Infogrames' 3D adventure lets you run away from home to join the circus, without losing your inheritance.Starshot is the cosmic juggler of Space Circus, a nomadic troupe of entertainers that can barely scrape up enough money to struggle from one planet to the next. As you help the charismatic juggler discover new attractions and entertainers, you'll overcome obstacles and solve puzzles in some of the most colorful environments in the galaxy.
To dig their way out of debt and sell more tickets than their big-budgeted rivals in Virtua Circus, Starshot and Space Circus must explore Seven Planets and interact with over 300 characters along the way.
The visual impact of Starshot: Space Circus Fever is not worthy of the center ring, but Infogrames has done a fine job of giving the game the look and feel of a cartoon. Surreal environments are bathed in bright color, and a wacky cast of robotic characters sets a comedic tone full of futuristic folly.
The game's engine can spray the screen with 10 characters and 50,000 polygons at once. Judging by Starshot: Space Circus Fever's super-smooth "cartoon skin," a good portion of the resources are reserved to make the star of the show look great. Starshot: Space Circus Fever's smooth animation and mischievous demeanor make him one of the most appealing adventure heroes on the system. Other characters and elements of the environment appear flat and polygonal, which might hurt ticket sales at the Space Circus.
Not only is Starshot the celebrity juggler of Space Circus, but he's also its chief recruiter and a saboteur of the competition as well. When Starshot is teleported to a planet you are generally only given a vague idea of your mission objectives, which can involve anything from hitting switches to outsmarting marine life. This freedom will appeal to experienced gamers, but the nonlinear gameplay will leave novice players wondering what they should do next.
As Space Circus's jack-of-all-trades, Starshot is equipped with much more than juggling skills. Normally he uses his Starcrusher power to control the comets and juggle stars, but in a fix he can turn it into a powerful weapon. Collecting Blue Bonuses gives him the ammunition to blast raging robots.
Starshot is forever followed by his trusty robotic pals, Willfall and Willfly. Willfall uses his immense knowledge of intergalactic protocol to talk his way out of jams, and Willfly is a tiny rocket that can fly Starshot if it is fueled by Yellow Bonuses. By tapping the A Button twice, Starshot will hold onto Willfly and the rocket will drag him through the air in an original gameplay element.
Players have complete control of the camera's position during gameplay, with the ability to move it in a full circle around Starshot. It can be angled to any position, and can zoom in and out to extreme distances.
This type of camera control is a vast improvement over 3D games with limited control of the view, but unfortunately constant camera manipulation is required to get a decent look at the action. Why is it that entertainers are always camera hogs?
Starshot: Space Circus Fever's off-the-wall humor and quirky characters give this circus a definite leg up on the competition. Players will most likely have to replay planets to earn the items necessary to reach the final level (Earth), which gives adequate depth to the game's seven levels.
This game's bizarre approach to the genre forces it to adopt dangerously juggle unintuitive gameplay, but fans of 3D adventure games will be kicking themselves if they miss this circus when it comes to town.
Contributed by Evil Ryu (32201) on Jul 14, 2006.
