The Quadrangle

Issue date: 2/23/05 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Over a decade ago, the world was introduced to a brash group of pilots, ready to defend the Lylat system from the threat of the evil monkey tyrant known as Andross. These aerial fighters were known as StarFox. It is hard to believe that a game that once utilized the Super FX chip could still be around with even more surprises than before.

Fox McCloud and his team have been through some interesting times over the years. Star Fox 64, which was arguably one of the best games for the Nintendo 64 platform, took us through the Lylat system-whether it was land, sea, or air. From there, Fox and Falco took a break from their escapades to make a debut appearance on Gamecube in the smash hit Super Smash Bros. Melee. Star Fox fans clamored for more of their fearsome foursome of the skies. Nintendo, however, had something much different in mind for the Star Fox team. Enter Star Fox Adventures, a game that features Fox in the lead role with almost no help from his comrades Peppy, Slippy, and Falco. For the most part Fox did not even have his trusty Arwing or Landmaster at his side; it was rather a third person shooter similar to Metroid Prime. While it was a very good game, it was not what the Star Fox franchise was built upon.

Now 2005, Fox takes to the skies with Slippy, Falco, and Krystal with Peppy and General Pepper guiding them from the Great Fox airship in the new game Star Fox Assault. The game offers three modes of play: Mission, Survival, and Versus mode. The mission mode is very much like the story mode in Star Fox 64, being called in by General Pepper defending Corneria from evil alien invaders. From there it is up to Fox and his crew to travel to the home planet of the Aparoids and destroy them. There are some interesting plot twists along the way as well as few unexpected allies, but all in all, the story mode is a lot of fun. The planet-based missions are much different from the previous Star Fox games, which is a welcome change. Starting the level Fox is on foot and can either completes the mission completely on foot or a Landmaster/Arwing can be used. Another added feature to the land based missions is the Might Gauge, which shows how many enemies are in the skies going after your team. If the Gauge gets too high you must abandon what you are doing and go back to save your squad or the mission will fail.

Once the Story mode is over and done with, I highly suggest finding some friends and get in the multiplayer mode. From one to four players, you can choose either individual battle or a team co-op. There are many levels to choose from. Most of the levels can be played throughout story mode, which is a positive because the levels are quite intricate. Also, the Landmaster and Arwing on foot battle can be used in most of the stages.

While Star Fox Assault may lack much of the originality that was present in the first two Star Fox games it still quite fun to play. It accomplishes what Star Fox was always intended, a fun shooter game that can be beaten in under 5 hours.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools