Starfox Adventures Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 20 November, 2002

Rare's first and last GameCube release falls short of expectations

Version tested: GameCube

Rare will likely never make another GameCube game. It's a sad fact, but Starfox Adventures, completed just prior to the Microsoft buy-out, will stand as the final serious collaboration between Nintendo and Rare (save for some GBA titles waiting to have their fates determined). And with 15 hours of Ocarina of Time-like stick swinging and a liberal sprinkling of classic Arwing action ahead of you, you'd think it would make a delicious swansong. However, the truth couldn't be further from the myth.

A bright start

sep0211b

Shiiiiiip!

It all begins brightly enough. A mysterious blue fox called Krystal finds herself swooping through the atmosphere of Dinosaur Planet, trying to find the source of a distress call. Instead, she finds the source of the planet's distress, and after an aerial tussle, during which she loses her magic staff, she boards the nefarious General Scales' beautifully rendered airship and has a look around. Unfortunately, her benevolence gets the better of her, and before long she's incarcerated in Krozoa Palace, the would-be resting place of the six Krozoa Spirits. Without someone's help, she'll be stuck there for good, and the planet and all its peace-loving reptilian inhabitants will die.

And it's here, after half an hour of toiling with Krystal and learning the basics of aerial combat, then ground-based movement (left stick), camera use (C-stick), auto-jumping, using items/explosive barrels and dodge-rolling, that we're finally reintroduced to Fox McCloud and his team. Fox is a mercenary now, but he still kicks around with the same crew, and when Starfox team is chartered to return Dinosaur Planet to peace by retrieving the six Krozoa Spirits and the four Spellstones, Fox hops in an Arwing and lands on the surface, beginning a journey which will take him across the six orbital chunks of the planet and into the damaged core of General Scales' empire.

Along the way he'll receive help from Slippy, Peppy and co. via his communicator. The gang provide tips and tools, and at times it does feel like a team effort.

Beautiful, accessible, mammoth - but it's Link in a fur coat!

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I would have told him if it meant an end to the horror

It should be magnificent. Rare has borrowed from past work like Jet Force Gemini and injected plenty of things learnt from Ocarina of Time, and the result is a beautiful, accessible adventure of mammoth proportions, with Lylat Wars-style space combat missions thrown in for good measure.

But ultimately Starfox is a poor imitation of greater games. Most notably Zelda. Anybody who has even looked at Ocarina of Time will feel quite at home here - so much of it is borrowed. From the health system (with its quartered hearts, sorry shields, which grow in number as you progress) and puzzle-filled dungeons which yield sacred stones, to life force doors (which require multiple enemy dispatch to open) and the entire combat system, the whole game is eminently Zelda. Put Link in a fur coat and it's not too hard to imagine him roaming Dinosaur Planet as you travel around.

Play and eat at the same time

sep0223b

Too easy

Unoriginality is not the foundation of a bad game though. If that were true then 90 per cent of the games we write about would be decidedly awful. What's upsetting is that despite three years of development, despite one of Nintendo's most endearing franchises and despite delivering beautiful visuals, SFA falls down on account of stupid little things - like flaws in the combat system. Zelda had you measuring the distance, blocking as much as you swung and thinking about it; Starfox can quite simply be played one-handed. Enemies - even in great numbers - will queue up and take you on one-by-one, and fighting them is simply a case of hitting the A button quickly. Thanks to a nice, artful stop-starty effect the sight of Fox twisting and turning and wielding Krystal's staff like a lightsaber is enjoyable... for about five minutes. Five hours later though, and you might change your mind. However, as a professional games reviewer I welcomed this - thanks to WaveBird I could play Starfox whilst stirring the pasta, which made my life a lot easier.

The more you play, the more you realise that each borrowed idea seems poorly implemented, like the symbols you have to shoot to open doors. Another remnant of Ocarina, these have either been hidden (to frustrate, probably) or stand out like an elephant at a hamsters-only basketball tournament, and you have to shoot them with your newly acquired fire attack, losing you ammo rather pointlessly. On that subject though, it's easy to expend ammunition like confetti at a wedding, especially with another Zelda relic, the swarms of irritating bats. It's another example of a bad move by Rare - fire on them and you're wasting ammo (especially since they're so tediously hard to target), don't fire on them and you're wasting health, but they'll respawn in a few seconds anyway so it's all very academic.

We didn't die once!

sep029b

If only the whole game was like this...

In fact, one could argue that the entire good/evil thing is pointless - you collect different types of fruit to replenish your shields and harass plants for weapon-augmenting buds, but these are in such abundant supply that we made it almost the whole way through the game without dying. That's 15 hours.

Other issues range from the in-game store (which is located beyond a rather pointless virtual obstacle course, and full of items you have to buy to progress) and the over-reliance on the map (in the absence of any real feeling of where to go) to a rather pointless and contradictive story (why, if the planet is actually going to die, do the locals want payment for their help?!) and the most awful dialogue in a game since... well, since ever [Are you sure it's worse than Die Hard Vendetta - Ed?]. I can understand the need to flesh out the story with lots of talk of Palace this and Legend that, but why do all the locals (including Krystal) speak total gobbledygook with the names of important people and places in English? At one point early on, Krystal says in a 'not so fast' sort of voice: "Acky wah blah di blah gah GENERAL SCALES!" We felt physical pain.

