Star Fox

The Starfox name has traditionally meant decent (or better) shooter action, and Namco is a strong company whom I usually have great faith in. Although I actually did enjoy StarFox Adventures' foray into third-person action, I was quite glad when it was announced that Assault would be closer to the series' traditional space-borne roots. Unfortunately, (and somewhat contrary to Tera's take on it) the end result of this Nintendo-Namco joint project is a schizophrenic mess not worth the time or money.

Star Fox: Assault's story is shoot-em-up simple: interstellar cockroaches called aparoids are taking over the universe, and the Star Fox team must take them out. Together with old friends Slippy, Falco and Peppy—and his sometime-girlfriend Krystal—Fox exterminates the aparoid menace, one planet at a time. It's not exactly Final Fantasy, but so what?

According to the ESRB, this game contains: Fantasy Violence

Game Description: Star Fox Assault brings back the classic space-combat action with an all-new adventure! After saving the Dinosaur Planet in their last adventure, the Star Fox team is sent to face a new menace. But when a standard combat mission takes a strange turn, the team finds themselves fighting on land and on foot, for the first time ever. Help Star Fox survive this new adventure! Incredible graphics make you feel like you're really there, battling for an alien planet.

As Caleb points out, the game that eventually came to be known as Star Fox Adventures went through a rather lengthy, convoluted and dramatic development period. When a game treads an incredibly rocky path to retail like this one did, the end product is usually a cobbled patchwork being put on shelves to recoup costs, i.e.- not a very good game. Quite the opposite in this case. In fact, I can honestly say that I was surprised at the level of quality and polish that Star Fox Adventures possesses.

Hello Star Fox Adventures, a.k.a Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet, a.k.a. Dinosaur Planet. We've been expecting you for quite some time. What has it been, two, maybe three years since you first showed yourself on the Nintendo 64? How many delays has it been since moving over to the GameCube? Three, perhaps four? You've grown up rather nice over the years. Quite a glossy shine you have on your graphics and polished gameplay to boot.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Blood, Mild Violence

Defying (if not shattering) the laws of physics, Star Fox 64 is the proverbial second lightning strike. While pretty much following the original's format of being a rail-shooter, Star Fox 64 still manages to present itself with a fresh new style and energy.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Violence