Star Fox Assault - A hardcore gamer does a barrel roll
There will always be the media's backlash to games that take a while to come out, and then once they're actually out the door, are below expectations. The Star Fox license has never been about absolute perfection, but more about pure action that is so repetitive it's actually fun to go back and play through again, encouraging replayability like never before. Star Fox Adventures was a very different deperature from the series, one that many fans of the Fox simply weren't ready to accept, since it was more akin to that of a Zelda adventure than the traditional formula of going through levels in a ship and blasting the crap out of anything that might so much as breathe.
Star Fox Assault returns to the roots of the Star Fox formula, but still manages to include more ground 'missions' than Star Fox 64, which is considered the absolute pinnacle of the Star Fox license. Does it compare?
In a word, no.
But that's being unfair. Put simply, Star Fox 64 was developed by the best development team on the planet, Nintendo's own internal R&D division, so you can't expect a third party (however good) to rise up to those impossible standards. Nintendo concocted an amazing and replayable masterpiece with it's Nintendo 64 shooter, and though Namco is famous for its shooter games, they're in a different league and genre entirely, often providing too simulation like for something as simple as Star Fox. Many people expect sequels to be superior to their prequels, but that's not always the case. As is with movies, new ideas are tried, and some, but not all, work.
What you should keep in mind when playing Star Fox Assault is that at the root of itself, it is an arcade game. In a matter of hours, three at most, you will have beaten this game. Don't expect all the pizazz of games that have been mega hyped to oblivion, because you won't find any of that here. At its core, the objective is to annihilate all that stands in your path and destroy all of the enemy "generators", which therefore meets your objective. It's mindless and simple fun unless you're trying to earn enough points for medals, in which case a little strategy is involved, and that's really all you're going to find here, so don't expect a life altering experience.
You deviate between two modes of play; the Arwing levels and on foot levels (which include a tank more often than not). Both methods are perfectly acceptable, and in each case you have objectives to meet, which include blowing a lot of stuff up most of the time. There are two different kinds of Arwing (a jet, basically) levels available; they are On-Rail missions and All Range missions (both taking queues from Star Fox 64). In most All Range missions, you may land your Arwing at any time in most flat areas and proceed to engage the enemy via on foot assault, hence the name of the game.
The Arwing On Rail missions are one hell of a lot of fun. Most of the time there are so many enemies that they fill the entire screen, and you're there with your thumb tapping that A Button to blast them all so much that it's only really a matter of time before you get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The levels are really unpredictable, one minute you're going through an asteroid field for instance, and the next you're vertically scaling an abandoned base's wall. The real advantage of these missions is that the general route is unpredictable. It's breath taking, but there simply aren't enough of these missions. The next game had better include more of these stellar levels, because that's all we really want.
The core gameplay of the game is pretty much on foot. It's Fox, on foot with a blaster, against literally thousands of insects (called Aparoids) and you've got the choice of a healthy selection of different weapons to choose from, each varying greatly in the amount of damage they produce. A charged blaster shot is about on par with a single rocket fired from the Homing Launcher, for instance. The Sniper Rifle is insanely powerful, and can kill pretty much anything with a single shot. There are other weapons, including a machine gun, grenades and proximity mines as well. Each level mainly concentrates on the destruction of enemy "generators" or bases, if you will. Once that's accomplished, the boss appears and you elevate to a vehicle and destroy it. A formula that works.
The control of these on foot missions are acceptable enough. New age gamers may gripe about how crappy the controls are, but I say let them. There are three different play control customizations, the first reminding me strongly of Jet Force Gemini's default set up (this is the method I play with), the second using a Dual Stick configuration much like TimeSplitters and other current First Person Shooter games, and the third a very strange format of pressing down the right shoulder button to run. The response time in each is adequate enough so that deaths don't feel cheap, and if you die, it's because of your general lack of skill and not because an enemy "cheaped" you into dying.
