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Review:

19th December 2002:
Star Fox Adventures
At the far edge of the Lylat System lies the shattered remains of Dinosaur Planet. The future looks bleak...until Fox McCloud enters the fray.
Posted by John Grothier - GameCube - UK and Europe

It seems only the other day that I was battling to save the Lylat System on my N64, how time flies! Fox McCloud has returned with all his pals in a brand new adventure developed for the GameCube by the modern gods at Rare. Star Fox Adventures breaks away from the space based shooter of Lylat Wars and instead Fox takes on the role of an adventurer, and for the first time he battles his enemies out of the cockpit, in an attempt to reassemble Dinosaur Planet.

Eight years have passed since Andross was overthrown by the daring Star Fox team, and after endless, uneventful patrols of the Lylat System, General Peppers holographic head pops up with a new mission for the team. The beautiful prehistoric planet, know only as Dinosaur Planet, is ruled by an evil tyrant - General Scales. In his lust for power and wealth, he has stripped the world of the four Spell Stones, whose magic binds the whole planet together. Now huge chunks of the planet have been flung into orbit, and the entire planet is in danger of completely destroying itself. This calamity has also come to the attention of Krystal, a young survivor of her own doomed home world, she responds to the distress call, and heads for Dinosaur Planet. Between them they must fight together to try to stop General Scales in his tracks, find the four spell stones, release the trapped Krazoa spirits, and restore order to this young world.

Star Fox Adventures is one of those truly great games that only seem to come around every few years. From the moment you boot up the game you know you are in for a real treat. The graphics are so mind-blowing, that here at Silicon Fusion we were all taken aback at what Rare have managed to get out of the GameCube. From the lush detailed textures, to outstanding, beautiful lighting and water effects, everything has an incredibly polished look and feel to it. And if that wasn't enough, the actual gameplay itself is on par with Zelda.

The game starts with Krystal attempting to find out what has happened to Dinosaur Planet, and the player controls her on a pre-mini quest, before Fox gets to the doomed world. When Fox's Arwing touches down, he must first explore the lush part of the planet know as ThornTail Hollow. At first Fox will have trouble conversing with the planets inhabitants - not because he is a fox talking to dinosaurs, but because his communicator needs to be tweaked by Slippy. Now with his new translator, Fox can explore his surroundings and find out what has happened to Dinosaur Planet. Star Fox Adventures plays in a very similar way to Zelda, but instead of a small fairy following our hero around, Fox gets a small dinosaur called Tricky. Using the c-stick, Fox can issue basic commands to his little friend like; Stay, Come, Find, and later on Tricky can scorch obstacles by using the Flame directive. Tricky is the key to solving many a puzzle on Dinosaur Planet, and the command issuing system works incredibly well. Tricky will alert you to enemies nearby, and also if he finds a secret. A local shop in ThornTail Hollow has some important and helpful items for sale, including maps. These must be paid for with Scarabs, and can be found under rocks, which Fox can lift with his staff, and can also occasionally be discovered in breakable pots and baskets littered around the world.

In order to collect the four Spell Stones, and find and restore the lost Krazoa Spirits, Fox and Tricky must traverse the many different parts of Dinosaur Planet, both on the game world and in orbit. When Fox has to take off in his Arwing and travel to one of the large inhabited lumps of rock in orbit, the developers, Rare, have implemented a brief action stage in the theme of Lylat Wars. Although nowhere near as complicated as the levels from the original Star Fox, they are fun to complete and make for a welcome diversion to the main part of the game.

The graphics in Star Fox Adventures are truly breathtaking, and the best we have seen on the GameCube yet. From the many different styles and themes to the levels, shrines and dungeons, to the stunning lighting, water and fur effects - yes, Fox McCloud even has realistic fur growing on him! All the dinosaurs and other inhabitants look fantastic and are all brilliantly animated. Night turns to day, it rains and snows, and Dinosaur Planet feels alive. Sound too is brought to life with an epic sounding score presented in Dolby Pro Logic II, and the voice acting is very witty and is wonderfully delivered by many of the development team at Rare.

Overall Star Fox Adventures is one of the best GameCube titles yet, brilliantly designed and beautifully realised. It's such a shame that this will probably be the last Rare title to appear on the GameCube, as they seem to know just how much they can squeeze into Nintendo's console. It's a long wait for Zelda, but Star Fox Adventures plugs that gap magnificently.

John Grothier

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Review Summary:

Take on the role of Fox McCloud in his first adventure out of the cockpit, in a fantastic action adventure title for the GameCube. Fantastic story, presentation, and gameplay developed by Rare!

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