Star Fox: Assault

Star Fox Assault for the Nintendo Gamecube was a worthy addition to the series. The graphics and music are outstanding and the voice acting is mostly improved from previous titles. There are some minor quibbles to make. The game could stand to be a bit longer and the on-foot controls could be better (turning around while on foot is an agonizingly slow process, especially in the multi-player). Still, the game provides fast action and lots of variety. The last mission in particular is incredibly intense; pure Star Fox.

The best part of the game may be the plot and character development. The telepathic Krystal adds a fantastical element to the science fiction. Her relationship with Fox McCloud is developed (one wonders why a character like Fox, who has killed thousands of people/creatures in battle, acts so embarrassed when confronted with the issue of romance).

Also of note is the relationship of Fox (an orphan) with several de facto father-figures. He becomes very protective of his aging mentor Peppy Hare. Fox also has a strange relationship with Wolf O'Donnell. The older Wolf claims to hate Fox, yet repeatedly saves him. While not exactly on good terms with Wolf, Fox has some level of admiration for him and takes his advice to heart. It reminded me of the relationship between Amsterdam and Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York (right down to Wolf's missing eye).

Finally new villains are introduced, the Aparoids. They are partly- mechanical insects. Many have compared them to the Borg from Star Trek, but I feel they owe at least as much to the Formics (or "Buggers") from Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Either way, they are a distinctly non-mammalian form of life, and as such inspire a fearful reaction.

A great gaming experience overall, I highly recommend it.

Another game that I played after playing Star Fox Adventures is Star Fox Assault. Like every Star Fox game this has Space shooting in fighting enemies. Of course this game does not forget the one of the most popular vixen in the Star Fox franchise Krystal.

Like always the shooting in the game remain pretty good. I get to maneuver around, shoot enemy ships and even fight bosses. I almost broke my hand in fighting bosses too.

As for the land combat I can finally get to play Fox by using his blaster. Although the controls here in the game felt a bit odd Unlike the shooter games today because how I controlled Fox looked more I am controlling a droid on wheels. And let me tell you that the enemies are tough than I remembered which really convinces me to use the other weapons in the game like the machine guns, grenades, rocket launchers and including the vehicles like Archwing and Landrover which in land combat it can used as vehicles.

The game's campaign mode just felt to short to complete. It only took an afternoon to completed it. And even in the multiplayer the unlockables are too long to complete because it does not really go online mode.

If they plan on making another Star Fox game I would not mind getting another sequel or remakes that can actually go online mode.

Lylatwars (Star Fox 64 for you US one-way readers) was one of my favorite game on the N64, and since 1997 I have been waiting desperately for a sequel, In 2002 I got Star Fox Adventures, Which was NOT Star Fox in the least, It was an Adventure game not a 3D Space shooter like Lylatwars was. Then this came at first I was exited thinking it was too good to be true.

Now I realised it WAS too good to be true here are 10 things I was disappointed with in this game:

10: They ruined the Landmaster tank, It can no longer rapid fire, and is harder to control 9: The Multiplayer does not have any CPU controlled players or extra enemies, (If it did It would have extended the life of the game) 8: Not enough missions (only 10, Lylatwars had 16, and you could choose different paths) 7. Peppy isn't a pilot anymore 6. The collisions are not as responsive as they were in LW 5. Would it have killed Namco to give Star Wolf a 4th member? 4. You can't damage your teammates yourself now. 3. Focuses too much on ground based missions (which is NOT true Star Fox style) 2. You Can't carry over power-ups (like bombs) to the next mission anymore. 1. The Game focuses too much on the changing storyline (Who cares about the storyline, Those are for Movies and RPG's not 3D Space Shooters 0: The Game is over too quickly.

I'm biased because StarFox Assault was the game that I bought since moving into my apartment five years ago. I was nervous being out on my own, alone this time, and as a celebration I bought this game. A lot of people hated it, but I loved it. Not only did it help me through some rough times and being scared of the loneliness, it was still a great game to boot.

Since Nintendo rightfully sold their developer Rare to the rather gullible Microsoft, they handed the project over to Namco; a company most famous for the Pac-Man series. Namco and Nintendo had a good relationship going, even handling works like Mario Kart GP for the arcade (which, for some reason, was never brought to the States)and taking over this: StarFox Assault.

Namco took on the project while maintaining the spirit of the franchise (a la flying the Arwing) to also mixing things up like on foot missions and piloting the Landmaster (Starfox's version of a tank). The controls work quite well, and the different planets you are taken to are all very interesting and colorful. The only real problem Namco was creating was there were more on foot missions than actual Arwing levels, and when there are Arwing levels, they are oddly abrupt. This contributed to a lot of the backlash from the fans of the series, even though I personally thought the experience was fun overall, regardless.

The story took a different turn, as well. The game begins by confronting a relative of series mainstay bad guy, Andross, but is quickly diminished after the first level, and instead focusing on a new enemy, The Aparoids. Fans complained about this too, and I don't see why because it's good to see Fox and his crew go after something different. It makes the galaxy bigger if there is a new threat to the team. It all leads to satisfying ending, with a hope that the developers will continue the franchise on the Nintendo Wii.

If anything, the fans certainly can't complain about the music. It's well orchestrated and easy on the ears. I love the first level music, but my favorite has to go down to, of all things, the briefing music. I listen to that one a lot. It's a very beautiful score and under-appreciated beneath the shell of a much reviled game.

I love this game. As of this writing, there hasn't been any word for a Starfox game for any platform, which is a shame. Starfox Assault was probably the best franchise game to come out on the Gamecube's lifespan, and this includes titles like Wind Waker and Super Mario Sunshine. Hopefully Nintendo is considering on resurrecting Fox and his crew in the same vein as Starfox Assault, only this time incorporating more Arwing levels.

I bought that game as my 3rd on Gamecube,and i still think that it's very cool.I played Star Fox 64 earlier,but Assault is the best Star Fox game in my opinion,now.Of course,it's short and sometimes it seems very hard,but multi player is cool and i really enjoy it(of course it's too bad there'e s no computer players,but that's not important).It's too bad Peppy is no longer a pilot.but i can't imagine a 50-year-old pilot;).Tough missions are rather short(except the Aparoid Homeworld)they're really cool-looking.Music rocks as well,especially on Orbital gate or Theme of Star Wolf.I don't really care what others think,i say that-STAR FOX:ASSAULT RULESSSS!