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THE LEGEND
OF ZEL... WHAT, THIS IS A STARFOX GAME?
STARFOX
ADVENTURES
Written By Shaun McCracken
StarFox Adventures really doesn't have anything to do with the StarFox
series established in the past. Basically, Nintendo must have thought
that adding a known character to an unknown game was a great way to
sell copies of the title. While it's not a bad thing, those expecting
an arcade-like shooter like the series has established in the past will
be heavily disappointed. SFA play a lot like the Zelda series, and
luckily it doesn't suffer from botched game play mechanics. On the
other hand, the logic side of some things is baffling. SFA was more or
less the showpiece the GCN finally needed, showing off facial
animations, expansive levels, lighting effects and more. It was also a
great high note for Rare to leave after it's being acquired by
Microsoft.
Originally dubbed "Dinosaur Planet", StarFox Adventures is pretty much
that same design with StarFox characters. Fox, after many years of
retirement, is asked to go to Dinosaur Planet after receiving a
distress signal. Also, pieces of the planet have broken off and are now
orbiting the planet. Fox must go there and right the wrongs. On your
quest to save what's-her-face, you come across every possible problem
each dinosaur has on the planet. You're pretty much asked to do
everything for them other than wipe their own ass. Things such as
re-lighting beacons, saving dinosaurs, looking for roots and so on.
While most things that are asked of you to do are explained, there are
some moments where you could be wandering for an hour of what to do
next. If you can keep with what's going on (or know what to do next),
game play time would be a lot shorter. When I finished this game, I had
a total time of 24 hours (like Metroid Prime). I'd say a couple of
those hours were result of mindless wandering. If objectives were
better stated, it might have been a bit more enjoyable. It's not to say
I didn't have a good time, I played it through start to finish. But I
can tolerate only so much frustration.
Graphically, SFA is a nice looking package with only one real
complaint. The character facial and body animations are great, adding
some real character to the game. The lighting effects are excellent,
including time of day changes. The fur effect also works really well.
Everything looks great except for the texture quality. While they are
good from a distance, up close they look compressed, much like Metroid
Prime. This game could have benefited from some bump-mapping. But then
if we had that, the smooth frame rate would surely drop.
The sound is good. It comes close to great, but some of the music
seemed a bit generic at times. The voices and effects, are great. I
especially love that "whap" sound when you hit Tricky (he has it
coming).
The game play design is nothing new. It borrows elements from Zelda:
Ocarina Of Time so often, that the game feels like more of a Zelda game
than a StarFox game. I do not like the uninspired fighting design
implemented here. Basically defeating enemies is a one-trick pony. You
pretty much beat everyone out of submission. Only boss battles shift
the design of fighting. This is probably the weaker element of the
game. Luckily, the interaction with everyone saves the game.
StarFox Adventures is not exactally the most original title to come out
for the GCN, but it's one of the best looking games so far. There's
enough meat on this game to keep you going for two weeks or longer, but
when you're done, you're done. The game follows a fairly linear model,
but it sure does show some lovely sights along the way. Worth buying
for those who love platform action titles or have a liking towards the
Zelda series. It's a great way to show off what this system can do.
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Published
By :
NINTENDO
Developed
By:
RARE
Year Published :
2001
Players :
1
ESRB Rating:
TEEN
OVERALL
SCORE
8.7
VISUALS |
9.5 |
AUDIO |
8.7 |
GAMEPLAY |
8.5 |
REPLAY
VALUE |
7.0 |
INNOVATION |
8.0 |
While the design is clearly ripped off from the Zelda franchise, this
is a decent adventure that's actually pretty long.
Sphinx
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