Star Fox 2 Preview
Nintendo seems to have gone through certain phases throughout their console history. For the Nintendo 64, they achieved huge amounts of success by converting their SNES and NES games into three dimensional worlds; obvious examples of this are of course Zelda 64, Star Fox 64, and many more gems that I fail to mention here.
Early in the Gamecube’s life cycle, Nintendo’s focus seemed to be taking these three dimensional games and adding a twist to them to provide the gamer with something new. Examples of this could be Zelda: Wind Waker and Star Fox: Adventures.
Now with the rumor that the next Zelda may be possibly realistic, it seems as though Nintendo has decided for Star Fox and other games to go back to their N64/SNES roots as well. You won’t find Fox tromping around with a lady fox in some hot jungle on a godforsaken planet, nor will you encounter some new weird side story here (as far as I can tell). Fox has taken to the sky for some old fashioned aerial combat in what is being tentatively known as Star Fox Armada.
Before you start getting excited, I must warn you that the early build of SF2 did not generate positive feedback. In fact, it generated negative feedback due to the simple hands-on demo that was available at E3. The Versus mode, the only playable mode in the demo, inherited the lackluster and unfinished graphics reminiscent of Star Fox 64. Everything has a flat look and feel, which may bring you back to Fox’s SNES days.
However, all is not bad in the gameplay department of the Versus mode. Characters are able to jump into vehicles placed around the level, or they can hitch a ride on moving objects to gain a strategic advantage. A very new gameplay mechanism is the ability to jump out of your Arwing and blast at foes on the ground while moving around on the wing. The only drawback is that you are unable to steer your ‘craft.
The end result was a very unpolished game that left gamers with more questions than answers. Where was the main game? Will I still be able to dodge asteroids? Does Fox have a brand new flight crew? Does Slippy hopefully get lost somewhere and never return? The best part about Star Fox 64 was the intense flight battling with Star Wolf and the overall challenging gameplay in the levels, and if Namco can continue with that gameplay feel, I see nothing but 10’s across the review board.
Nintendo has an unwritten rule about not screwing up their franchises, and if this rule holds true, we’ll be blasting away at the uglies as soon as Nintendo and Namco can announce a launch date. We will keep you posted as always on any new developments taking place.