"Fox McCloud returns to the skies...well for a little while at least."

So, with that oh-so "disappointing" Starfox Adventures being made for the GC, we now have a Starfox game closer to the old formulas. Sure, Fox does walk around a bit, and it still is for the majority of the game, but, well whaddya know, you can also jump in them Arwings we love so much. Course this is only on the "all-range" levels, but don't fret there are still "on-rail" levels..just not as much.

Gameplay: 8/10
The gameplay of Starfox Assault is more-or-less like Starfox 64. There are a mix of all-range stages and on-rail stages, that interchange within the story mode. Speaking of the story mode, this Starfox seems to actually have a story, but it's not a story where you can pick your own ending. Yup, that means that the branching paths from the previous "all on-rails" have disappeared. So you'll be travelling the same stages, in the same order, for many times to come. Of course, you don't always have to play story mode though, there is mission mode, which pretty much lets you play already-completed stages to earn more points, and there is survival which lets you go old-skool and forces you to beat the game without any saves, and just one complete run. You can also duke it out with three other humans in vs. mode.

Okay, back to the gameplay types. As I have said before, there are two gameplay types present, well actually, kind of three, but there are two main ones.

The first one, which is also the majority of the game, is the all-range gameplay. Yes, this means you are walking, driving, and flying in full 3D. However, most of the all-range stages in single player almost forces you to stay on-foot, which is kind of a drag because we all know the Arwing's where it's at. However, there are some points in some stages where they let you jump in an Arwing to rid the sky of flying enemies, or to take out a boss. Oh and I have to mention one thing about the Arwings:In Starfox Assault, they're friggin' slow as hell. Yes, even when you boost you will notice almost zero speed gain. *cough* Ahem, okay back to business. The Landmaster's are also back (which are tanks for all you non-Starfox oriented people), and are actually pretty useful in terms of mission-use. The second stage of the story mode has you fighting a boss in the Landmaster in all-range mode, but it works out. Also, all-range mode on-foot reveals a new aspect in terms of Starfox-interchangeable weapons. Yes, instead of just wielding a blaster pistol, you can pick up machine guns, homing launchers, gatlings, grenades, sensor bombs, and sniper rifles. Oh and yes, basically all of the weapons you can pick up in single player mode was just listed in the last sentence. But while you can interchange your weapons, you can actually take the whole on-foot stages with just your trusty blaster pistol. Yes, I have done this before. Whipping out your machine guns and spraying lead all over the place is as fun to me as the next guy, but the problem is they usually mix the weak enemies with the strong, so, initially, you'll just have to go back to your blaster pistol, charge it up for awhile, release the button and it'll be dead. Then if you're actually not lazy (not the case for me), you can return to your machine gun and continue to eradicate the remaining forces. However, that enemy you charge-blasted could've also been killed with a homing rocket. Which brings me to my next point: in all-range on-foot missions, you can kill virtually anything, with everything. So there is pretty much no weakness or resistance here, it just matters on your range, and what weapon you have out. Also, you find these "barrier" things that protect you from harm as your walking. I've never actually used one in single player, but then again, I've never played the stages on gold difficulty yet...

The second type, is the on-rails gameplay. This one, is closer to the roots of Starfox than the previous type of gameplay. For all of those uninformed, on-rails pretty much has you going on a set-path for the whole stage, and while you can control where you move on the screen, it doesn't affect your turning at all and you're still going to be going the way you have been for the past 5 times you've played it. Okay, so this gameplay is the one we've been yearning for ever since Adventures was announced. This, is the heart of Starfox. And I have to say, in Starfox Assault, the full 3 (yes, count 'em 3 out of 10) on-rail levels are probably the best in the game. You move up, down, left, and right, and press the A button, with the occasional barrel roll, loop, and tilt. There are none of that tricky stuff though, like tilting to get my two walls that leave a slit for you to fly through. Which brings me to my next point: the on-rails stages in Starfox Assault don't really test your hand-eye coordination like the one for SNES did. They're mostly action based with you jamming on the A button as you frantically move the cursor over an enemy. None of that "brake at the right time, boost at the right time" stuff anymore. Cause, like I mentioned awhile back, boost does crap for the Arwing in Assault. But, while there are no more of these type of things, Assault makes up for it in pure action, lasers come at you at an alarming rate in 2 of the 3 stages, and the first stage is one of the coolest experiences you'll feel as you see dozens of battleships floating in space as you soar between them. Good stuff good stuff. So why an 8 out of 10? Simple: Not enough of the on-rails stages.

Control: 8/10
The control in this game relies on 3 formats: Basic, Dual-stick, and R Button Run. So you can choose one to fit your needs. Here, I'll explain them for you, it might take a little while though so buckle up, but the main differences in the two revolve around the Landmaster and on-foot (which is called Pilot). Dual-stick is more like other 3rd person shooters, which has you looking with the C-Stick, running and strafing with the analog, and firing with the R button, while basic has you running and turning with the analog, holding R to aim, and using A to fire. R Button Run is more complicated, because you use the R shift to move forward, use A to shoot, and use the analog. Personally, I use Dual-Stick because if you stay still for one moment in this game (the case for aiming in the basic and r button run setups), you'll find you've lost half your health by the time your done in a heated firefight.

