Star Fox Assault

The Good
StarFox is one of most beloved of all the Nintendo franchises. The SNES and N64 versions of the game were amazing the Gamecube one sadly sucks.

The plot is typical of StarFox only more moronic. I won’t get into it here.

The Graphics are good. Hell they are amazing. Easily one of the games best features. Alas graphics do not make the game. This game really shows the power of the Gamecube. The multiplayer is fun. There are many different modes of play all of which are fun to play. If you have friends and multiple controllers, sadly there is no online component. If only the rest of the game was as well done as the multiplayer.

The Bad
The Gameplay is horrible. There are three types. Rail line shooting, in an Arwing. Free form shooting in an Arwing, and segments in which Fox goes on foot. The only one of these segments that is well done is the free fly ship mode. The rail line segments are lame, and the on foot missions are almost impossible. The controls are shit. And the objectives are often unclear. There are also regenerating bad guys. Why Nintendo?

The voice acting is horrendous. And the music and sound effects leave too much to be desired.

The Bottom Line
Overall I can not recommend this game. If you must have a Star Fox game get, StarFox Adventures. Or get this game cheap and just play the multiplayer. Why did Nintendo let Namco make this game? Namco can not even make there own games well. Shame on you Nintendo.

The Good
Very high production values and good to great cgi/graphics, which are great for such a button masher of a game. It is fun to "run and gun" in this game, and the weapons available are cool, the AI is fairly difficult, especially as you get deeper into the game.
There are lots of bonus items, i.e. Health, bombs, guns etc. so you don't have to waste too much time looking for anything you need.
Lots of crazy action, colour, chaos and fun.

The Bad
It's not a continuation of Star Fox: Adventures. I have to admit that the only other Star Fox game I played before this one was Star Fox: Adventures, which was a great game with lots of worlds and very open. I do understand that this one is more like the original concept so I am sure the fans of the original games will be happy. For what it is it is a fine and fun game, but it does suffer from repetition and mild boredom as the levels are really only giant shoot outs, with no real tactics, puzzles challenge other than to be the last one standing. The game also pulls you along at IT'S pace, not yours. You can not deviate and explore on the ground outside of the task set out for you. Some of the scenarios are so "busy" with enemies you really can't enjoy any of the surroundings. It plays like: 1...2...3....GO! and start shooting and don't stop till you win or you lose. There isn't any stealth involved whatsoever and the run and gun eventually gets a bit tedious. You play so fast you can't help but get the feeling you missed out on something, maybe there was something I missed? A really good weapon, perhaps? An upgrade for the ship maybe? This is also the problem with the space battles, to much on the screen and no chance to explore. Run and Gun.....yawn Because you are rushed to do the tasks in the allotted time, you also find you don't know were to go because you aren't given a chance to explore properly and finish the tasks by trial and error (and lots of lives!). It took me about 10 tries to realize that I am required to ENTER the buildings, and also to find the ELEVATORS which do not look like anything more than openings. It only adds to the boredom factor and is mildly frustrating.
The targeting is hard as you need to push 2 buttons and your toggle to aim, and it is 3/4 3rd person but turning Fox is a real chore. It's like steering a car on any racing game. You can't turn real sharp with Fox and you kind of have to back up and turn him around. You must get behind him to move forward. This is mildly irritating at first but you will get the hang of it, but it is challenging when running along narrow ledges, and you will fall off a lot! This is made worse when you fall from way up high and it was a very hard climb and you must now start all over again! Bottom line though, is that it is too rigid and confining, with limited story and depth.

The Bottom Line
A very well done shoot em up, but not very deep. The story has enough to set the stage for the battle. It is a pretty shoot em up with good production value. A fun time waster. No blood or gore so OK with the younger players, but very busy and complicated tasks/buildings etc. so maybe 10 and up?
Because of the 3 level difficulty settings it has lots of replay value, and is fun in a "best my score" way.
Fun in it's way, but forgettable.

The Good
This game finds the Star Fox universe fully realized with its wonderful graphics and character interaction. This game features a single player campaign that doesn't just consist of arwing combat, but also of landmaster and on-foot combat. These various styles of gameplay greatly facilitate variety and the game's ability to tell its story.

While Star Fox 64 introduced players to multiplayer, Star Fox Assault virtually perfects the experience. While it may seem unbalanced to be able to switch between arwings, landmasters, and on-foot combat at the same time, it works extremely well. The unlockables provided drive players to play with friends more and more.

The Bad
The single player campaign is pretty fun, but it's quite short. The game can be completed on the easiest difficulty in just a few hours. Perhaps it's not that the game is actually shorter than its predecessors, but the multiple styles of play distract from the series-staple of arwing combat. It felt like there were not nearly enough flying levels. Overall, the game's multiplayer aspect is much more appealing after a few hours than the short single player campaign.

The Bottom Line
A great addition to the Star Fox series after the stylistic departure of Star Fox Adventures just a few years earlier. If you are a fan of the series at all, this game is well worth it. If nothing else, the multiplayer will keep you playing for weeks and weeks.