The Star Fox franchise has been hit-or-miss lately (64=good, Adventures/Assault=not so much), but it's good to see that Nintendo has returned to it's roots with dogfight style combat apposed to it's most recent 3rd person perspective.
Story:
In the past, Dr. Andross, a manacle ape hellbent on controlling the Lylat System was defeated in his homebase on the planet Venom by the galactic mercenaries Star Fox. After these events, the Cornerian army designated Venom as a derelict wasteland and was under it's constant watch. Though their attempts of keeping the planet under wraps were valient, a new enemy, the Anglar Forces, has risen from the poisonous surface of Venom to conquer the Lylat System. As the galaxy lay in peril, Fox McCloud (leader of Star Fox) heroically launches himself into the fray without the aid of his former allies to stop this terrifying new threat. Can Fox single-handedly defeat this new foe without his trustworthy team of ace pilots?
From the start of the game (after mission #1), you can choose witch path to follow via storyline to see what the outcome of from said path will be. There are a total of 9 different endings in the game and as you progress through them all, different characters (new and old) will introduce themselves to aid in your efforts or to bar your path.
Gameplay:
The control scheme of SFC is a little bit hit-or-miss. Some of the controls work out excellently while others, such as the barrel roll, were a difficult but necessary task. The Touch Screen was the main means of controlling your space vassal. Everything from moving your ship to laying bombs was designated from icons on the Touch Screen. Also, unlike all other Star Fox games, it didn't throw you straight into the action. Before you could engage in aerial combat, you had to first work your way to the enemy on a strategy based map (see pic #4). This map was used to move your team to certain enemy locations where you had to complete a task before your mission was done. On top of having to move little space ship icons, the computer would also move their ships towards the Great Fox in an attempt to destroy it and end your mission. The key locations on the map were "bases" that you had to engage and destroy a Mother Ship to finish the missions on that particular planet. Sometimes the planet would have 3 or 4 different bases you had to destroy. There are also certain restrictions on the flight course such as "No Fly Zones" (again, see pic #4), patches designated with bright red that would allow no movement in them. Another restriction was fog. In planets with the fog, most of the map was covered in a purple mist that would shroud every enemy and power up on the planet's surface. Every turn, you got a certain amount of strokes where you could rub the stylus across any of the patches on the map to reveal enemy locations, health boosts, ect. I found the strategy segment annoying and useless but the actual combat brought me back for more.
Graphics:
Given this is a handheld game, the visuals aren't too bad. Sure, it's no PSP quality graphics, but you really can't complain. Picture Star Fox 64 scaled down and put on a small screen and that's pretty much what you've got.
Sound:
Throughout the course of the game, there were times when I was so disappointed with the sound effects that I just couldn't stand them anymore and put it in mute, and then there were times when I wish the volume could go even higher. Let me reiterate, the catchy musical score is great, but the sound effects are just terrible. Every time you beat the game, the squadron you have by the ending credits, their personal bios will be added to the extra features and from there, you can listen to their own personal music and a brief profile on that character. From there you can endlessly play their music (the best part of the game in my opinion) and for the most part, that's great. The big disappointment though, is the terrible squeaking sound the characters make (them talking) during the storyline. This effect is so bad, it made me want to smash the game cart into pieces just to be rid of the horrendous, but just playing in mute solved my problem and saved me $30.
Wi-Fi:
Though, for this game it's nothing special, it's a nice addition to the overall experience. Over Nintendo Wi-Fi, you can connect to other players across the globe and play a four player free-for-all dogfight (Battle Royal) or you can play against 1-3 players listed only in your Friend Roster in a friend battle (Free Battle). I haven't had much time to play online, but it's a very cool addition.
After the last two disappointing Gamecube Star Fox titles (Adventures and Assault), it was breath of fresh air when Nintendo put these colorful critters back where they belong, in the air. For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed this game, but if I'd have to recommend it to others, I'd say if you can't find it for under $20, don't bother.
Story:
In the past, Dr. Andross, a manacle ape hellbent on controlling the Lylat System was defeated in his homebase on the planet Venom by the galactic mercenaries Star Fox. After these events, the Cornerian army designated Venom as a derelict wasteland and was under it's constant watch. Though their attempts of keeping the planet under wraps were valient, a new enemy, the Anglar Forces, has risen from the poisonous surface of Venom to conquer the Lylat System. As the galaxy lay in peril, Fox McCloud (leader of Star Fox) heroically launches himself into the fray without the aid of his former allies to stop this terrifying new threat. Can Fox single-handedly defeat this new foe without his trustworthy team of ace pilots?
From the start of the game (after mission #1), you can choose witch path to follow via storyline to see what the outcome of from said path will be. There are a total of 9 different endings in the game and as you progress through them all, different characters (new and old) will introduce themselves to aid in your efforts or to bar your path.
Gameplay:
The control scheme of SFC is a little bit hit-or-miss. Some of the controls work out excellently while others, such as the barrel roll, were a difficult but necessary task. The Touch Screen was the main means of controlling your space vassal. Everything from moving your ship to laying bombs was designated from icons on the Touch Screen. Also, unlike all other Star Fox games, it didn't throw you straight into the action. Before you could engage in aerial combat, you had to first work your way to the enemy on a strategy based map (see pic #4). This map was used to move your team to certain enemy locations where you had to complete a task before your mission was done. On top of having to move little space ship icons, the computer would also move their ships towards the Great Fox in an attempt to destroy it and end your mission. The key locations on the map were "bases" that you had to engage and destroy a Mother Ship to finish the missions on that particular planet. Sometimes the planet would have 3 or 4 different bases you had to destroy. There are also certain restrictions on the flight course such as "No Fly Zones" (again, see pic #4), patches designated with bright red that would allow no movement in them. Another restriction was fog. In planets with the fog, most of the map was covered in a purple mist that would shroud every enemy and power up on the planet's surface. Every turn, you got a certain amount of strokes where you could rub the stylus across any of the patches on the map to reveal enemy locations, health boosts, ect. I found the strategy segment annoying and useless but the actual combat brought me back for more.
Graphics:
Given this is a handheld game, the visuals aren't too bad. Sure, it's no PSP quality graphics, but you really can't complain. Picture Star Fox 64 scaled down and put on a small screen and that's pretty much what you've got.
Sound:
Throughout the course of the game, there were times when I was so disappointed with the sound effects that I just couldn't stand them anymore and put it in mute, and then there were times when I wish the volume could go even higher. Let me reiterate, the catchy musical score is great, but the sound effects are just terrible. Every time you beat the game, the squadron you have by the ending credits, their personal bios will be added to the extra features and from there, you can listen to their own personal music and a brief profile on that character. From there you can endlessly play their music (the best part of the game in my opinion) and for the most part, that's great. The big disappointment though, is the terrible squeaking sound the characters make (them talking) during the storyline. This effect is so bad, it made me want to smash the game cart into pieces just to be rid of the horrendous, but just playing in mute solved my problem and saved me $30.
Wi-Fi:
Though, for this game it's nothing special, it's a nice addition to the overall experience. Over Nintendo Wi-Fi, you can connect to other players across the globe and play a four player free-for-all dogfight (Battle Royal) or you can play against 1-3 players listed only in your Friend Roster in a friend battle (Free Battle). I haven't had much time to play online, but it's a very cool addition.
After the last two disappointing Gamecube Star Fox titles (Adventures and Assault), it was breath of fresh air when Nintendo put these colorful critters back where they belong, in the air. For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed this game, but if I'd have to recommend it to others, I'd say if you can't find it for under $20, don't bother.
