GameCube

Star Fox Assault

Star Fox: Assault returns Fox McCloud and team to its aerial roots in this totally addicting action/space-shooter reminiscent of the classic Star Fox 64. This game features some of the best graphics ever seen on the GameCube and an over-the-top orchestrated score that gives new meaning to the word “epic.” The only thing restraining Assault from being a blockbuster title is the lack of online play and extremely short story mode.

Overall, Assault has its ups and downs, but it's easily one of the best hybrid shooters available for the Cube. It doesn't do any one thing excessively well, but rather strikes a good balance between the two genres it wants to straddle. For those of us who watched the opening polygon demo back in 1992 and thought, "This is what games are going to look like in ten years", it's a bit frustrating to be denied a straight rail shooter yet again; but in the meantime, it manages to be a well-deserved return to what made Star Fox fun.

"Starfox Assault" is a great follow-up game to 'Starfox Adventures'. It features great graphic candy and pushes the GameCube to its limits. Sound and effects are decent and some of the original tunes will certainly put a smile on your face. There are 10 levels and we regret that Namco hasn't included more Arwing missions in Assault. Perhaps in the next Starfox game? Assault features a pretty good Multiplayer bit too but is only fun if you play with more then 2 together. For myself, I had a blast with "Starfox Assault" and I love every bit of it!

Still, Star Fox: Assault certainly delivers. There are tons of missions if you go at it alone, and the multiplayer competitions are ripe with fun. Star Fox's gratifying gameplay makes you know that this is one star that still shines on any Nintendo system.

Star Fox: Assault has its moments, though it often feels like a missed opportunity. While Namco can hardly be blamed for not wanting to remake Star Fox 64, it's where Assault deviates from its space-shooting roots that it begins to fly off the rails. The ground-based missions aren't terrible, but they aren't as good as the highly entertaining aerial missions, and they do happen to make up half the game. Overall, Star Fox: Assault is a game worth playing. It may have its blemishes, but it can also be a lot of fun, and you'll likely enjoy what it has to offer.

Voilà un jeu qui revient de loin. Malgré un développement chaotique, Starfox Assault peut finalement relever la tête dans une version finale qui permettra aux fans de retrouver les sensations originelles de la série. Bien que trop court et comportant des phases à pied parfois confuses, ce titre ne démérite pas comparé à un Star Wars : Rebel Strike qui souffre des mêmes défauts. Vous auriez tort de ne pas tenter l'expérience.

If your nostrils don’t flare up from the stench of burnt fox hair that the gameplay produces, and your brain doesn’t devolve to the size of a peanut to cope with a story so elementary that only a caveman could embrace it, then your eyes will tear up over the realization that this series has essentially become a big, fat parody of itself. Star Fox was once heralded as the pinnacle of space combat, but it has since been sucked into the black hole of video game mediocrity.

Star Fox: Assault is a great example of a "good" game. The not-so-good parts (the foot missions) aren't bad enough to weigh the entire package down, but the excellent bits (the flying chunks) just aren't enough to counter the rest. It's been a while since I've seen a game that's more perfectly suited for a rental than this one. GameCube owners should definitely check it out and have some fun with it, but I won't blame you if you don't want to add it to your library.

The original Star Fox introduced a new breed of space shooter to consoles. On the SNES, Star Fox ushered a new level of graphics and action through the Super FX Chip, which helped create shaded polygons and texture mapping. The added boost in visual technology, along with excellent overall design, made Star Fox an instant classic. Years later, the sequel appeared on the N64. It delivered the same brand of intergalactic action, only with several notable additions, namely free-roaming stages and ground battles using a tank.

Fuchs, du hast den Spaß gestohlen... Die Rückkehr zu den Action-Wurzeln in allen Ehren - was Namco allerdings bei "Star Fox Assault" mit dem Gros der Landeinsätze abliefert, kommt über biederes Durchschnittsniveau nicht hinaus. Auch bei den Mehrspieler-Missionen hapert's: an Übersichtlichkeit und in puncto Leveldesign. Was den Sternenfuchs letztlich vor der Spielspaß-Tollwut bewahrt, sind die netten Weltraum-Ballereien. Hübsche Explosionen, viele animierte Objekte sowie teils originelle Zwischen- und Endbosse machen kurzfristig Laune. Zum Schluss ein neunmalkluger Rat eines Videospiel-Kritikers: Bitte beim nächsten "Star Fox" auf ödes Rumgelaufe verzichten und Nintendo wieder die Entwicklung übernehmen lassen!

If somehow this review hasn't already convinced you to think twice before adding Star Fox: Assault to your collection -- well, don't say we didn't warn you. It isn't that the game is particularly offensive or janky. On the contrary, the game is just competent enough to give us a glimpse of what Star Fox: Assault could have been in more capable hands.

If it was ten solid levels of proper Star Fox space combat delivered with the same degree of glorious detail and a challenge that rose from the promising double boss-fight climax of the second section to the kind of crescendo Star Fox reached at its peak then they would fit like silk gloves. But whereas reaching the latter stages of Star Fox with diminishing life reserves really did feel like flying into the jaws of death, reaching the latter stages of Star Fox: Assault feels like getting to the end of a Saturday morning cartoon. Maybe it's made you smile a few times, but you've not been pushed, and it's not been pushing itself either. Play Starwing again instead.

Star Fox Assault is a real mess, and reviewing it was a hardship. The endless text in the cut-scenes sets a new standard for boredom, and even the four-player split-screen modes elicited yawns from my friends. The best part of the game is its awesome explosions. Occasionally you'll be able to save your friends by shooting enemies on their tail, and this harkens back to better days for the series. Assault is a great title to pick up - if you want to gain a new appreciation for your old SNES and Nintendo 64 Star Fox games.