Star Fox: Assault (GameCube)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.3 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Alex Navarro
• Reviewed on: 02/07/2005
• Updated on: 02/08/2005
• Released on: 02/14/2005
• Originally published on GameSpot: Star Fox: Assault (GameCube) Review

The Star Fox series veered off in a strange direction with the 2002 release of Star Fox Adventures. The game took Fox away from his outer-space shooting roots and put him in an action adventure setting. While it may have seemed like a weird decision back then, the final product turned out well. But for its next trick, Nintendo has teamed up with Namco, who has developed Star Fox: Assault, a straightforward shooter that attempts to return to the classic Star Fox form. The game has its heart in the right place and provides some entertaining moments, but Assault doesn't quite measure up to the pedigree of its namesake.

Those who have played any previous Star Fox game should know what to expect from Assault's setup. Corneria is once again in peril, and you, as Fox McCloud, must take your ragtag bunch of furry, feathery, and warty animal comrades on a mission to save the day. Early on, it seems as though Assault is simply out to rehash the old "armies of the evil Andross" premise seen in most of the other Star Fox games, but the plot quickly shifts to a new alien threat, courtesy of a race called the aparoids, who are like a cross between the nasty bug aliens from Starship Troopers and Star Trek's assimilation-happy Borg. Despite the new threat, not a lot has changed. You'll still find yourself blasting away at lots of enemy ships and bosses and trading quips with your fellow pilots, and you'll encounter some familiar faces and places (like the rival Star Wolf team and Star Fox Adventures' planet Sauria) along the way.

While Assault's plot is mostly irrelevant, it still sets the stage nicely for the multiple combat missions you'll be engaging in throughout the story mode. You won't care about the plight of the Cornerian fleet, but you'll enjoy blasting their enemies into space dust--at least, you will when you're behind the controls of your trusty Arwing. The airborne combat in Assault is straight out of Star Fox 64. It's the same style of on-rails shooting where you find yourself moving along a flight plan and encountering all sorts of crazy enemy fighters, tanks, robots, and hulking bosses. Apart from a few weapon upgrades and some nifty little maneuvers you can pull off to avoid enemy fire, like loops and spins, it's all about hammering on the A button and blasting anything that gets in your way. There are plenty of enemies onscreen to shoot, your Arwing controls well, and the space battles look exceptionally nice. The Star Fox games have always managed to turn simplistic aerial combat into a fun and addictive experience, and this entry is no exception.

It's when Assault takes the battle to the ground that things get tripped up. In each ground mission, you'll find yourself in control of Fox McCloud from a third-person perspective. You'll be armed with a simple blaster and charged with blowing up a series of targets spread throughout the stage you occupy. You'll find some weapon upgrades, like machine guns and rocket launchers, and like in the aerial battles, you'll encounter all forms of grunt enemies and bosses. Unfortunately, these sections aren't that fun. The biggest problem is that Fox himself doesn't handle well. He moves quickly enough, but simple actions like turning him around to aim at an enemy or trying to maintain any sort of aim lock are entirely too frustrating. Also, the designs of the ground levels are tedious and will periodically cause you to accidentally do something dumb, like fall multiple stories down after a particularly lengthy and arduous climb.

One neat aspect of the ground missions is that you aren't relegated to controlling Fox on foot. In fact, you can often access a tank and even your trusty Arwing on the fly. Most times, you won't find the Arwing useful during these sections, save for when you have to rescue your mostly useless comrade pilots from being shot down and retiring from the mission (and believe us when we say this happens a lot), but the tank tends be quite handy when lots of enemies try to gang up on you. Sadly, it's even more taxing to control than Fox on foot, and the shooting mechanics of the tank aren't satisfying at all. So, while the tank may be useful in certain situations, it isn't particularly fun.

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