Star Fox 64
Reviewed by Winston Chan
Star Fox 64 is one of the best games for the n64 there is. It has good
replay value and gameplay. When I first played the game, I was already
impressed. So I decided to write a review for it. He it is.
GRAPHICS (9.1 out of 10)
The graphics are very impressive at first glance. It is nothing like the
screen shots that were taken, except that it could be found in the game.
There is no pixelation thanks to the Mip-mapping and the Anti-aliasing
features. All was done well with polygons. One thing I especially like
was the realistic water. It looks somewhat like Wave Race 64. When flying
over it really close, you can see the Arwings reflection and the stream
lines. When in levels where you have to fly in space, you could see the
planets or levels in the Lylat System. The bosses look even more
impressive on each level. They all have lots of detail and texture. There
is a level like in the movie, Independence Day. You see ships that
somewhat look like the alien ships and wait until you see the mother
ship. If you don't destroy, well, I think everybody knows what's going to
happen. I give the graphics a 9.1.
SOUND (8.8 out of 10)
In Star Fox 64, there are about 700 sound samples. Many of them are voices
from bosses and teammates. All of them sound good except Lippy's voice(a
toad). His or hers (probably a boy) voice is very annoying because it is
high pitched and well, annoying. His kind of sounds like Toad's in Super
Mario Kart 64. But it is quite easy to shut him up. Just shoot him down.
The music isn't as bad as everybody thinks. It isn't really irritating
that you would put the TV on mute. The tune for when Starwolf comes to
fight is one I favor. I also favor the Starwolf voices except Andrew's,
the nephew of Andross. He is as annoying as Slippy. When fighting in
space, the music is very quiet as if you were alone. I give the sound an
8.8.
CONTROL (9.9 out of 10)
The control is very simple to use. It would take the average gamer 30
minutes to figure out everything. There is even a training mode to help
you even though it is very slow and boring. The analog stick is to steer,
the A button is to shoot lasers, the B button is two shoot a bomb, the
left C button is to turbo boost, the bottom C is for the brakes, and the
Z and R buttons are to barrel roll. You can also do tricks like a U turn
or a 360 somersault. Most of the time, you will be in 3d mode but when
fighting Starwold or some bosses, it switches to all-range mode. When
driving a tank, you could hover by holding Z and R. I give the control a
9.9.
GAMEPLAY (9.8 out of 10)
The gameplay the game is pretty good. There are plenty of options and you
get even more if you accomplish some hard goals. You can't set the game
to hard or easy but there is an expert option if you accomplish a goal.
The level design for each game is different from every other level in its
own ways except Venom 1 and 2 (same planet). The level I like the most is
Solar where you are on a planet full of lava and such. There are some
features of the game I like such as bomb and laser upgrades. The highest
someone can get is double blue lasers. Charging a laser is something that
was added. The charged laser while home to an enemy. All the levels
require skill except Venom hard where beating Starwold takes a little
luck. The story for Star fox 64 is continued for Star Fox for the SNES.
Andross killed James McCloud, Andross declares war, and yada yada yada. I
was disappointed on how short the game was. Anyone could beat the game in
2 hours. Getting medals take a little more time. Nintendo should of gave
it more levels or something. The multiplayer feature is the best of all
time. Even better than Mario Kart 64. You can get Laser upgrades and
bombs. There are three stages to battle in and the are three types of
battles. The first is Battle Royal where you just fight each other until
on dies. The second is Point Match where you see who gets the most kills
on his or her opponent. The last is Time Trials where you just hit as
many enemies as possible. No one will ever get board. You can only use an
Arwing but if you accomplish some goals, you could battle with a tank, or
on foot. And did I mention the rumble pak. The rumble pak adds to the
gameplay a little. The rumbling feels like a pager. There are three modes
or rumbling. The first one is where you just turbo boost or shoot a bomb,
the second is when you get hit. And last and biggest rumble is when you
crash. It gets a little annoying afterwards. I give the Gameplay a 9.8.
LASTIBILITY (8.9 out of 10, 9.9 out of 10 if 2 player or more)
The game will probably last for ever if you have a friend to play with.
But if you don't, it will last about 1 year or less. The game is very
easy to beat and is short just like what I said above. Star fox 64 is worth
buying for $59 which comes with a CD at EB. If you don't have someone to
battle against, then buy something else.
OVERALL (10 out of 10).
The game is so far the best IMHO. Better than Wave Race 64, Mario Kart 64,
Super Mario 64, and maybe Goldeneye 007 (probably not). There shouldn't be
any reason not to by this game unless you are willing to buy Goldeneye
007 or Zelda when it comes out.