Not without its charms

All that said though, Starfox Adventures is not a game without redeeming features, as you must have guessed from the score. Fans of Starfox will enjoy seeing their favourite characters on a new adventure, and graphically there's little on the Cube which can compete. The 3D environments are sprawling and laden with incidental detail, and the characters are decked out in a new fur effect which looks stunning. The depth of field effects are a bit awkward at times, but along with the many, many dinosaurs and assorted enemies in the game, Fox and his companions are all magnificently detailed and their animation is extensive and very smooth. Thanks to the variety of locations you rarely get bored of looking at SFA either - it's the constant running around badly made dungeons in search of a switch and the exhaustingly repetitive combat which sees to that. If I did have to make a criticism about the graphics though, I'd simply say that there's no 'wow' factor. You rarely cast your eyes over anything and think 'cripes, that's a first'. In a way, it all comes back to the lack of innovation - such a disappointment from the team that brought us Lylat Wars.

Speaking of which! Arguably the most enjoyable aspect of Starfox Adventures is the actual space combat! Unfortunately, the game is so heavily weighted in favour of the third person adventure sections that you often forget that it exists at all, and the game is structured such that these flying sections are merely brief rewards for your having beaten off the latest chunk of planet and recovered another Krozoa Spirit. However, they're great fun, however momentary - with an emphasis on flying through hoops and dispatching enemy ships whilst avoiding debris and asteroids great and small.

Something for the weekend?

Sadly though, nice visuals and an hour or so of Arwing action isn't enough to rescue Starfox. It lacks tension (combat is totally one-sided), set pieces (there are two whole bosses in the entire game), a gripping story (Krystal's kidnapped, you rescue Spirits, you fight General Scales), and any of the myriad different things that the game it principally tries to emulate (Zelda) was so famous for. What's worse though is that much of the game is filler - of the fifteen hours, several are spent simply wandering in search of your next destination. So on reflection, it's not a bad game, but it's too short, it's too samey and it's just not good enough. Unless you're a huge fan of Starfox, have a soft spot for simple, pretty adventures or you're simply a glutton for punishment, Starfox Adventures really isn't worth the bother. Rent it for a weekend - that's all the time you'll need and all the entertainment you'll glean.

6 / 10

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About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (111) Latest comment 9 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • pjmaybe #1 10 years ago

    "Link in a fur coat"

    That is an absolutely PERFECT description of this game. It sure is pretty, I won't dispute that - but to play, it's very like Legend of Zelda..and no matter how far you try to put it from your mind, Fox looks as camp as Dale Winton in this...!

    Peej

  • otto #2 10 years ago

    have a soft spot for simple, pretty adventures

    Well that's a pretty fair description of me so this stays firmly on my shopping list.

  • UncleLou #3 10 years ago

    Hell, I knew when I read the review you'd quote that, otto, I knew it. I even thought about doing the work for you, but then didn't. :-)

  • pjmaybe #4 10 years ago

    Thing is, I'm getting a bit disillusioned with Ninty's way of just remaking all their old franchises every time they stick out a new piece of hardware. Admittedly they've definitely tried to do something different with the new Zelda...(they've made it look like a National Film Board of Canada cartoon!) but when I see people getting excited about Starfox Adventures and Metroid for the gamecube I just think "WHY?!" - The cube is capable of running very slick and gorgeous games...it's worth so much better an effort than just rehashing all this old crap all the time.

    peej

  • otto #5 10 years ago

    Ah you know me so well UncleLou - shallow casual gamer with graphics slut tendencies, that's me! :)

    If I'm honest, calling a game "easy" and "short" are two major plusses for me - one reason why I'm treating all the praise for Metroid Prime with a big pinch of salt. The repetitiveness of the combat is a bit off-putting though...

  • ssuellid #6 10 years ago

    Sort of agree with pj.

    Have there been any New Nintendo games for the GC or is it just the same old franchises?

  • Sly9 #7 10 years ago

    Pikmin & Eternal Darkness

  • Pirotic #8 10 years ago

    have a soft spot for simple, pretty adventures sounds more like something Errol would agree too, or is my imagination stretching too far?

    so in summery this game is rubbish then, in that everybody was expecting a huge AAA hit - i just hope there Xbox efforts are up to scratch.

  • UncleLou #9 10 years ago

    Ah you know me so well UncleLou - shallow casual gamer with graphics slut tendencies, that's me! :)

    It was just a clever post so you'd reveal your true identity. It worked! I see right through you now. :p

  • binky #10 10 years ago

    i quite fancied this title, but im not so sure now. been given average ratings across the board really... think i'll have my work cut out with mario and monkeyball anyway :)

  • Sly9 #11 10 years ago

    I've had the PAL version for a couple of weeks and while flawed I'd at least recommend a look (graphically it is stunning and shows what the Cube is capable of). IMO the reviews a bit harsh but what do I know :)

    Oh and the Arwing bit is the weakest part of the game...

  • BartonFink #12 10 years ago

    Oh well ho hum Rares last foray on a nintendo console a bit on the average side.
    Pity really it was another title that I was interested in.
    Oh well have to wait for Kameo then, to see if Rare can redeem themselves.

  • Shinji #13 10 years ago

    "but when I see people getting excited about Starfox Adventures and Metroid for the gamecube I just think "WHY?!" - The cube is capable of running very slick and gorgeous games...it's worth so much better an effort than just rehashing all this old crap all the time. "

    Um, hang on, let's be fair here - both of the above games are very different to the original SNES-era titles they're based on, the only similarity is the name and the characters really, along with some of the fundamental goals of the gameplay.

    By all accounts, Starfox Adventures has fallen flat on its face but Metroid Prime is a masterpiece. They didn't play it safe on either game; Starfox dumps pure combat and plays as an, er, adventure (badly, admittedly), while Metroid Prime moves into first-person mode (and is both slick AND gorgeous).

    Luigi's Mansion was pretty different as well. Mario Sunshine was roughly more of the same admittedly, but still a great game, and Legend of Zelda looks VERY different indeed.

