Lloyd Irving, hero of the story
Collette Brunel, Chosen One, angel, love interest and heroine of the story.
Lloyd Irving, hero of the story
Collette Brunel, Chosen One, angel, love interest and heroine of the story.
The gameplay, whether in the air or on the ground, mainly consists of taking out certain targets on your map, then being given new targets and starting again. On foot you have on standard attack button and a magical attack which you can use when you're meter is filled, and in the air your dragon has a standard fireball attack, the ability to lock on to multiple targets (which is very similar to Panzer Dragoon), and a burst attack which kills everything on screen). You can also do a speed boost, a 180 degree turn, and press R2 to centre the screen your nearest enemy. The controls are generally pretty good, but the camera can make life a little difficult at times.
Drakengard is best taken in short bursts between stodgier games. If you play too long you're likely to tire of all the killing, but when you just want to destroy something at the end of a bad day, it's the perfect way to spend an hour or so. Don't let the relatively low average score on Gamerankings put you off - the most trustworthy sites gave it around the 75% mark, which I think is about right. Also, you have to consider just how cheaply you can pick up a brand new copy of the game.
Square-Enix will probably improve upon every aspect of Drakengard for the forthcoming sequel, but whether it will be released here remains to be seen. The original didn't sell very well, hence the low price, so maybe they'll decide it's not worth it. That would be a shame, because I'm quite looking forward to seeing how Drakengard 2 (or Drag-On Dragoon 2 as it's called in Japan) turns out.
Shall we dance?
Behold the mighty Red Dragon
Eat laser death, alien scum!
Amazing visuals can be found all throughout Jade Empire.
Not your average Boy Scout camp fire.
Bowser on the N64.
Mario on the NDS.
The music is pretty damn good too. I completed the game nearly a week ago, yet the tunes are still going around in my head (some game soundtracks have been rather forgettable of late). Special mention has to go to the tunes in Thorntail Hollow, and Cape Claw, with the chanting chorus (it sounds kind of African in origin, but I couldn't say for sure). The familiar Starfox theme is also included in the game in many different guises, from the "New Item" jingle that plays when you pick something up for the first time, to the "Victory" anthem that plays when you return a spellstone to it's temple.
Voice work is generally solid throughout the game, but Slippy Toad is still as annoying as he always was (this at least, shows a degree of consistancy with the rest of the series), and sound effects in general sound authentic.
Now we come to the gameplay, and before I say anything else I should point out that Starfox Adventures is nothing like the other games in the series. It's closest rivals would have to be the modern 3D Zelda games, namely Wind Waker and The Ocarina of Time. The controls are extremely similar, as is the way that you obtain new items or level up your staff to get new powers, which in turn allows you to explore new areas. One new thing it does add to the gameplay though is Prince Tricky, a juvenile Triceratops (or EarthWalker, as they're known in the culture of Dinosaur Planet) who you have to team up with to solve many of the games puzzles. You can ask him to stand on a switch for example, or dig up items from defined spots on the ground.
Overall I'd say that Starfox Adventures is a better game than the Wind Waker, but it doesn't quite match up to the benchmark in this style of game, Ocarina of Time. Why? Well, it's a bit more challenging than WW, you don't have to spend half your time exploring the bloody ocean (although there is some backtracking) and I thought the dungeons were more believably integrated into the world than in the Zelda games.
However, at times you do notice it wasn't originally intended to be a Starfox game, especially due to the fact that the rest of team are relegated to giving out hints, maps and progress reports on the pause screen. There is the occasional Arwing mission as you travel from place to place but they don't have the depth of a true Starfox shooter and are almost impossible to fail.
From a value point of view, Starfox Adventures takes about 15-20 hours to complete and can be picked up brand new for £20 for preowned for about £12. That's not bad at all considering how much fun you will have playing the game, and it's the sort of game you might find yourself coming back to in a year or so's time (if you're anything like me).
So, as long as you know exactly what you're getting (i.e. a Zelda style adventure/puzzle game, not a space shooter) you should be satisfied with Starfox Adventures. If you've already completed Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker, and are looking for more of the same, then I strongly recommend buying this game. Rare's one and only Gamecube title is a gem, and a highly memorable experience. Let's hope Kameo, Conker Live & Uncut and any other projects they have in store maintain the same level of quality.
The Retro-Modern gaming score: 8 out of 10.
Jak 2
Jak 3
I am a Thrust-ship. I am small and tricky - where you think I am, I probably am not. I can work very fast, but I tend to go about things in a round about way, which often leaves me effectively standing still. I hate rocks. Bloody rocks. What Video Game Character Are You? |