Gex

"Wisecracking gecko's first game is also his best"

Despite being a gecko, Gex (voiced by comedian Dana Gould) was one of the very first PlayStation icons to worm his way into our hearts. Now that that terrible pun is behind us, I can give you the setup. Gex is a lizard who doesn't want to face the responsibilities of an adult life. So, when he's able to break free of his parental chains, he finds a secluded home on a tropical island and gets himself a big-screen television so he can do what he loves all day: watch reruns of classic programs. This is all good and well, but an evil machine named Rez wants to rid the universe of the infernal idiot box, and he knows that Gex is its most avid follower. He then sends a transmitter in the form of a fly to Gex's house. Gex eats the fly and is summarily sucked through the TV, where he must stop the evil Rez from financing his wicked plot as he trudges on through the shows he knows so well. But he can take it all in good humor, because he knows a lot more about pop culture than a lot of people that play this will.

Unleashed on us, the Public Gaming Domain, back in 1995 (the year PlayStation came out) by Crystal Dynamics, Gex was a newer brand of hero. His quick quips are reminiscent of those in B.O.B. for SNES and Genesis, but he has more - and he says them out loud - and they're funnier. Because sound made leaps of progress in the transition from 16- to 32-bit, a real voice without any static could be used. Dana Gould does a good job as the sarcastic gecko who's got a snappy answer for every occasion. He comments ceaselessly on the lack of pizzazz in the cemetery, the unbelievable weirdness of Toon Land, and makes befitting remarks about the jungle, occasionally breaking out into song with Kool and the Gang's ''Jungle Boogie'' or the ''George of the Jungle'' theme song. He is fun to listen to, but only for a while. The bulk of the sound consists of hearing him incessantly mock longstanding media establishments and the creatures and scenery around him. The music sort of takes a back seat to his rants, which means again that this is totally Gex's parade. Once you think you've heard all you can stand, you can safely mute the TV.

Thanks to the decision by Crystal Dynamics to keep it a 2D platformer - a certified rarity even on PSX - the scenery is free to be lush and fun to look at, and the enemies have animation as smooth as the hero's. The graphics are certainly a treat, and were probably designed two-dimensionally to show off the graphical prowess of the PlayStation versus, say, the Super Nintendo. I like Gex as a 2D platformer. The next two games of his took it into three dimensions, and I believe this was a drastic wrong turn that was the primary culprit of the series' quick loss of popularity. But graphics do not a game make, do they now, Final Fantasy?

''What, huh, what was that?''

Pay it no mind, poor fool. Gex moves fluently, with almost no flak whatsoever. He can bounce on enemies while airborne if he coils his tail into a spring, which can also be used as a boost to get to unreachable ledges. You'll sometimes lose control of him in the air when making wider jumps, but this is a small complaint at first. When you get into the later levels that require more precision at a faster pace, it will get to be a bother. You will slip off to lower ledges, and this won't be helped by the shoddy hit detection. Sometimes you'll take a hit even with the tail spring in place, which makes it frustrating when you have an item you like (such as the ice spit) and you lose it. Speaking of items, Gex can hurl many of the elements from his mouth as projectiles. He can fling fire, spit ice, or harness the powers of electricity for his own good. Other powerups will increase the maximum amount of hits he can take, turn him into a blur of speed, or provide extra lives and temporary invincibility. The game would be a lot harder without them, and while they may be standard fare, they are nice to have in there.

Overall, Gex's first adventure is not a bad one. You'll enjoy the challenge the developers put into climbing walls with your suction-cup feet and giving your enemies a good old-fashioned country butt-whuppin'. Its five worlds provide adequate finger blistering for whoever is willing to step up and take charge. There's even a hidden world to be uncovered if you're up to it. Still, I'd advise a rental before a purchase, because not everyone may be drawn in to Gex's sharp tongue and hair-raising exploits. Given, it is better than the two that followed it, but that won't seal it for everybody. Gex must be played firsthand for a truly informed opinion to come about. If you're looking for a good time or lore of the early days of PlayStation, you've found it in Gex. It's hard not to buddy up to the little guy.

Tongues Up
--Fluent animation and lavish graphics with little slowdown
--Gex is one witty salamander
--Moderately high challenge

The Raspberry
--A joke isn't funny the 50th time you hear it
--Hit detection will frustrate some, kids in particular
--Music bows too much to the talking

Score: 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/09/02, Updated 06/09/02