    Nintendo don't necessarily recycle gameplay, but they recycle tried and tested franchises. The very fact that they manage to do that, and to take creative risks by throwing their valuable characters into innovative games, is something that deserves praise, not derision.

  • ssuellid #14 10 years ago

    But, where are the new Nintendo characters and franchises? Pokemon, Pikmin and ...?

  • Westy #15 10 years ago

    Maybe this suggests why Nintendo were willing to sell Rare. They must have realised that Starfox Adventures could not turn out to be a fantastic game in the time they had left to get it completed. Three and a half years work on one game and all we get is a second-rate Zelda.

  • sam_spade #16 10 years ago

    Done and dusted, check the news archive.
    Edited by sam_spade at 20/11/02 @ 17:39

  • st3ph3n #17 10 years ago

    Recycling a franchies is all well and good when you keep the games fresh and move with the times, which Nintendo have done. They aren't putting out 2d platformer mario games, or top down zelda. However, Pikmin showed that they could create something new and be utterly fabulous. I'd like to see more of that as well as the standard nintendo fodder like Mario Kart and especially the criminally overlooked on the GBC and the N64, why didn't it feature the linkup like it was supposed to, oh why nintendo why? Oh yes, that was Mario Golf by the way. Without a doubt the best game to ever appear on any of the Gameboy systems to date. I still play it on my GBA.

  • Ciaran #18 10 years ago

    So, make that a rental then.

    @Westy: you may be on to something. Have you seen the latest (Xbox) shots of Kameo though? Verrry yummy. Though of course gameplay's king, as this review shows quite clearly.

  • terminalterror #19 10 years ago

    Oh yes, that was Mario Golf by the way. Without a doubt the best game to ever appear on any of the Gameboy systems to date. I still play it on my GBA.

    Never got round to playing Mario golf, but mario tennis GBC was fantastic, and as they were both camelot, should be of the same standards.


    I'll probably be waiting for a second hand copy of SFA, judging by the reviews, it should be too long.

  • Tiitiz #20 10 years ago

    It's a shame on the score but I think I will still like to give it a go.
    Edited by Tiitiz at 20/11/02 @ 18:42

  • BlackANUS #21 10 years ago

    I bought this game about a month and a half ago based on US reviews and have only managed to put in a couple of hours, it's just...not fun I guess. I'm a sucker for Action RPG's but this one just doesn't do it for me. This review is spot on.

  • mal #22 10 years ago

    Ah, balls. I was really looking forward to this. So it's easy and short (which means I have a chance of completing it before 2003 is out), but spending hours looking for the right switch? Conserving ammo? No thanks. If it doesn't even have the 'wow' factor for the graphics whore in me, I'm not sure that I'll bother.

  • BartonFink #23 10 years ago

    Maybe this suggests why Nintendo were willing to sell Rare. They must have realised that Starfox Adventures could not turn out to be a fantastic game in the time they had left to get it completed. Three and a half years work on one game and all we get is a second-rate Zelda. Oh do I detect a note of sour grapes Westy. Kameo is looking very tasty indeed.

  • Praise Jesus #24 10 years ago

    I disagree. This is a awesome game.

  • IgeL #25 10 years ago

    I watched as a friend of mine played this for about an hour... most of that one hour was spent on three "problems", which I'd call stupid level design. The one I can describe easily is a ice cavern, where you have to shoot ice spikes in the ceiling to drop them down... They're of a different colour yeah but it would've never crossed my mind to look up. Oh well.

    And the voice acting was somewhat bad imho. I hope I had seen a glimpse of the more shinyhappy levels, though.

  • Viktor #26 10 years ago


    My take on this is that it all boils down to luck (which means the design should be better): my first time through the game had me only once wandering around aimlessly and looking for a door one switch had opened.

    Although the game lacked the polish of Nintendo's own Eternal Darkness, Mario etc. it still is in my opinion one of the autumns most interesting games.

  • v3rtigo #27 10 years ago

    I was very dissapointed with SFA after all the hype and painfully long wait. It's beautiful, but the gameplay is ultimately shallow and unrewarding. Looks like Nintendo might have got the best deal out of Microsoft giving them an awful lot of money for Rare - but I'll wait until I see what their first Xbox games will be like.

  • BartonFink #28 10 years ago

    Looks like Nintendo might have got the best deal out of Microsoft giving them an awful lot of money for Rare - but I'll wait until I see what their first Xbox games will be like.
    Maybe we will just have to wait and see. Although I think it may work out the other way around. Time will tell.

  • beep #29 10 years ago

    I hate the automatic lock on feature this game has. It makes combat feel very distant and takes away from the immersion of the game. I also get the feeling the inclusion of the Starfox characters is just tacked on because they were asked to use them. Not that it would have made the actual gameplay any better, but still...

    This game also has Rare's trademark "looks over fluidity" rule. Framerate for outdoor areas was worse than for indoor. It's not a big deal (unlike Banjo-Tooie), but the need to include superfluous features like swaying grass piles here and there at the expense of fluidity, is something I could do without.

    I'm very keen to see what Rare do on the Xbox now. Something tells me that no matter what they do, their time in the sun has gone. I'm sure their titles will still be quality, but let's see something that's actually quality and fun!
    Edited by beep at 20/11/02 @ 22:27

  • v3rtigo #30 10 years ago

    Yes, perhaps it might of seemed a better game if it actually got it's release as Dinosaur Planet in the twilight years of the N64, instead of the odd mix of genres that's been forced onto a different console a few years later - when games, and the gameplay, has moved on a bit.