Replayists can go back into levels they've already completed and run through on a higher difficulty setting (trust me, Gold will give anybody a run for their money) trying to collect medals for unlockables used in multiplayer and just in terms of general satisfaction. The formula is basically keeping your score up as you kill enemies, never straying for long in dealing out the carnage lest the combo be broken. For every ten enemies you kill, you receive an extra amount of points that nearly double every time you achieve it. It's the key to smoothly getting high scores and achieving or surpassing the medal quota. The Arwing missions are practically the same, but you receieve even more bonus points for annihilating entire squadrons of enemies (do it with a charge shot for even more points) or, say, destroying individual parts of an enemy before destroying it completely. It's a heck of a lot of fun, if you're into playing over and over again looking for the ultimate high score.
The tried and true Star Fox formula still applies, where your wing mates will undoubtedly be ambushed by a squad of enemies in every mission, and it'll be up to you to save their hides. Doing so will net you appreciated rewards, especially on the higher difficulties where they'll give you Health right when you need it the most. People always seem to complain that your wingmates don't seem to do anything, but truthfully, in a game where you're trying to get as many points as you can, why would you want the computer to defeat enemies for you, so you get no points? It's all about practice. Star Fox games have always placed you as the hero. I don't understand why people have trouble seeing that.
The story is quick to the point, and while more narrative might have fleshed out the plot a little (General Pepper simply not saying WE KNOW and explaining in a more in depth consensus when Fox asked him how he knew what an aparoid was, for instance) it's still appreciated for being there. For once, Andross isn't a center of the story, and in fact, apart from a small in game joke directed his way, he is practically non existent. The inclusion of Star Wolf (noticeably absent from Adventures) only adds icing on the cake. I won't spoil anything, but I will say that it's the strongest story a Star Fox game has had, and compared to Adventures, that's saying something. This is a story of love, loss, death and deceipt. As said before, it's quick and to the point; perhaps its only flaw.
Presentation
It's easy to get to what you want to do using the Main Menus. It's got that Nintendo feel of simplicity, so there's no fear of getting lost in endless menus. It's easy to find your objectives on your radar, when your wingmates are in trouble there'll be little arrows on the sides of your television screen indicating in which direction they're calling from, and cycling through your weapons is a simple task of flipping the C Stick repeatedly. My only real complaint here is that there's no Retry option for levels, meaning you have to go back to the Main Menu if you want to start a level over. Very annoying when going for high scores. Also, why not include the option for changing weapons in the pause screen for single player?
Graphics
Nowhere near as defined as most of 2005's titles. Case in point, you won't be impressed playing this after you've played Resident Evil 4; but they're well suited for the universe the game has set itself in. The frame rate is silky smooth and there's never any slow down. Every level has a different look, and some of them are even beautiful. Character models are what you would expect of furries, but I wouldn't have minded different expressions for the radio monitor. The enemies look grotesque, which is the point, and the machinery looks sleek and defined. Awesome.
Sound
Without a doubt, the weakest area of the game. Compared to Star Fox 64, a game that released nearly eight years ago, it's unforgivable. The Arwing makes no noise when ramming into something and instead "bounces" backwards. Very weird. When boosting, there's a sound like a broken fan running on overdrive. Can you imagine the whirring noise? The same sound bit is used when looping or executing a U Turn, a very big disappointment when compared to the Nintendo 64 version. The radio doesn't even make a static noise when opened anymore, either. I really miss that sound effect. There's no more repetitive sound that plays when your Arwing is severly damaged (no more WHOOOOP WHOOOOP WHOOOP).
The voice actors are fine. I have no problems with the voice acting, and dare I say I've gotten used to Slippy's high pitched castrated grunts. The best voices used are probably Krystal's and Falco's however, it must be said. Try to cover your ears through that first level when Oikonny squeezes his nuts and yells over the radio; his voice is mortifying!
Create an Account
Member Login
