It's been awhile since I did a review for an older game. I've been trying to only review new games or games I had recently beaten for the first time, which is probably why there have been so many music reviews. Still, I have opinions on games that I want to show the world, and Star Fox Assault is one of them.
Although most of us, at this point, have probably not played Star Fox Assault for years in favor of the overall much better Command, I feel like taking a break from my newer games every now and then. When I first played Star Fox Assault, I loved it, finding the ground-based combat a cool new feature (probably because I played on Bronze Mode). Now, however…that's not the case.
While I still find the Arwing missions fun and enjoyable, the ground-based missions just don't fit in the Star Fox formula…which is a problem, considering 60% of your time playing will be spent on the ground, hunting for Aparoid Hatchers or what-have-you. Several of them are tedious, some taking almost half an hour to complete. If you are going to buy the game or are just coming back to it, do yourself a favor and play on Bronze, the easiest difficulty.
The very first thing you'll notice when outside of your Arwing is that the controls don't feel right. It doesn't matter which control setting you use; it's always irresponsive, and the button mapping just doesn't work out. On the default control setting, turning the camera is a pain the butt because you have to stand perfectly still, leaving yourself open for a nearby attack.
There are also several problems with the weapons. The blaster has to be charged up to be worth a crap, and, since there are usually enemies everywhere, it's practically impossible to charge it up successfully. Its charged shot is also pretty much the only thing that can kill big enemies, and having to cycle through all your weapons to get to it leaves you vulnerable to attack. The machine and gattling guns are rapid fire weapons, but they are extremely weak and run out of ammo quickly. It's extremely hard to get a grenade to hit a target, and they're pretty much useless anyway. The sniper rifle can only be used for sniping, and nothing more. The only weapon that I can't think of any criticism for is the rocket launcher.
Returning from Star Fox 64 is the abysmal wingmate A.I., and it's worse than ever. You'll be searching for Aparoid Hatchers or whatever the level's target is, and then you get transmissions from your partners telling you to kill the guys behind them. Of course, what they expect you to do is hop in a Landmaster tank or Arwing and shoot the enemies down. Unfortunately, it's very annoying and hard to find them, so you'll think you can just forget it. But they bug you and bug you and BUG you literally until they die. It's worth it just to shut them up.
It's not all bad outside of the Arwing, though. The easier ground missions are a lot of fun. The hard/long ones aren't necessarily awful, but they are a lot more fun when playing on Bronze Mode. The multiplayer, however, is awesome! In multiplayer, you and a friend face off against each other, annihilating each other on foot, in the Landmaster, or in the Arwing. There are also other modes, such as controlling a rocket from a rocket launcher to hit your opponent with it. The only problem with the multiplayer is that there is no co-op for the Story Mode.
Aside from the poorly written dialogue and sometimes-abysmal voice acting, the story is pretty good. However, the game is extremely, unforgivably, and indubitably SHORT, having only 10 missions, and only a sparse few are played on-rails. Of course, there is replay value, like getting the medals, flags, and playing Survival Mode (a mode in which you play through the entire game without saving), but there is still no excuse for its short length.
So, to sum it all up for you…
So What's Good?
+ Arwing levels are still great
+ Easier on-foot missions are fun
+ Multiplayer is great
+ Replay value is pretty high
…But Then What's Bad?
- Some on-foot missions are hard/long
- The controls are hard to master on any setting
- Several weapons have flaws
- The wingmate A.I. is simply awful
- No co-op?
- Poorly-written scenes
- Inexcusably short length
Overall, Star Fox Assault receives a 3 out of 5. It's a fun game, but it needed more work.
Although most of us, at this point, have probably not played Star Fox Assault for years in favor of the overall much better Command, I feel like taking a break from my newer games every now and then. When I first played Star Fox Assault, I loved it, finding the ground-based combat a cool new feature (probably because I played on Bronze Mode). Now, however…that's not the case.
While I still find the Arwing missions fun and enjoyable, the ground-based missions just don't fit in the Star Fox formula…which is a problem, considering 60% of your time playing will be spent on the ground, hunting for Aparoid Hatchers or what-have-you. Several of them are tedious, some taking almost half an hour to complete. If you are going to buy the game or are just coming back to it, do yourself a favor and play on Bronze, the easiest difficulty.
The very first thing you'll notice when outside of your Arwing is that the controls don't feel right. It doesn't matter which control setting you use; it's always irresponsive, and the button mapping just doesn't work out. On the default control setting, turning the camera is a pain the butt because you have to stand perfectly still, leaving yourself open for a nearby attack.
There are also several problems with the weapons. The blaster has to be charged up to be worth a crap, and, since there are usually enemies everywhere, it's practically impossible to charge it up successfully. Its charged shot is also pretty much the only thing that can kill big enemies, and having to cycle through all your weapons to get to it leaves you vulnerable to attack. The machine and gattling guns are rapid fire weapons, but they are extremely weak and run out of ammo quickly. It's extremely hard to get a grenade to hit a target, and they're pretty much useless anyway. The sniper rifle can only be used for sniping, and nothing more. The only weapon that I can't think of any criticism for is the rocket launcher.
Returning from Star Fox 64 is the abysmal wingmate A.I., and it's worse than ever. You'll be searching for Aparoid Hatchers or whatever the level's target is, and then you get transmissions from your partners telling you to kill the guys behind them. Of course, what they expect you to do is hop in a Landmaster tank or Arwing and shoot the enemies down. Unfortunately, it's very annoying and hard to find them, so you'll think you can just forget it. But they bug you and bug you and BUG you literally until they die. It's worth it just to shut them up.
It's not all bad outside of the Arwing, though. The easier ground missions are a lot of fun. The hard/long ones aren't necessarily awful, but they are a lot more fun when playing on Bronze Mode. The multiplayer, however, is awesome! In multiplayer, you and a friend face off against each other, annihilating each other on foot, in the Landmaster, or in the Arwing. There are also other modes, such as controlling a rocket from a rocket launcher to hit your opponent with it. The only problem with the multiplayer is that there is no co-op for the Story Mode.
Aside from the poorly written dialogue and sometimes-abysmal voice acting, the story is pretty good. However, the game is extremely, unforgivably, and indubitably SHORT, having only 10 missions, and only a sparse few are played on-rails. Of course, there is replay value, like getting the medals, flags, and playing Survival Mode (a mode in which you play through the entire game without saving), but there is still no excuse for its short length.
So, to sum it all up for you…
So What's Good?
+ Arwing levels are still great
+ Easier on-foot missions are fun
+ Multiplayer is great
+ Replay value is pretty high
…But Then What's Bad?
- Some on-foot missions are hard/long
- The controls are hard to master on any setting
- Several weapons have flaws
- The wingmate A.I. is simply awful
- No co-op?
- Poorly-written scenes
- Inexcusably short length
Overall, Star Fox Assault receives a 3 out of 5. It's a fun game, but it needed more work.
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