-based missions makes the game more enjoyable. Also, there is a hit counter on the top right of the screen that gives you extra hit bonuses for defeating enemies in multiples of ten. You also get hit bonuses for clearing the level quickly, and there are special conditions to meet in each level that unlocks extras in the multiplayer modes.

The multiplayer modes play the same as the original story, but it isn't entirely exciting until you complete the hidden requirements. Despite the fact that the voice acting is bad and most of the levels are nothing but improved rehashes of older levels, Star Fox Assault is an enthralling fast-paced action/shooter. In this, it pulls off its intentions flawlessly.

The Star Fox saga has left dock and shot off into the cosmos. Only this time, it departed without much improvement over its predecessors. The lack of originality begins in the story department, where the Cornerian government has once again called upon the Star Fox team to save the Lylat System from menacing aliens. The usual lot characters join the fight, including Fox McCloud, Slippy Toad, Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare and General Pepper. This time around, Peppy Hare stays on the sidelines as an advisor while Krystal (from Star Fox Adventures) takes his place in the cockpit. Rob, an analysis droid, updates you on your mission status during the game. All the characters act as they've always acted, and don't really do anything other than say humous quips before, during and after missions.

Pros:

For old school Starfox fans this is a great game. It brings back the fun flying levels from the original games with new better looking graphics and sound. It has what made Starfox fun in the first place, flying around shooting enemies, dodging asteroids, performing aerial acrobatics, etc.

The controls are solid in the Arwing as well as on foot and in the land master.

There are different medals to earn in each level depending on you skill level as well as a fun multi-player mode.

The story is fun and origonal and surprisingly deep and surprising at times.

Unlike Starfox Adventures which failed miserably at have adventure outside the Arwing this game actually makes running around shooting enemies on foot a lot of fun.

There's a special mini game and other unlockables to be earned for beating the game and performing well.

Cons: The one real flaw with the game is that it is terribly short. If it had the multiple routes that Starfox 64 had it could have lengthened the game quite a bit. But to be honest you can probably beat this in just a few short hours.

Also finding your teammates to help them can be a pain at times because your map could definitely be more accurate.

Also power ups are definitely fewer than they used to be.

Though a short gaming experience there's still plenty of fun to be had with this game. Ultimately the game is a must play for true Starfox fans. Not only does it adequately wash away the bad taste that Starfox Adventures left in all our mouths but it gives hope for what can be accomplished when they eventually come up with a new Starfox for the Wii.

Final Grade: B-

I bought the game for my 9 year old son, he just loves it. We play it together sometimes (and I am in my late 40s) and he can also play in solo mode.

It is easy to learn to use, and you can also just play together in an area without actually fighting. Just fly around in the aircraft and enjoy it! We have made up our own games where he is putting me through training (as he is much better at this game than I am).

This game is more fun than some of the Game Cube games available. It does not get boring and you can really challenge yourself through the different levels of the game.

I would certainly recommend this game to anyone.