Review: Starfox Adventures (Gamecube)

Graphics- 10/10
Sound- 9/10
Gameplay- 9.5/10
Replay Value- 6/10
Overall- 9/10

Rare's last game on a Nintendo console shows why the sale of Rare to Microsoft was one of the worst things that could happen to Nintendo. I had forgoten about this game until recently when rediscovered this hidden gem on the old Cube.

This game was popular and well received when it came out, but unfortunately this game seems to have lost its popularity as of late. The game starts out with you playing as Krystal, who is trying to reach Dinosaur Planet when she receives a distress signal, which was sent because General Scales was attacking the planet. Eventually one thing leads to another and the famous Fox McCloud gets evolved. Once you start to play as Fox the game really picks up and gets good. As soon as you start you are given you main weapon that you use throughout the game - you staff...well Krystal's Ex-Staff, which you can upgrade and really pimp out. When you have your first fight you will quickly discover how totally awesome the staff truly is. The combat system in the game is simple enough - you really just have to hit A - but because the moves that are pulled off when you do this look so cool, you don't care how easy it is. The other thing that you should notice during your first fight is the in-game graphics. They are still some of the best graphics on the Cube, even though this game was released in 2002 which is a year after the Gamecube's release. Despite the fact that the graphics looked well, it didn't slow down gameplay when there was multiple enemies. I mean I can not think of on instance of lag. Soon after your first fight you will encounter your new sidekick, Prince Tricky - the dinosaur. He is quite useful, annoying, funny, and adds a unique element to the game.

While you are playing the game more and more tasks you have to accomplish keep piling on, making this game a great time-consumer and even though there is a lot of stuff to do it really doesn't get that confusing. If for some reason it does though, you can always ask Slippy for help and he is sure to tell exactly what to do. You just hit start and Slippy will greet you with a hello and a nice message explaining what you should do. That brings me to another part of the game the voice-acting - it is top notch. A majority of the dialog is spoken, and most of it is very nicely done. There are a few spots were it is a bit over the top and the Dinosaur language used at the beginning of the game can be a bit annoying, but overall it is a fantastic job all around.

While this game is mostly on foot, which is straying away from the original Starfox formula, there are some instances were you need to fly from planet to planet to accomplish you goals and of course the flying is done the original Starfox way. The controls are simple and easy enough, but so is the flying, I mean it's too easy to go from planet to planet, but this is a minor part of the game so it doesn't really matter. Back to what I said earlier - this game is mostly on foot, if you haven't figured that out. Now at first I was a bit hesitant when I heard that, but it works perfectly fine. Will fans of the original Starfox game be disappointed? I wasn't, but if you really liked the flying aspect of the originals, you may be disappointed. However in the end, this is a game that deserves to be revisited by everybody, because it is really a good title, with superior graphics and Voice-acting. This is all not mentioning that Fox has quite the attitude problem, and can be quite comical at times.

Pros: Graphcis, Voice acting, Staff fights, No Lag, Tricky
Cons: Over the top voice acting, Fighting is easy, Tricky.

Review: Dan