StarFox 64  

by Nintendo  Reviewed by: Darren Mitchell  

Overview

"StarFox, yeah I hearda that. That's a game for little kids, right? Wait, what's that weird lookin' thing, a Rumble what? Hey, did that ship just do a somersault? Whoa, what was that?! Wait a minute, let me try this ... Wow, this is actually FUN!!"

When you buy StarFox 64, be prepared to hear words like these from your friends. The more you see it, the more you will want to play this game. If you're old enough to remember a game called Galaga, you've probably spent a small fortune and countless hours playing new games that simulate flying a spaceship. Well, play StarFox 64 and all those other spaceship games you've played will seem they were designed with an Etch-A-Sketch.

Gameplay

You play Fox McCloud, star pilot and leader of the 4-member StarFox flight team. The evil Dr. Andross has declared war on the territories of the Lylat System, and is slowly taking control, planet by planet. General Pepper has asked for your team's assistance in defeating Andross and his henchmen before they take control of the last free planet in the solar system, Corneria. Travelling aboard the flagship Great Fox and guided by a robot named ROB64, you and your teammates (Peppy, Slippy and Falco) travel to dangerous, distant worlds, battling Andross and his army in the hopes of restoring peace to the system.

You are piloting the lead fighter, or Arwing, at the forefront of the StarFox team's attack. You and the rest of your team must work together to fend off enemy fighters and other assorted creatures, and achieve certain goals on each world before advancing to the next one. Your team will advise you on maneuvers, talk you through sticky situations, and shoot down enemies, too. They will help you, and you must help them, if (and when) they get into trouble. Each of them have different strengths and abilities which may be needed in the next world you visit -- if one of them takes too much damage, they must retreat to the Great Fox and wait until the next stage for their ship to be repaired. So it's important to try your best to keep them safe. The ultimate goal of StarFox 64 is to earn medals from shooting down lots of bad guys, and get the highest score you can.

The one-player game consists of two parts, or two different modes of play: 3-D Scroll Mode, where you can move in all directions but are basically always moving forward, restricted to a wide tunnel-shaped area, and All-Range Mode, where you can fly anywhere you like within a large, box-shaped area. Most stages have a combination of both of these modes, which adds a really nice touch to gameplay.

The training level is a good idea for beginners to get used to the controls and to learn the special flying maneuvers. I always have trouble making somersaults and U-turns, but after a few refresher minutes these moves do become easier. I got pretty far the first time I played the game, completing five stages in less than two hours. But here's where StarFox gets interesting -- there's basically one starting point (Corneria) and one goal (Venom), but several available paths to take among the 13 worlds between them. The path you are on depends on the conditions you meet in each stage you complete. If, for instance, on Macbeth you successfully destroy the flying boss above the train, you advance to the area called Bolse. But if you can avoid the boss and instead shoot all eight switches and destroy the switcher box, the train takes a different path (careening into a building for that matter), and you advance to Area 6. This multiple-outcome scenario is an interesting twist to keep the game challenging enough to make you want to play it again and again, to maybe use a different strategy or try to visit a previously unseen area.

The control set is another strange one for a Nintendo game, but after a while it makes sense why they chose this button configuration. The right shoulder (R) button tilts you to the right, and the Z button (the trigger) tilts you to the left; double-tapping either of these quickly will give you a nifty barrel roll in that direction. The four yellow C buttons are slightly complicated; too often I press the wrong one and I take on damage trying to recover. Use C-down to brake, C-left to turbo, C-up to change camera angles (to an inside-cockpit view), and C-right to respond to incoming messages from ROB64.

Prizes to pick up while flying include: laser power-ups, shield rings, smart bombs (for really getting your point across), and an occasional wing repair for when you have severe damage to your Arwing. On at least one of the worlds you are piloting a Landmaster -- a swift little anti-aircraft tank with the same power and flexibility of your Arwing, but on the ground (of course). This puppy is equipped with dual jets too, perfect for making sharp left or right turns, or combined for temporarily hovering. And check out the barrel rolls now . . .

