Nice Ideas, but a little rough around the edges.
The 2002 release of Starfox Adventures marked the first Starfox game for Nintendo's 128-bit console. The reaction from fans was mixed. Some loved it, some hated it. But everyone agreed that they wanted a 'true' Starfox game to come out. When Starfox 2 was shown for the first time at E3 2003, the game got a less than warm reception. It was in the very early stages of development and just didn't look or play very well. Still, it assured fans that there was a new Starfox game being made, and for many, that was enough. After several delays and a name change, Starfox: Assault has arrived in stores.
Set five years after the events of Starfox Adventures, Assault opens with the Cornerian space fleet engaged with the remnant forces of Andross' army. This armada is being led by Andross' nephew Andrew Oikonny. The Cornerian army, feeling they have the upper hand, commits to an all out assault, only to be surprised by Oikonny's Stealth squadron. Starfox is called in to assist. This sets up the first level of the game; an Arwing flight stage that feels like it was taken straight out of Starfox 64. The game quickly shifts its focus though, from Oikonny to an alien race known as the Aperoids. These are the main baddies you'll be dealing with throughout the majority of the game.
Starfox: Assault combines two different styles of gameplay. It features rail-shooting and free-roaming, third-person action. The rail sections are easily the best parts of the game. They borrow heavily form the previous games in the series. The mechanics you'd expect to see, like flying through power rings while shooting down swarms of enemy fighters, are all faithfully reproduced. These stages offer a very simple play style, but one that is extremely satisfying.
Where the game slips a bit is its attempt to bring in ground-based combat. These missions typically have you trying to destroy a set number of main targets, while other minor targets keep spawning in after a set time frame. This ensures that there's always something nearby to shoot at, but it can be rather frustrating when you're looking for that one last main target and you have to go through a swarm of grunt Aperoids to get to it. I
n most of the ground based missions, you'll have the ability to use the LandMaster tank. It's a slow moving vehicle but it packs a lot of firepower. Some enemies can't be killed by Fox on foot, so you'll need to use the LandMaster for these situations. It can also blow open some doors and destroy some barriers that block your path. If all else fails, you can just run over the Aperoids that get in your way. The Arwing is also sometimes available to use. Its usefulness on ground based targets depends on how comfortable one is with using the U-Turn move. Some stages have you racing against the Might Gauge, a meter at the upper left corner of your screen. This meter gradually fills up as more and more enemies enter the area, and depletes as you kill off key targets. This adds a bit of tension to the game, and that sense of urgency that you need to move your tail and get things done. Ultimately, this leads to a nice sense of accomplishment when you complete one of these areas.
At the end of each level is a big boss fight. Some of these happen in the air, some on the ground. Every boss has a specific pattern which they never deviate from. Beating them is just a matter of figuring out how they attack and then lighting them up once their weak point is exposed. The first boss for example will try to strike your ship with his hands then pause and open his palms. After taking a few hits, he'll start the pattern over again.
You'll have to save your teammates when they get into trouble. This happens a lot. In the rail flying stages it isn't such a big deal since they'll fly right in front of you, but in these free-roaming stages they seem to do the exact opposite. It's not uncommon to get a call for help from Slippy, Krystal or even Falco, and have to chase them down half the map just to help them. They also make no attempt to help each other, either. This might have worked back in 1997 with Starfox 64, but this is 2005 and you'd expect your teammate AI to at least be competent enough to know when someone is in need of help and take it upon themselves to help the distressed arthropod out.
The single player portion is quite short and over far too quickly. It should take roughly six to seven hours to complete the game, depending on your pacing throughout the missions. Once you complete the game once, you unlock a Survival mode. In this mode you're goal is to get through the game without saving. After you've become familiar enough with the missions to be able to complete them with few to no deaths, this mode is a nice touch. There is also a Mission mode available, which is very straightforward: Pick a mission and go for the highest score you can.
Starfox: Assault also offers a multiplayer component. It's all split-screen on the same console though. This kind of game could have been a lot of fun online, but Nintendo apparently doesn't see it that way. At the very least a system-link mode would have
been a welcome addition. You're limited to straight two- to four-player deathmatch and team deathmatch games on a handful of maps with only the four principal Starfox team members selectable at the start. This is a shame, since there is quite a bit of multiplayer content to unlock. There are several new modes, maps, characters, weapons and items available, but all of them are locked out of the box. That's a bit of a disappointment since there is quite a good bit of multiplayer fun that can be had with this game. You just have to work for it. The control problems of the single player portion of the game make multiplayer a bit uneven at times as well. If another player gets behind you and has a good weapon on them, it's almost guaranteed that they'll get the kill before you even have a chance to turn around. Of course, this would be more of an annoyance if the other players didn't have the same disadvantage.
The visuals are a bit of a mixed bag as well. For the most part, the game looks great and runs at a solid framerate. The character models have a decent amount of detail to them. Though Fox doesn't look quite a good as he did in Starfox Adventures, he still moves fluidly enough. There are the occasional framerate hiccups and less-than-spectacular-looking textures, particularly on the on-foot levels, but this is offset by some nice environmental effects. One planet in particular has you navigating through a blizzard where blowing snow makes it impossible to see more than a few yards ahead of you. Overall, it's a pretty game.
Keeping with the Starfox 64 feel, Assault lifts much of its musical score from the previous game, but re-mastered it for the GameCube. This isn't really a bad thing, since the original soundtrack for Starfox 64 was quite good. The sound effects are probably the weakest part of the whole audio package. The same explosion sounds are used over and over again, and some of the weapons don't sound like they're all that powerful. The charge shot of Fox's pistol sounds awfully weak, for instance.
The voice acting is decent. The dialog is cheesy at times, though it does have some high points. One nice touch was the voice work for one of the new characters. Panther is, as you might guess, a panther. His voice has a bit of a growl to it which fits very well with the big cat he's based on. The biggest change is that Slippy no longer sounds like a girl, so those of you who were annoyed by his voice in the previous games can relax now.
While it isn't the landmark game that many were hoping for, it is a step in the right direction for the series. Despite the game's flaws, there is still an enjoyable play experience to be had here. Starfox: Assault is much like the mercenary group it stars. It's a little rough around the edges, but it's good where it counts.