  • Fozzie_bear #31 10 years ago

    If I'm honest, calling a game "easy" and "short" are two major plusses for me

    It works for me too, generally. Luigi's Mansion was just about right I thought. Lame casual gamer that I am.

  • BartonFink #32 10 years ago

    v3rtigo - true this game did start off as Dinosaur Planet for the N64 and was never released and eventually became StarFox Adventures and the orignal game was scrapped even after Rare had come up with new caracters and a story. Oh well..

  • Razz #33 10 years ago

    I really need this game.

  • BartonFink #34 10 years ago

    And while we are on the subject of Rare here's a what have you done for me lately for the Rare/Nintendo combo just in case you had forgotten.

    Short Rare softography and what IP Nintendo own from the bunch:
    Donkey Kong Country - Nintendo IP (SNES)
    Blast Corps - Not Nintendo IP (N64)
    Killer Instinct - Not Nintendo IP (N64)
    GoldenEye - Not Nintendo IP (N64)
    Diddy Kong Racing - Nintendo IP (N64)
    Banjo-Kazooie - Not Nintendo IP (N64)
    Jet Force Gemini - Not Nintendo IP (N64)
    Donkey Kong 64 - Nintendo IP (N64)
    Perfect Dark - Not Nintendo IP (N64)
    Conkers - Not Nintendo IP (N64)
    Dinosaur Planet - Never released (N64)
    StarFox Adventures - Nintendo IP (GC)
    Kameo - Not Nintendo IP (xbox)

    Not a bad list eh...owned most of these games myself.
    Should be interesting to see what they do released from the shackles of Nintendo. Oh well the end of an era and all that lark...pity they had to go out on such a bum note.
    Edited by BartonFink at 20/11/02 @ 23:56

  • Fizzy #35 10 years ago

    I dont know, Nintendo's entire strategy just seems so lacklustre. I mean I look at the Cube in terms of shelf space, advertising etc it just seems defeated. It already seems like they are ready to throw in the towel. I realzie they are going for slightly different target market but still, I dont see them trying to grab anyones attention. I still have a bad taste from the N64.

    Thier 3rd parry support is pretty terrible, I dont consider Capcom to be a great company any more, their game design seems tired over the years. All the Japanese companies acctually havent really evolved over the past 2 years. Good games are so few and so far apart, every 2 months a good game isnt good enough? Atleast 1 per month, ideally 2.

    Namco? Dead to Rights was boring, Tekken was MOTS, Im hoping SC2 will be good.

    Sega? Last few games have been terrible, they are having a bumpy transition from 1st party to 3rd party. JSRF was good, Virtua Fighter 2 was good, but TJ&E was bad, Shenmue Xbox was mediocre. Sports games were good, but damn, losing that DC charm.

    Konami? Its doing better than the others but nothing on the horizon seems particulary exciting.

    Tecmo? Looking good, looking forward to Ninja Gaiden.
    But give DOA a break.

    Square? FFX and Kingdom Hearts was good but talk about a bad blow from the movies, the days of multiple hits are passes, remember Chrono, Vagrant etc? Now they are relying on old franchise sequels!

    It must be the end of the dev cycle and I hope E3 brings good things but right now Im just looking forward to US and EU stuido games more. Deus Ex 2, Doom 3, Thief 3, Rise to Honor, KOTOR, Project Ego etc.

    Japanese studios better pull something good from their asses, no wonder they are so a hurtin financially. Arent reading the western markets (where most of the money comes from) right. No more great and immersive world with great chracters and plots. No great new gameplay, its the same old formula with a new face. This is a genral problem with games, but western companies are doing better, GTA, The Getaway, Halo, Neverwinter Nights, NOLF, Warcraft 3, Medal of Honor.

    Damn, im rambling.
    Edited by Fizzy at 21/11/02 @ 03:39

  • Viktor #36 10 years ago

    It depends on your own preferences. In my opinion japanese developers are far ahead: they do not have such an anal obsession on realism and photorealistic depiction of things as western developers do.

  • Westy #37 10 years ago

    Re: tiitiz

    I think most Gamecube owners will give it a go regardless of the scores its getting, just to see for themselves.

  • pjmaybe #38 10 years ago

    "Sort of agree with pj."

    Steady on Ssuelid! Heh!

    IN a bit of a quandary with Nintendo. Am thinkin "What's up and coming to get excited about, therefore worth keeping the cube hanging around for.." - Only thing I can think of would be a really decent next gen version of Mario Karts (not a re-jig of the awful N64 version) - And that ain't really enough reason to justify taking up a scart slot on my telly...

    Soooo if anyone wants to buy a cube with 6 games and a memory card for 300 notes you know who to chuck a mail at...

    Peej

  • ST.. #39 10 years ago

    "the team that brought us Lylat Wars"

    Rare didnt do Lylat Wars did they??? thought it was an in-house Nintendo product (back when they did those).

  • gizmo #40 10 years ago

    I think most GC owners will give it a go because theres nothing else to buy.

    A friend of mine is buying a console for himself and kids for Christmas and was asking my advice.

    Not long ago he had said he was not going to buy another, having owned an N64 and DC, and seen them sail off over the horizon.

    He's got his eye on the GC, mainly for SMS, but I am loathe to give him the green light, as I definately get the DC feeling about Gamecube. One more bum choice would resign him to his PC forevermore.

    I would have normally said go with the PS2 to a casual gamer, for the choice, but as his kids are 4/6, the real gems (GTA stuff) isn't applicable to him.

    Xbox I would have recommended to the slightly more hardcore or a Connoisseur of quality.

    But I have to say, I think xbox is making up ground with the titles starting to appear and just over the horizon. I think its becoming a very credible option, and I think the DC tag has definately jumped bases to GC.