Graphics: 9/10
The graphics of Assault, I think, are gorgeous. It's not ful of detail, such as Halo 2 or Adventures, but the thing is, the environments of the stages are very well done, and the Arwing and Landmaster look incredibly sweet. In one stage, you're pitted up against maybe hundreds (they respawn and I don't wanna count) of enemies, and you don't experience ANY slowdown. Why is this impressive you say? Because of all them hundreds of enemies AND the incredibly large space station you're fighting around. Pretty good. So while the water in this game may not look like full water, and explosions look incredibly dull (up to a point where you can say "what explosions?"), the graphics are just stellar for a game like this.

Story: 7/10
Yes, I had to put a story grade in here, cause this Starfox actually has one. So basically, you're fighting against the remaining forces of Andross, then all of a sudden a bug thing attacks you, and you're on a story to find out what the hell it is. Woohoo. BUT this was a good story for a Starfox game that was supposed to be a Starfox game...if you get what I mean.

Sound: 10/10
I love music. But most importantly, I love music in games. Starfox Assault DELIVERS in this section. Orchestrated pieces, remixed versions of old songs, Assault was just perfect in terms of music for me. From the remixed version of Star Wolf's theme (which is unarguably one of the best done songs in the game), to the horribly executed Corneria City multiplayer stage (ugh...), more than a couple of the songs in Assault are memorable. Also, the songs really fit the mood of the stages, like while you are in the space section of the first stage, there's this "urgent"-like music that's playing because you're in the middle of a battle. Good stuff.

The other part of sound goes to the voice acting. This is one of the few games that I actually tolerated the voice acting. The script is actually pretty decent, and the voices match the characters. Slippy's girl voice is gone, and is now replaced by a lower pitched (but still high for a male) voice that fits him perfectly. Falco sometimes sounds like a New Yorker, but his voice still fits him when it doesn't make him sound like he's from the big apple. Krystal's voice actually sounds very...womanly if you know what I mean. It's adult-like, AND mature, which shows you her age. Fox's is okay too. While I would've loved the same voice as in Adventures, this one fits him as well. So, as you can see, I have no problem with the voice acting itself, just the script, which forces the characters to say some stupid things. But, they also say some things which fits their mood. For example Falco says "You've already got a bogey on your tail", while Slippy might say "I've get enemies behind me!". So the change from "bogey" to "enemies" makes a difference in terms of attitude differences.

Multiplayer: 8/10
Multiplayer seems to be the actual main focus of Assault. There are tons of unlockables that are unlocked via the number of multiplayer matches you play, and even playing the single player story mode unlocks multiplayer stages. Okay, so basically, you pick a stage, and depending on the stage and rules, you either play the whole stage on foot, in an arwing, or a mix of the two which usually throws in a Landmaster also. Oh and yeah, all the multiplayer stages are all-range (almost a "duh!" there).

Teams can be made via the number of players. With 3 players you can have either a FFA or 2vs.1, while with 4 players you can have either a FFA, 3vs.1, 2vs.2, or 2vs.1vs.1. Handicaps can also be made, but can only have a low handicap (slightly larger aiming cursor), high handicap (slightly larger aiming cursor and more damage being dished out), or no handicap. These actually DO make a difference though, because a person with a high handicap can kill other players with one fully-charged shot of the blaster pistol.

The multiplayer in this game is surprisingly pretty fun. For instance, in 2vs.2 fights, you and your teammate might decide to stick together. So you jump in a Landmaster and drive it, while your partner jumps on top and blasts anything that come behind you. But what if you're playing against 2 people that do this too? No fear, Starfox Assault's multiplayer is also pretty balanced. Vehicles are not overpowered, and CAN be made un-rideable with a few rockets. So if a person is in a Landmaster, whip out your homing launcher and teach him a lesson. Same goes for the Arwing.

Also, you can choose your character you can be in multiplayer. Yeah, doesn't sound very good, but there are actually differences in there stats. For example, Falco exceeds in using the Arwing, while Slippy exceeds in using the Landmaster, while Fox is balanced in everything, and Krystal gets 2 barriers after she dies. There are a couple more characters too, but I don't want to spoil them for you. But, to be honest, I really don't fully understand what "Arwing skill" and "Landmaster skill" is. But I'm guessing it's how much damage you dish out with that vehicle, and how well the control is with that vehicle.

Replayability: 7/10
After you receive all the medals for mission mode, and find all the flags, you'll pretty much be resorting to multiplayer to have fun with this game. However, that is not a problem, because the multiplayer, like I have mentioned before, is pretty fun. Most of the unlockables are found via multiplayer matches too, so that'll bring you back. But, all in all, story and mission mode isn't good enough for single player replayability, so if you don't have much friends (disappointingly), probably only rent this game.

Overall: 8.142857143/10...so we'll just round it to 8
Take your calculator, cause that's what I did. This game is leagues above average in my book, but so far from perfect it can't possibly earn a 9 and most certainly not a 10. While it lacks the extra-fun rail shooting stages, the multiplayer, good music, graphics, and surprisingly decent all-range stages are enough to warrant a rent...or buy. Yeah, I can't tell you how to spend your money, so you decide.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/25/05