Jet Force Gemini

"Rare blow our minds once again..."

Jet Force Gemini is yet another N64 game by those masters of Twycross,Rare. After experiencing such delights as 'Goldeneye','Donkey Kong 64','Banjo-Kazooie','Diddy Kong Racing' and 'Blast Corps' (and later 'Perfect Dark','Conker's Bad Fur Day' and 'Banjo-Tooie'),I was expecting great things from this game. Did I get them,you ask? Did I,Daddy-O...

Love at first sight

After purchasing this game from a 'friendly' cashier at 'Electronics Boutique' (''would you prefer to pre-order a Playstation 2 instead of buying games for the N64,what with it being dead in the water...oh dear,what fools we are-the N64 is far superior...'')I raced home. As my trembling hands placed the cart into my beloved Nintendo,I switched on the television as a tremendous musical score belted out,accompanied by Juno running on screen. Nice graphics,I thought. Excellent surround sound. Yeah,there are six save files. I think I'll enjoy this game. I'll just play the multiplayer to get warmed up for the solo-player...

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?

Ugh. My hopes were dashed after playing the multiplayer for five minutes. After the undeniable goodness of Goldeneye's frenetic four-player mode,this came as a bit of a shock. Yes,there are several options,and racing games can be unlocked later,as well as further multiplayer levels,and many characters to choose from,but it's just so painfully average. The arena designs aren't very special,and the weapons on offer aren't exactly inspiring-why aren't they fully customisable? There aren't many game types on battle mode,and few arenas to play in,and most of the characters don't seem to make a difference to how you play. The split-screen obviously detracts more from your view on a third-person shooter than on a first-person shooter,and the radar is not very helpful. Health and ammo are far too plentiful,meaning kills are few and far between,and it just hasn't got that 'special touch'.

So,what about the other multiplayer modes? Well,the target range with its two,yes,two,shooting ranges is pitiful and boring-it consists of a first-person view sweeping through a level,with you swinging your cursor around to shoot pop-up drones,with Tribals to try and trick you-you ain't supposed to shoot them,see? It gets repetitive,very,very quickly. Last is the racing mode-the top-down view racers are far two easy and the tracks are small and scarce,with only two of them. The one 3-D track,where you race with hovering vehicles,gives you the feeling of having being tagged onto the game at the end,just to add a little more depth. It is like a track on 'Diddy Kong',but without the challenge or depth.

OH RARE, YOU SPOIL US YOU REALLY DO...

So,having vented my spleen over the lacklustre multiplayer,you'd be forgiven for thinking that the one-player game is nothing special. How more wrong could you be? From the moment you pick it up,you'll realise how good it is.However.being the grumpy young man that I am,let me get the faults out of the way first.

There are few faults,and you'll get used to them to such an extent that they cease to be noticed,but they might annoy you at first. The controls might seem awkward at first,with the jump and duck buttons in unfamiliar places,and the way the joystick is used to control which way you look and the C-buttons for movement when you hold the R button down to aim may be confusing to those who aren't used to these Turok-style controls,but you'll find how brilliant this system is,as is the fact your character becomes transparent when you go to aim,so it is easier to kill enemies who might otherwise be blocked from sight by your body. The charcters slide far too easily,making platform jumping more difficult than it should be. The camera may cause you problems-you can't control it in any way,and it goes a bit iffy at times. These are minor niggles though.

The real meat of the game is its fabulous mix of bug-blasting and exploring. You'll very rarely need to solve puzzles-just run around with your finger on the trigger to find the solution. The majority of your weapons are superb,and the way the Drones die is a joy to behold,from exploding and showering the walls with blood,to dying slowly,their pitiful groans and squeals fading on the breeze. Some might find this emphasis on shooting repetitive,but it really is of such high quality that you won't care. If it does begin to wear you down,then suddenly you'll find a racing game or flying mission to break the action up. The learning curve is top notch,with you breezing through the first levels but struggling at the end. The bosses you'll find are competent,with specific weaknesses,although some may argue,no,most would argue that Mizar at the end is far too difficult.

Most of your difficulties will be faced when you have to complete the mammoth task of finding all the tribals and ship parts. They are scattered throughout the huge game-some say it is too big,to which I say ''Soz''-and definitely push the cart's lifespan through the roof. You'll need to come back to old levels with new skills and characters to find them all-either collect them or chuckle as you remove an inane-looking one's head with a shuriken. All this is complimented by the excellent graphics,with reflective floors and flickering shadows,and the top-notch sound,with echoing gunfire and the cries of dying monsters.

Verdict

Get it in. Live with its minor,and I mean minor,niggles,and its level design and frantic blasting will win you over. Just don't buy it for the multiplayer alone,that's all.

GRAPHICS-8/10

SOUND-8/10

MASTERY-9/10

LIFESPAN-10/10

GAMEPLAY-9/10

MULTIPLAYER-4/10

SCORE-9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/11/02, Updated 04/11/02