    I am not flaming or baiting, like I have said a gazzilion times I own PS2,GC and XBOX, so I have no vested interest in console knocking, its just my humble opinion.
    Edited by gizmo at 21/11/02 @ 09:29

  • BartonFink #41 10 years ago

    But I have to say, I think xbox is making up ground with the titles starting to appear and just over the horizon. I think its becoming a very credible option, and I think the DC tag has definately jumped bases to GC.

    Starting to get the same feeling myself gizmo. If only MS could sort out the platforming and beat-em-up genres and the kiddy factor, that the GC has in abundance on the xbox, it's future would be looking very rosy indeed. Maybe Rare can sort some of that out.

  • ST.. #42 10 years ago

    Yeah its the new DC, only without all the cool games...

  • pjmaybe #43 10 years ago

    I'm with Gizmo on this one...
    I've got a GC with 6 games (Resi, SMS, Rogue Leader, Spiderman, Simpsons Road Rage (don't ask!) and Pikmin) but could quite easily have done without any of them...as it is I'm seriously considering selling the thing just to free up a scart slot and some shelf space. If I divided up the time I spend playing PC, PS2, X-Box or GC games I'd say the GC gets about 10% of my time....so if anyone's thinking of getting one, seriously think about what you want from a console - if it's a large varied range of games the GC ain't the one for you...

    Oh...and those pissy little 1.2 Gig DVDs don't really help matters either.

    Peej

  • Blerk #44 10 years ago

    6/10 is pretty generous. Digitiser really laid into it this morning. Cue letters page 'rant-o-thon'. :-)

  • Tyronne #45 10 years ago

    Well after reading the things said...i`m now not gonna touch a GC with a barge pole and in hindsight i`m pretty glad i went with the xbox..

  • ST.. #46 10 years ago

    Digi gave it 2/10!

  • ST.. #47 10 years ago

    Blerk,

    Keeping with digi for a minute:

    Did you notice Biffo now posts regularly on the Edge forums?

  • Blerk #48 10 years ago

    We need to get Biffo over here. Someone tell him about us. Besides, I want to congratulate him on the 'almost back to normal' Digi.
    :-)
    Edited by Blerk at 21/11/02 @ 11:49

  • ST.. #49 10 years ago

    I agree completely!

    Our mission for the day then?

  • Razz #50 10 years ago

    Actually that`s Mr. Biffo

  • ST.. #51 10 years ago

    sorry sir...

  • Razz #52 10 years ago

    I'll try to forgive you. So... what exactly do you want from me eh?

  • Pirotic #53 10 years ago

    What page is Digi on now? i can't find it.. and its not in the index

  • ST.. #54 10 years ago

    175, though why have they dropped it from the index?

    Conspiracies-me-do

  • ST.. #55 10 years ago

    Didnt the bulk of the former Goldeneye team leave to form Free Radical though? with the Timsplitters franchise being the spiritual heir of sorts to Goldeneye...

  • binky #56 10 years ago

    I have Biffo's personal email addy at home somewhere. i remember having a big chat with him once. cant for the life of me remember what about tho!?

    As for Gamecube. Im still going to get one soon. and thats only coz i want to play nintendo only stuff. I have a box for the rest of the games i would like to play.

  • ST.. #57 10 years ago

    A mate of yours then Binky?

  • Pirotic #58 10 years ago

    I met the digi crew at ECT's years ago.. they even mentioned me (or atleast the website i was representing) in there feature.

  • pjmaybe #59 10 years ago

    Next Gen Blast Corps..now there's a game I would spend money on...don't care what platform it's on or who does it...BC was a highly underrated N64 game.

    Peej

  • pjmaybe #60 10 years ago

    "What with games like Metroid, Mario Kart, Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, F-Zero (by Sega), Starfox (by Namco)?"

    Let's sum this up...

    Metroid - Moved it over to being just a pretty FPS
    Mario Kart - Could be great but they have to go back and look at the original SNES version and not the awful N64 one.
    Mario - Boring, too twee...Mario Sunshine was very pretty but it bored the arse off me after a week's play.
    Zelda - Aside from the pretty unique "look" it's now acquired, nothing's really changed. The boat bits are good...the rest is nothing special.
    Final Fantasy - Do me a favour, it's a franchise dying on its feet.
    F-Zero - Again, could be great but they need to take a serious look at the SNES version
    Starfox - Possibly could be good but these days I'm beginning to think that they're not the dev they used to be...too much time spent wasted on ropey old franchises like Ridge Racer and Tekken.

    So there will be some twinkling moments for next year, but to be honest it'll always be a runner-up in the console race because Nintendo seem intent on starving the console to death of frequent decent releases.

    Peej

  • ST.. #61 10 years ago

    Hate to agree, but its hard not to....

  • BartonFink #62 10 years ago

    So there will be some twinkling moments for next year, but to be honest it'll always be a runner-up in the console race because Nintendo seem intent on starving the console to death of frequent decent releases.
    Peej - That is certainly the way I am starting to read it now too. I was really looking forward to getting a Cube at Christmas but this is all starting to seem very reminiscent of the N64 days and I'm not sure if I want to go through that again. I'll get one but probably not until March now.

  • pjmaybe #63 10 years ago

    I used to be a hardened anti-nintendo cynic but when the Cube finally arrived I figured "What the hey, they're cheap enough" and went for one...six mediocre releases later I'm beginning to think that I was a total idiot to think that Nintendo could've learned the lessons of the N64 debarcle (whether you were a fan or not, they killed that console with their attitude to quantity over quality) - less than one year on the cube is stuck with lacklustre versions of cross-platform titles, one or two Nintendo-grown updated titles...and very little showing any sort of innovation (Animal Crossing possibly being the only title I can think of off the top of my head - and who wants to play Puzzle games all the time!)

