"Better luck next time"

Star Fox: Assault is the latest installment in Nintendo's Star Fox series. This time around, the Star Fox team returns to their roots of strictly Arwing action--sort of. The levels shift between using vehicles and taking out the enemy on foot. Before this game came out, I thought it was a pretty good idea. I still think it's a good idea, but it was poorly executed in Star Fox: Assault. Continue reading if you want to know why. I will assign each part of the game an individual grade (ten being the highest, zero being the lowest), and then give the whole game an overall grade (not an average).

Story: 7/10
Even though the story is pretty basic, I have no complaints about it. The game begins with Andross' nephew, Andrew, trying to follow in his uncle's footsteps of taking over the Lylat System. Soon enough, he is taken out and a new adversary appears: the Aparoid race. They are much like the Borg from Star Trek, able to assimilate life forms and machines into their ranks. And only Star Fox team can destroy them.

Since this wouldn't fit better in any other category, I'll mention it here. The character transition didn't go well. What I mean is, the personalities of many of the characters changed from what they were in Star Fox and Star Fox 64. Andrew, who left Star Wolf team, was turned from a tough guy into a geek with a high-pitched voice. It seems he was made into more of a comedic relief instead of a violent enemy. Falco is now much nicer; he should be a smart-mouthed hothead. And what the Star Wolf team does is totally out of character. And towards the end of the game, you begin to see many plot holes. I must say though that Krystal replacing Peppy as a wing mate makes little sense, if any.

Gameplay: 3/10
This is the most important part of the game, and it really disappoints. The first thing you'll notice is the game's length. It is very short. There are ten levels. You can play through this game in at least two hours, if you watch every cutscene. That is just unacceptable for a Gamecube title. The worst part is that you cannot choose your path through the game like Star Fox or Star Fox 64. The next thing that you will notice is the difficulty. Even on the hard difficulty setting, there is nothing challenging about this game at all. Compare that to Star Fox and Star Fox 64, which had some tough parts, too many to list individually.

The main problem is the levels that take Fox out of the Arwing. Naturally, these out of Arwing levels are in All-Range mode. For those of you new to the series, All-Range mode is when you are limited to a specific area that you move around freely in. The other level type in the game is commonly known as a "rail" level. In these levels, you are constantly moving forward. For these levels, you are in the Arwing. The ground based All-Range mode levels make up a large portion of the game, but each time it's basically the same thing. You have to run around the area and destroy several targets. Fortunately, you have a wide assortment of weapons to use, including a rocket launcher, gatling gun, grenades, and a sniper rifle. The only other variety that is added to this is the environment you're in. When you are on foot, you will usually be joined by one of your wingmates, but don't count on them to actually do something; they're just for decoration. It seems the developers forgot to put an AI into them.

In most of the levels that you are on foot, you have the option of using the Landmaster tank. It does help you complete the levels more quickly, but it is not as fun to use as it was in Star Fox 64. First of all, the Landmaster tank is only available in all-range mode. All of the maneuvers in the Landmaster tank are still available, but you will rarely use them because they are way too slow to be of any use. In some All-Range mode levels, you will have access to the Arwing, but it's only there so you can take out the enemies in the sky that your wingmates apparently do not see, or even to help your wingmates, when they know that you are on the ground. I should also mention that in the All-Range mode stages where you have access to the two vehicles, they can both be destroyed--and quite easily at that. If that happens, Peppy is pretty quick to send you a replacement.

In the levels that you do get to use the Arwing for more than a few minutes are done quite well, except it feels like you are going VERY slow. The Arwing is supposed to be a high-performance fighter, but it does not feel like it. For some reason, the Arwing can come to a complete stop in All-Range mode levels if you hold the brake long enough. But the "rail" Arwing levels are fun; those problems mentioned are not too prevalent there.

Star Fox: Assault also introduces a new aspect of fighting in the air--wing riding. Not to give away too much to ruin the surprise, I'll just say that this part of the game consists of you standing on an NPC's fighter's wing while you shoot at enemies with a rapid fire cannon. It can be done in multi-player and is fun in the multi-player. But it makes no sense to have it in the single player, because you could do so much more damage if you were in your own Arwing. During these moments, Peppy seems to be asleep and therefore unable to send you an Arwing of your own.

The hit system doesn't make much sense this time. In Star Fox 64, it was nice and simple--kill multiple enemies with one shot and get a bonus. Now it is based on a combo system that gives you a random number of kills if you continue to take down consecutive enemies without taking much time in between. Also, the medals for getting a certain number of kills in each level have returned. They take a little skill to get in the "rail" levels, but in the ground based All-Range mode levels, you simply need the patience to stand around for an extra twenty minutes killing enemies. And the mini-game prize for earning medals in each level doesn't seem to be worth the effort.

The multi-player is more enjoyable than the single-player mode if you have some people that will play the game with you. You will probably be doing more fighting on the ground than in the air, because everything moves so slowly in the air. You can earn new items and levels for multiplayer by playing more matches.

This game has very low replay value. If you decide to go back to it after you beat it, it will probably be for the multi-player.

Graphics: 9/10
The graphics in this game definitely do show off the Gamecube's power. Everything is clear and sharp. Some things have a slight cel-shaded look to them, but it only occurs for a few brief moments in some of the levels. I did not notice any slowdown, even on some of the more detailed outer space stages. The only thing I don't like is the new look of the Arwing, but that doesn't take away from the impressive appearance of the rest of the game.

Sound: 5/10
To be perfectly frank, the voices in this game are atrocious. The only characters who sound tolerable are Fox, Wolf, and Panther. Slippy does not sound like a girl anymore, but now just sounds like someone who has been breathing in helium. Falco's voice makes him seem like less of the tough guy he is. Andrew and Pigma are by the far the most poorly done. Andrew sounds like a nerd who has not reached puberty, and has a squeaky voice. Pigma no longer sounds like the evil foe he once was. He now just sounds like an obese slob with a respiratory problem.

The music is not as inspiring as it was in Star Fox or Star fox 64, despite the fact that most of it is remixed Star Fox 64 music. For the most part, you don't even notice the music. The only tracks that stand out are the Katina music, the Star Wolf theme, and the Aparoid planet theme.

Overall: 4/10
This game just does not live up to the standards that Star Fox and Star Fox 64 set. It has its moments, but they are few and far between. I suggest you rent it first if you want to try it that much. You can probably experience all that this game has to offer during the time of one rental, unless you really like the multi-player.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 04/25/05