"This Fox Needs Change"

A wise man once said, “Practice makes perfect.” Agreeing with a statement such as that is rather risky, especially when it comes to a game that has stood trials before in which it failed. Taking a page from previous titles, Star Fox Assault combines both terrains in an attempt to introduce a fresh and unique experience to its players. Personally speaking, I haven't been fond of the series since the masterpiece that was released for the N64- unfortunately this title does little to help that. Theoretically, they are headed in a much better direction; they just have to correct some problems that have plagued it since its first incarnation on the Cube. Repetitiveness is chief among them, but other things do exist.

A sound story has never been the prime objective of the Star Fox Team-not until recently at least. Ever since Dinosaur Planet, it has been getting both longer and focused. That is good, just not in the way that they are attempting to accomplish it. It's been several years since the last climactic battle between the Star Fox Team and Andross occurred, and peace is finally starting to flourish once more. Only one problem-a new enemy has arrived to ruin it for everyone. Meet the apariods, a group of insect-like abominations that are scarily reminiscent of the Borg from Star Treck. These evil entities are bent on assimilating every being in the universe to their will, and they will stop at nothing to achieve this goal. I find this story to actually be more of a con than anything else, because to be quite honest I could have watched an episode of ST and it would have had the same effect.

Although it does leave a bad taste in my mouth, it isn't something that is hideous. You probably will enjoy it-it just didn't do it for me. It is nice to see that the series is going in a better direction; they just have to learn the tricks of the trade when it comes to writing. First off, it would have been nice if they decided to actually finish off what they started. Parts of the story felt underdeveloped, possibly left undone in some situations. If they truly want to impress the general public, then they have to find a way how to successfully integrate their ideas fluently. Secondly, don't just throw the player into something. I don't really care how much of a surprise you are trying to make-at least be sure it actually makes sense to the player. At some points of the story I was completely boggled with the decisions that they made, and it isn't good. Thankfully, they did manage to bring it home with an enjoyable ending.

Consequently, it probably would have been better for them to just ditch the entire focus of on-foot missions. In other words, just go back to what made you popular in the first place. People originally played the game for one reason and one reason alone-the vehicle missions were fun. Space battles were fast paced, land rover segments had a certain air to them, and to top it off they actually had a diverse array of areas to explore. We were lucky enough to see a glimpse of this glory once again-but only for half the game. Unfortunately for us, half of the time we have to take part in run of the mill “Fetch quests.” That's the title that they deserve, because in reality that is what it really is. On average, about a good 95% of the land based missions involve searching for something in the current level, with the rest pertaining to the rare vehicle segments. I even despised these, as it isn't actually helping out the game in any way. You simply are using that vehicle to accomplish your goal of finding something-which again pertains to fetch quests.

The other half though strongly reminds me of what this franchise can obtain. Stunning visuals, awesome control, excellent action-that's what I like. They didn't disappoint either, as the control in it is better than ever. The enemy selection seemed to take a hit unfortunately, but it can be overlooked. In fact, the boss battles alone make it worth the wait in most cases. At the end of each stage, you will generally be fighting a boss. These fights are a blast to play in, especially towards the latter half of the game. They generally have several phases, all tying into to something excellent at the end. Beyond that, the developers even decided to include a varying degree if level design. Forests, space, valleys-these all are included in this game. I'm really happy that I had a chance to play these missions; I just wish they decide in the future to stick with them fully.

Although many initially decided to mock the Cube when it came to the graphical abilities that it represented, they soon where quieted. Assault vividly showcases some of the best graphics that the system has to offer. Whether it be the leaves of a jungle or the debris flying through the air in space-everything works out wonderfully. The frame rate was beautifully maintained throughout the title as well. Lag is something that can plague a game horrendously, but they wisely decided to go against this issue and stamp it out. This was especially helpful in the multiplayer mode that made an appearance. Lag could have definitely been an issue with up to four players killing each other at one time. This ultimately saved the game in my opinion, as it would have definitely been destroyed had they not chosen to wisely maintain balance.

Something that truly irked me was the fact that the actual character portraits looked as though they had been through a pixilated device. They actually made the characters themselves look extremely unrealistic, and it definitely doesn't work with the rest of the scheme that was used. In the title that appeared for the N64, it worked because it was uniform with everything else-graphics weren't exactly the best back then. This isn't acceptable though with the current technology. Another thing that really got me was the fact that the tried to actually assimilate effects to the weapons. In the end, it made it actually look cheaper than it already was. If they could have made them fit in, then it would have looked better.

Consequently, I actually thought the music was excellent. Even though it heavily focused on repetition throughout, it worked because of the moments that were placed liberally throughout. Granted, there's nothing truly spectacular that will grab your attention, but it works to the point that it needs to in order for it to flourish. Similarly, I actually thought that the added sound effects to the different weapons and enemies were spot on. They couldn't have done better with the myriad of different prospects going on at once, and I'm proud of them for actually doing something correct for once. The only thing I'd truly change would have to be the repetition. Although it worked, it still could have made it so that there were some differentiating features between planets.

Even with that being said, it still isn't perfect. One big thing that I thought they truly messed up on would have to be the way they employed the actual voice-overs to the characters. This partially can be blamed on the graphics, but it truly still does reside here. The mouth flaps are way off, and it's not like it's just a momentary mishap every so often either-this happens continuously. They may have just wanted to keep that original style, but in the end it just doesn't match up with everything else that this game presented.

Whereas this game is worth some replay value, it still doesn't compensate for the extreme lack of play time that the game presents from the bat. To be quite honest, I wouldn't hazard a guess that you could complete this in a single weekend if you had the time. The max amount that I found the main game to last with replay would be around 15 hours. I may just be good at it, and I can understand if it takes you more time than it did me-but it still is short regardless. The multiplayer objectives can be quickly completed if you know how to spam matches, and the golden friend flags can all be obtained-on your first or second run. It isn't very family friendly either. Guns, blood-it's all there. Not only that, but I really don't think you even need a guide for this either. The official one isn't very good, and you could probably find the things you need online quicker than leafing through it due to its poor construction.

In short, I could have passed this game up and not really have cared. It has its ups and downs, just like everything else. In the future I'd really like them to get back to what made the game as popular as it was to begin with. Until it does, then I'm impartial to it.

Pros
+Excellent Visuals.
+Flying Levels are a Smashing Success.
+Music is great in Most Points.

Cons
+Fetch Quests Quickly Become Boring.
+Mouth Flaps are off.
+Short Play Time

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/30/07