    It's a sad state of affairs...I think they'll end up desperately slashing hardware and software prices just to make up the numbers....

    Maybe they should stick to what they're best at, knocking out good quality portable gaming.

    For anyone who's still in two minds whether or not to go for a cube, if you already have a PS2 or an Xbox (or both) and really don't want to feel like you're missing out, then get one by all means...but don't buy it as your only next-gen console...I think you'll be hideously disappointed when developers start surreptitiously dropping their Cube projects come this time next year, like they did with the Dreamcast...

    Peej

  • Blerk #64 10 years ago

    Time will tell but my feeling is Nintendo ALWAYS bounces back.

    I've no doubt that Nintendo can still produce the goods. The question is, is that enough these days? It's taking longer and longer for them to produce shorter and shorter games. They quality is (usually) still top-notch, but you wait ages and it's over in hours. This wouldn't be too bad if there was lots of third-party stuff to tide you over between first-party titles, but there isn't. It's about time Nintendo did everyone a favour and stopped making life difficult for third-party developers.

  • pjmaybe #65 10 years ago

    "Metroid - Moved it over to being just a pretty FPS"

    er, have you even played this game? "

    Seen the in-game footage and the usual 'tween scenes FMV. So if that's not an FPS then, what is it? A lime flavoured octopus?

    Peej

  • Blerk #66 10 years ago

    A lime flavoured octopus?

    Mmm! Yum!

  • crizza_uk #67 10 years ago

    i've had this game since US release and i don't know why everyone's shiting on it,i think it's pretty good.

  • Sly9 #68 10 years ago

    I thought Metroid was being billed a first person adventure....lots of exploration etc.

  • Sly9 #69 10 years ago

    Crizza, its probably because it's not Halo or Splinter Cell ;)

    ....runs away....
    Edited by Sly9 at 21/11/02 @ 16:31

  • pjmaybe #70 10 years ago

    Nope, its because Fox McCloud is a gayer!

    Peej

  • pjmaybe #71 10 years ago

    I'm not a sad case, I'm just a realist...the original Metroid was slick, beautiful (for its time) and had a lot of original features in it that made it the classic game it is/was. New Metroid (fusion) (christ if I see that word used once more to subtitle a game I will KILL someone!) is an FPS...it IS!! Look at it!!! I frickin' hate the things, therefore I won't be buying it even if its the best FPS in the UNIVERSE!

    And on the subject of judging books by their covers..if a book cost 45 frickin' quid wouldn't you want a bit more of a recommendation for reading it than some cheesy fanboy's wibblings?

    Peej

  • Sly9 #72 10 years ago

    I'm sure its a first person adventure y'know...

  • pjmaybe #73 10 years ago

    It's a First person view, and you shoot things...

    "pressing lever a to open door b" ain't my idea of an adventure..

    Peej

  • Khab #74 10 years ago

    Ok, since StarFox is no AAA, the GC will go the way of the DC? You all know you'll be wanting to play Zelda & stuff next year, as will many others... I think the GC has a chance to make it on this factor alone - remember, ONE killer app is all it takes...

  • ssuellid #75 10 years ago

    So its a FPS with an adventure aspect?

  • sam_spade #76 10 years ago

    Metorid Prime is a First Person Shooter, you shoot shit in first person. What more do you need.

  • Fizzy #77 10 years ago

    I dont know.

    Its like smelling death. You look at the charts are there are few or none GC games on it. Nintendo doesnt seem to be trying to get 3rd party support.

    I dont really care about 1st party greats. If I want platformers, PS2 has some really great ones, FPS i have my Xbox and PC. Zelda? I can live without one game and when KOTOR comes out I dont think Ill care about the boy elf.

    Nintendo has to grow up, I mean Zelda can be so cool if the change the world to a Lord Of the Rings sort of mixed world with dark regions such as Mordor and lighter regions such as the Shire. But Im sick of seeing Link's ass as he jumps and does the same old shite again and again. I mean I stopped caring half way thru Orcina of Time.

    Why would any 3rd party dev want to work with the GC? Technically the Xbox is the best, and marketwise the PS2 is killer. Sure the GC has some great technical features but thats it.

    Their inability to adjust to online games market is a sign. This is a company that just doesnt want to change. Im not saying that online games are gonna be totally huge this generation but Nintendo has this apatethic feeling about. Its like I look at Nintendo and I see this old man who is unable to run as fast as he did or be as sharp as he was.

    Sure the kids market is big, but no as big as the 20 somethings who acctually have their OWN money. And now they sold Rare! To Microsoft! *pats Xbox*.

    So whats left to come?
    Metroid, looks good but I live w/o it.
    Zelda, RPG-lite, I got Neverwinter Nights, thanks.
    F-Zero, sci-fi racer! wow, talk about a genre that if it was horse you would shoot it. Played one played all.
    Mario Kart, going to end up being another party game or combat racer, Twisted Metal Black did it best almost 2 years ago.

  • Sly9 #78 10 years ago

    So whats left to come?

    erm...5 exclusive games from Capcom?....Too Human, Factor 5's new title? new games from Square? Enix?....

    Just like smelling death...tsk!..

  • pjmaybe #79 10 years ago

    Spose Mr Do has a point - I am just sick and tired of seeing FPS's turning up on consoles. Unless you can rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time, FPS on a console is going to be a hollow experience (with very few noteable exceptions).

    So the idea of Metroid Prime just turns me off completely.