The main game is for one player only (bummer), but there are three different multi-player battle modes for up to four players to challenge each other for points, or even for fighting head-to-head against each other. The 4-panel split screen is similar to Mario Kart 64, which takes some getting used to, and would be painfully straining if you have a smaller TV screen. One of the best features of multi-player action is that you can set a handicap for yourself, if you have better skills than your competitor(s), to make the challenge/fight a little more even; before you start a match, choose a skill level of one, two or three (basically adjusting your shield level). An annoying feature of the multi-player mode is that when you reach the edge of the map, you automatically appear on the other side, instead of doing that cool U-turn like you do in the main game's All-Range Mode. Not to mention when you first play this game with your friends, you'll all be fighting over who gets to use the Rumble Pak, at least until you plunk down twenty bucks apiece for three more.

Graphics

I agree with the people who are saying StarFox 64 is a wonderful achievement, an "apology for the ill-fated StarFox 2 for SNES" (when I look at the original StarFox I think of my Etch-A-Sketch again). It's a good thing Nintendo waited to take advantage of the 64-bit processor: the flawless 3-D graphics are staggering, with amazing detail for such a high speed of animation. As you scroll through hordes of spaceships, landmarks and all kinds of flying objects, you really can't help but be overwhelmed by this well-designed environment. You'll love to replay every stage just to try and catch everything you didn't see the first time around (and because it's so darn fun too). Oh, one of the more amazing planet terrains you'll encounter may look a little familiar to you, like a scene out of a certain popular movie that came out last summer, on July 4th . . .

The music and sound effects are nice, but one quality of StarFox 64 that impressed me immediately was the crystal clear dialogue and narration, a feature sadly missing in a lot of good games. The radio chatter from your teammates is helpful for playing, but will quickly become annoying to pros; thankfully you can adjust the volume levels of the voices, music and sound effects individually.

When I first read about the Rumble Pak device (previously called the Jolting Pak and the Force Pak) a few months ago, my heart began to pump wildly and my mind began to race, thinking of all the games this new gem of technology would enhance. Imagine, actually FEELING a jolt when your Arwing gets hit, or when you get too close to an explosion, or bump into an object, or thrust your engines, or slam on the brakes... Oh sure, it's been done in arcade games before -- anyone privileged enough to visit GameWorks (in Seattle, Vegas, L.A., etc.) knows what I mean. But this tiny piece of equipment that fits in the end of your Nintendo controller is really an amazing achievement, especially for the price. That little buzz may not seem like much, but imagine what this breakthrough means to the home video gaming industry. What gizmos will they tantalize our senses with next? How about temperature, scent, or even weightlessness? Our world is truly expanding, my friend, and fun's the word.

Bottom Line

You've just got to try the Rumble Pak. Think of it as more icing on an already delicious cake. It's great, and a great value too (free with this game!), but too bad it doesn't work with any other game -- yet. (Look for lots of new games plus the re-releases of Mario and WaveRace to have "RumbleAbility.") If you like space ships, flight simulators, and fast-paced shootouts, StarFox 64 is your bread and butter. Unless you're afraid of flying, hate cartoons, or don't like anything that might be (gasp!) FUN, you should find lots of entertaining hours playing this game that's destined for classic status. Once you complete the main game (1-player) and earn big medals, be ready for lots of cool surprises, especially in the multi-player mode.

Unfortunately, though, this game falls into the same disappointing trap that almost all video games do, what I call "repetitive motion syndrome." After playing a stage more than a few times, you begin to memorize the actions of everything on the screen, and it becomes easier and, in the long run, less of a challenge. C'mon, guys, it's okay to learn from your mistakes, but isn't this how they train lab mice? (There's cheese in here somewhere, I just know it... ZZZAP! goes the Rumble Pac). Although, even if StarFox ever does lose a little of its challenge, it sure is a wild ride.