Star Fox Adventures

The Good
From it's lush colourful worlds, to it's fun and perplexing puzzles it is one fun game.
There are lots of things to do, lots of worlds to explore, puzzles to solve and tons of hidden items and upgrades!
The worlds are large, the bad guys are everywhere and it's a cute enough game to appeal to anyone from 10 and up.
Even when you beat the game, it is so large that you forget how you beat it and that makes for a fun replay value.
While not exactly "cheating", a great feature of this game is asking you pal "Slippy" for help. Because of the size of the worlds and the complexity of your tasks, it is easy to forget what you need to do or go. He'll remind you what you need to do. This is great for younger players who may get confused and disoriented, and us OLDER players who are senile!! LOL

The Bad
One aspect that was very boring was buying things at the stores. You had to buy everything individually. Even if you were planning on buying, say, 5 fuel cells, you have to buy them all one at a time. This means listening to the shop keeper over and over...."You pay,,,,this much!", "OK, I'll sell it to you!"..... What they should have done is allow for multiple purchase. "How many?" etc. This aspect of the game really slows it down and is irritating.
Also, the map system is ok, (PDA tool) but the maps could have been just a bit more detailed. After a while you don't really use them, as the lack of detail and small size makes them marginally useful. They'll give you a general idea of where you are, but only enough to allow you to orient yourself if you a bit lost.

The Bottom Line
This game has something for everyone. Shoot 'em up, space craft flying/shooting, one on one fighting, lots of puzzle solving, and it's all wrapped up in a nice colourful package. It's not so violent as to be a major concern to parents, but not so wimpy it's a dull snooze fest. No blood or gore, just smacking or shooting with a staff.
It's fun, it's engaging and has a great story. Isn't that what you want in a game, afterall?