    As for the death of the cube - I am sure it's got another year in it - perhaps. I'm not exactly getting excited about "Capcom's exclusive titles" (Yep, more Resident Evil...and we all know what Uncle Peej thinks of that, don't we kids?), Factor 5 are good at making very pretty games that are blisteringly hard to complete and pretty hollow...Enix - erm, pass...Square - yep a cube FF would be a delight to behold but to be honest that franchise is looking tireder than a basset hound after a 22 hour long haul flight...

    So come on you Nintendo Zealots, continue to try and convince me not to stick my cube in the free-ads this weekend.

    Peej

  • otto #80 10 years ago

    Christ peej you're beginning to sound like one of the yanks.

    I don't see what's happened in the last few months to justify all this Cube doom & gloom, the flow of quality games has been slow but steady, just as expected, and shows no signs of drying up. There have been a reasonable number of decent 3rd party titles. All in all, I'm a fairly happy bunny. The only niggle is the total lack of RPGs so far (major niggle this). The latest xbox deal is fantastic value but doesn't imho detract from the value of the other two consoles. What MS is doing is dumping its console on the market at a vast loss to shore up its market share. These are desperate tactics affordable only by the übermonopolists themselves, great for the gamer with the short-term view, not so good for the industry in the longer term. If Nintendo were to do this, it would be seen by most people as their death knell.

    There you go, zealotry enough for ya? ;)

  • Sly9 #81 10 years ago

    Peej, you seem determined to sell your console, sell it in the free-ads and make some kids Xmas a happy one. Trying to convince you to keep it would be like pissing in the wind :)

  • pjmaybe #82 10 years ago

    Actually the thought of making some snot-nosed brat happy over christmas makes me want to keep the console more than getting excited about any up coming games...!

    Ahhh I dunno - Otto makes a good point there...I don't want to end up sounding like I'm purely Sony & Microsoft-oriented and there is a certain amount of kudos to owning the "holy trinity" of gaming (a quick headcount and I've got 12 consoles now stretching back to the NES...god help me!)

    Peej

  • BartonFink #83 10 years ago

    Sorry otto but you have really turned into a raving Nintendo fanboy LOL. Only messing.
    But on your point of dumping, what pesh, and if Nintendo decided to do the same thing it would be seen as its death kneel?, utter rubbish. If Nintendo did it it would be seen as what it is a great deal same applies to Sony. It seems to me that anything MS decide to do will be considered desperate measures by some parties whether it be trying to advertise their product or trying to increase their install base. These companies are all in it for the money not for the good of the gamer and if you think otherwise you are truly deluding yourself.
    On the GameCube terminal illness thing, I have owned every Nintendo console except the GC the main reason I currently don't own one are illustrated by the points made by Peej et al here and in other places. It really does smell of the N64 saga, infrequent realeases (although truly excellent), third party support not very evident, and no Rare-like third party developer there to pull their asses out of the fire. For me I'll wait until March to see what happens.

  • Sly9 #84 10 years ago

    How can it be doom and gloom with this on the horizon!!!....(link from a news item on Gamecube Europe - http://www.cube-europe.com/newsphp/news.php?id=3053)

    http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ngc/gzlj/cm_boken.wmv

    http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ngc/gzlj/cm_actio.wmv

    Mmmmm....

  • sam_spade #85 10 years ago

    Why do people keep on raving about the lack of releases for GC. There has been a consistent supply of third-party titles and there is a consistent supply of ones up to and beyond Christmas. People are just relying on the old N64 mentality just for something to say.

    This isn't fanboyism, it's factism.

  • Nemesis #86 10 years ago

    Oi you bullies, stop picking on the little guy.

  • Blerk #87 10 years ago

    If the GC's the little guy is the Xbox the fat kid with the rich parents?

  • sam_spade #88 10 years ago

    And the PS2 is the jock who gets to take home the cheerleaders.

  • pjmaybe #89 10 years ago

    "For me I'll wait until March to see what happens."

    I think Nintendo could actually still scrape it if they brought out a similar bundle deal to Microsoft. When I bought my cube a couple of months ago, only GAME were doing any kind of a creditable bundle deal...I think Nintendo need to put out and endorse their own bundle pack to at least shift the units they will need to, to keep third parties from dumping the console wholesale.

    Peej

  • pjmaybe #90 10 years ago

    Actually someone here just reminded me of a very good reason to hang onto the cube for a while longer at least...

    the Cube's version of Soul Calibur II....

    It looks the mutts nuts.

    Peej

  • [Alt][F4] #91 10 years ago

    Yeah, I'm eagerly awaiting SC2 on the cube as well, but apart from an announcment that it won't be a straight port from ps2, I didn't see any official NGC screenies yet.

  • pjmaybe #92 10 years ago

    "Any difference between the GC SC2 and the others? I can't come up with anything."

    I've only seen screenshots of the other versions, the GC version is the only one that gamespot had a movie of...

    Peej

  • [Alt][F4] #93 10 years ago

    "I've only seen screenshots of the other versions, the GC version is the only one that gamespot had a movie of... "
    Those ones are from either ps2 or the arcades :)
    (both ps2 and ngc (and xbox i think) have exacly the same movies entries. Since it's coming out on all 3, they propably posted ps2 screenshots in each untill the other two versions arrive)

  • pjmaybe #94 10 years ago

    Difficult to tell these days though...

    Ahh well, more fool me for believing Game(lets charge EVERYONE)spit...It is going to be a corker though, specially after the rather disappointing Tekken 4

    Peej

  • [Alt][F4] #95 10 years ago

    yep, yep. Reigning king of fighting games returns.

