"A hybrid of 64's flight combat & Adventure's ground combat"

Star Fox Assault

Let's start us off by saying that this game is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. The Star Fox series has always been about shoot em-up fun. Star Fox 64 is by far the series' trademark. Being all about hopping in an Arwing and shooting bad guys was what Star Fox was. Then in 2002, Star Fox Adventures came out. At first, Adventures wasn't supposed to be even a Star Fox game, but it happened anyway. It replaced shooting with hacking, slashing, and puzzle solving. I personally thought it was a fantastic game, but not something Star Fox was noted for. Now, Nintendo teamed up with Namco to deliver a more classic Star Fox experience. But is it really worth it? Read on.....

Story 7/10

The story isn't anything special. At first, the story is about a rebellion created by Andross's cousin, Oikenny. It quickly turns on a different trail, though. Without spoiling anything, there is a race of machine-like bugs called Aparoids. These Aparoids are now trying to take control of the Lylat System. It is you're job as Star Fox to wipe them out. You team up with Peppy, Rob, Falco, Slippy, and Krystal to stop this Aparoid menace from taking over the universe.

Graphics 8/10

The graphics of Star Fox Assault are pretty good, but no where near as good as Adventures. Fox and his crew look pretty good, the Arwings and the Great Fox look great. There is a couple of bad textures on places like the Asteroid Belt, but otherwise it is a pretty great game graphic-wise.

Sound 7/10

You can describe the sound as, well, meh. The sound is okay and has it's fair share of catchy beats, but the musice never changes in one paticular level, so it gets a bit repetitive. The weapons sound pretty good, even though it is a little generic. I'll tell you one thing. If Namco had better music, it would have been much more exciting and energetic. Heck, even Adventures had better music, and it's music kind of stinks, too.

Gameplay 7/10

I bet you all are wondering why gameplay is an 7/10 for a Star Fox game. The flight combat is the fantastic part. It is basically ripped right out of Star Fox 64, which is a very good thing, not a bad thing. You got lasers, bombs, boosts, loops, and everything else from Star Fox 64. Then there's the ground combat. While it all sounds great on paper, with machine guns, rocket launchers, and tanks, it just feels downright cheap. Fox himself controls very strangley and using weapons while on the edge of a ledge will automatically aim the weapon up or down, which downright sucks. The Landmaster Tank is just a clumsy piece of crap. It's slow, big, and did I mention slow? Another heartbreak is allies needing your help. Allies in flight combat almost always need Fox's help to shake off an enemy or something, even Falco. They don't slow down, and often move in unpredictable ways and in front of walls. It makes you want to say, "Just do a damn loop!" Sometimes on all-range stages, an ally will need you're help shaking off an enemy when you're in a cave trying to destroy your target. It just sometimes get downright frustrating. The main campain is also pretty short, only lasting about 5-8 hours. And once you get good, you can finish the whole game in about 3 hours.

Multiplayer 9/10

Multiplayer is a saving grace in this game. While Landmasters are still clumsy and slow, the regular ground combat and Arwing combat make up for it. The aiming problem isn't such a big deal here, because you'll always be on the move rather than just standing in one place. The combat is fast and furious, and usually depends on who gets to the Arwing first. However, ther was one time when I was playing multiplayer when I hardly had any health left, was down to my last life, and my friend had an Arwing he was chasing me with. Well, I just pulled out the Homing Launcher and shot. For some reason, the Arwing blew up and I was able to take him on foot. Basically put, anything can happen in multiplayer.

Replayability 9/10

Assault is made for maximum replayability. There are many unlockables in multiplayer, and if you manage to get all silver medals in single-player, you can unlock Xevious foir the NES. And of course, you'll want to replay the flying missions to get a higher score, too. Some strange people may want to replay the ground missions too, but I don't no why.

Overall 8/10

Star Fox Assault is a good game. Namco did a great job bringing back the flying sequences and multiplayer, while they could have spent more time on ground combat. If you're a fan of Star Fox even in the slightest form, you owe yourself to at least rent this game. Just be prepared to get though the not-so-hot parts to get to the good stuff. Do a loop, baby!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/11/05