Space Station Silicon Valley
Reviewed by Scott McCall
It figures a game like Space Station Silicon Valley could only
have come from Scotland and from DMA Design. When was the
last time a video game made you laugh -- more than once? Space
Station Silicon Valley is just what the doctor ordered with
absolutely hilarious situations littered throughout. But it has
also got solid, original gameplay. Don't let the sleeper game of
the year pass you by.
Just from watching the game's real-time story introduction,
you know you're not playing the typical game. The story revolves
around a Space Station, Silicon Valley, that was launched in
2001. But somehow it vanished exactly seven minutes after it
was launched. It was never found, but mysteriously showed
up 1000 years later. So the government tried sending Space
Marines to retrieve it, but they never came back. Now it's up
to expendable Dan Danger, a bald, overweight superhero who
likes to dance, and Evo, a super-intelligent robot, to save it.
But their ship crashes into the Space Station, reducing Evo
to a little chip. The only way for Evo to survive and escape
is to take control of the animals roaming around -- all while
Dan Danger provides instructions from the ship.
Space Station Silicon Valley consists of 30-odd some levels
that require you to complete objectives in and 40-plus animals
you can take control of. Each level is like a miniature controlled
environment that is about the size of a level in Super Mario 64.
Fortunately, the objectives actually have some substance rather
than just collecting so much of a certain item (although that's
a non-required, secondary objective). Just to give you a few
examples, here's what you'll be doing in some of the levels. One
level requires you, as a dog, to get four sheep into an electric pen.
Another level has you defeating enemies with snowballs. Yet
another level makes swim in a swamp of poop. Yes, I mean that.
There's usually a minimum of two objectives on a level, although
many will have three, four, or more objectives. The objectives
usually require figuring out perplexing puzzles and using the
correct animal for the job. You can view the objectives at any
time from the pause screen, and it plainly tells you when you
accomplished the task.
Controlling the mechanical animals in Space Station Silicon
Valley varies from one to another. One animal might be able
to jump with the A button while another might use a turbo boost.
Some animals can attack with the B button while others might
only be able to make a sound. There are also many other attributes
for the animals, such as their swimming ability, ability to take
a fall, defensive ability, intelligence, and so on. Obviously, the
Control Stick is used to move around in the 3D levels. There are
also standard camera controls with the C group, the Z button
for a first-person view, and the R button to jump in and out of an
animal. So that means only the A and B buttons vary, which makes
for easy control.
Space Station Silicon Valley is a little more impressive graphically
than one might imagine. First off, the camera is set so it always
follows directly behind you, unlike most other 3D games. It works
most of the time, but the constant automatic rotation can be
disorienting. The actual levels are divided into four themes (Euro
Eden, Arctic Kingdom, Jungle Safari, Desert Adventure) with slight
variations. They look colorful, fairly detailed, sharp, and crystal
clear, plus they ooze personality. Another good thing is the lack
of pop-up, clipping, and fog. However, there's not much going on
in the way of special effects or animation.
The sound in Space Station Silicon Valley matches the comical
nature of the game. There are Banjo-Kazooie-like sound effects
for the characters' dialogue, there are realistic sounds for the
animals, and there's elevator music being pumped through the
Station's speakers. The stereo music gets louder as you get
closer to one of the speakers in each level and softer as you
move away. A nice touch. The light music is the stereotypical
soundtrack you should be expecting, but it's a nice change of pace
from the usual techno fare. OK, it's not really that nice, but the
sound effects are dead-on.
Is there something in the air in Scotland? Do the developers
go to bed every night dreaming about sheep? Who knows.
Whatever DMA Design does to come up with highly creative,
highly original, and highly addicting games works to perfection.
There is just nothing in the world quite like Space Station Silicon
Valley. The mix of twisted humor, puzzle elements, and 3D platforming
is a recipe for success. Space Station Silicon Valley deserves to
be in every gamer's library who also owns Super Mario 64 and
Banjo-Kazooie. N64 owners should be proud to have this game
exclusive to their system.
Graphics: 4.0 out of 5
Sound: 3.8 out of 5
Control: 4.3 out of 5
Gameplay: 4.6 out of 5
Lastability: 3.5 out of 5
Overall: 4.3 out of 5