  • Westy #96 10 years ago

    Re: BartonFink

    Taken me a while to reply to you, but there are no sour grapes here. In my opinion, the only really good game Rare have made is Goldeneye (and possibly Battletoads - I loved that). I've never been one of those people who thought Rare were amazing, they've merely immitated Nintendo for most of their games, and any games company that mimics Nintendo will always come off worse.

  • AnotherMartin #97 10 years ago

    Was there ever any follow up to the Zelda in SC rumours, saw some screens but it must have been a hoax surely?

    RE: Rare, GoldenEye was great as was Blast Corps, Perfect Dark multi player rules and is still better than TS2 in some respects (individual kills/deaths scores anyone?). Conker was technically v.good but too short. First Banjo (never played Tooie) and DK64 where again technicaly impressive but will always be a poor mans Mario64. I heard JetForce Gemini was good from people I know who played it, must try to pick it up 2nd hand one day.

    Picked up StarFox today, had it on pre-order for so long as the US reviews didn't make it seem as bad as some of the UK ones have more recently, so I will see how that is. If it's as bad as they say can always return it or give it to my Nephew who wants it for christmas anyway.

  • Emma Roids #98 10 years ago

    Excellent, yet another over hyped bag of shite that makes me feel all warm inside. Oh how glad I am I rushed out to buy a Gamecube last may. *Sigh*

  • BartonFink #99 10 years ago

    In my opinion, the only really good game Rare have made is Goldeneye (and possibly Battletoads - I loved that). I've never been one of those people who thought Rare were amazing, they've merely immitated Nintendo for most of their games, and any games company that mimics Nintendo will always come off worse.
    We will have to agree to disagree then I thought they were the best developer on the N64 (except Nintendo themselves) Re: imitating Nintendo I think not. Golden Eye, Perfect Dark, Conkers, Banjo Kazooie were completely unlike any Nintendo games of the time that's what made them such a great development house. We will just have to wait and see can the redeem themselves with Kameo on xbox after this one.

  • fernandoweb #100 10 years ago

    Totally missed this thread until now when no-one will be reading it anymore. Anyway, two points - SFA is great - not difficult but immersive. I loved it. And secondly, the idea that Nintendo is on the way out - as I've posted a few times recently, their week on week sales have now reached half of PS2s in Japan, GBA is now outselling PS2 on the same basis, and their flagship title for the console, Zelda, is not even out. So long as it keeps doing what it's doing in Japan, it's genuinely got a chance of outselling PS2 there over the Christmas period. After all, the retailers (when questioned by Famitsu) all claim it will. Happy times :)

  • otto #101 10 years ago

    Cheers fw, nice to hear something positive. :) I for one am still really looking forward to SFA (it had better be in my stocking or... or... or I'll go out & buy it on Boxing Day).

  • ssuellid #102 10 years ago

    Some figures to backup fernandoweb's claims: -

    www.the-magicbox.com/topten.htm

    scroll down for hardware sales.

  • pjmaybe #103 10 years ago

    "GBA is now outselling PS2 on the same basis, and their flagship title for the console, Zelda, is not even out. So long as it keeps doing what it's doing in Japan, it's genuinely got a chance of outselling PS2 there over the Christmas period. After all, the retailers (when questioned by Famitsu) all claim it will. Happy times :)"

    So no bias at all in that post then! Not against Sony or anything, nooo sir.

    GBA sales don't count. We're talking about REAL console sales not toys :)

    Peej

  • beep #104 10 years ago

    Did some testing between switching 50/60Hz modes after noticing the 60Hz mode has a lot of frame skipping (only really noticeable when character is outdoor). The 50Hz mode turns out to play notably smoother, at the expense of some slight speed loss in character movement (running, etc).

    Now I don't know how I want to play this game. In 50Hz, with smoother 'scrolling' of the screen albeit at a slightly slower pace, or, 60Hz with full speed and more jerkiness with a better refresh. Hmm...

  • AnotherMartin #105 10 years ago

    GBA sales don't count. We're talking about REAL console sales not toys :)

    erm, Consoles are toys. ;-)

  • pjmaybe #106 10 years ago

    Yep, Consoles are toys, The Simpsons is a kids TV programme and Jordan is intelligent...;-)

    Peej

  • otto #107 10 years ago

    peej, what are they then if they're not toys? :)

  • pjmaybe #108 10 years ago

    Well duhhhh it's obvious isn't it! They're portals to other dimensions...little boxes containing tiny little figures that act out little plays every time you put the CD in the drive.

    Nurse, more prozac...NOW!

    Peej

  • fernandoweb #109 10 years ago

    Peej, I wasn't having a go at PS2 at all - I love my PS2! I was only using it as a reference point because it's still the best selling home console in Japan. The point was that comparitively the GameCube is selling strongly against it now (or stronger) and that retailers believe it will outsell it over Christmas.

    But I do think that GBA sales are relevant too, because a.) they give Nintendo the money to plough back into GameCube and b.) with the increased connectivity between the two coming up, I do think it'll have a direct positive effect on GameCube sales. That's all :)

  • ghearoid #110 9 years ago

    i picked this up cheap this week and i'm thoroughly surprised at how much i'm enjoying it. of course, i may just be a lightweight graphics whore (and i'm sure some of you will happily agree), but i've been playing it for hours and find it consistently entertaining. ok, so it is just zelda-lite, but there's a lot of fun to be found here. if like me, you hesitated getting this because of the mediocre reviews, it's worth picking up and seeing for yourself. and it is easily one of the most beautiful games i've ever seen.

    g

  • otto #111 9 years ago

    yup, agree with that!

    A lot of fun to be had from SFA, only at around 55% does it start becoming a chore...