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 UPDATE: August 20, 2002:
Rare has come a long way with Star Fox Adventures. It no longer looks like a high resolution N64 game. Nearly every texture and character model has been completely overhauled to make the game one of the best looking on the system. With the fur shading effect and the vast amount of color saturation and lighting in each location, gamers are in for a visual treat. The jury's still out on how epic the game will actually be, but from early playtests the game shows promise. We have 10 new screens to look at. Just scroll to the bottom of the page to look at the most recent captures. PREVIOUS PREVIEW: Rare's very first GameCube title will be Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet. Originally an N64 game, Rare changed the game to include some of the characters from Star Fox at Mr. Miyamoto's request, and then brought the game over to GameCube. At E3 the game was still very early and many complained about frame rate problems and the fact that it basically still looked like a high resolution N64 game. Now that the latest build is out for the public to try at Nintendo's Cube Club it's safe to say that this game will look extremely nice when it finally hits retailers in March 2002. As most gamers are probably aware of by now, Star Fox Adventures is not your typical Arwing flying game. Rare has created a game that will focus more on adventure aspects. It can be likened to Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the N64, but it will still harbor some traditional flying missions and plenty of side-quests that will put your racing skills to the test. Upon landing on Dinosaur Planet, Fox finds a magical staff that he can use in battle. It can be used in hand-to-hand combat situations as well as fire magical blasts. It will also serve as a tool to allow Fox to jump higher and to pry up large rocks in search of scarabs (the currency). The game plays very similar to the Zelda games on the N64. Each button can be assigned an item or a weapon attack for easy access. The "C" analog stick is used as a pull down menu to select items and weapons. The game melds old characters, such as Slippy and Peppy with new characters, like Krystal and Prince Tricky. The evil force known as Krazoa has kidnapped Krystal and it is her staff that you find to aid you in your quest. Prince Tricky is your little dinosaur friend that will follow you, sort of like a pet dog. He can dig holes and is eager to fetch a ball and bring it back to you. In the limited gameplay demo at the Cube Clubs there wasn't a whole lot of use to him yet, but I'm sure Rare has some cool things in mind. The graphics look decidedly better since its E3 showing. The textures have been improved and the water looks fantastic. It has a sort of metallic look to it, but it's totally convincing and a great special effect. Fox is looking good as are the rest of the characters. At the club there were basically three modes of play. An Arwing mission played a lot like Star Fox 64. It was set in space and you had to avoid the asteroids and attempt to fly through at least 10 golden rings. The lighting effects were very nice and this mode played extremely well. The other two missions took place on the planet. The first one let you wander around the lush green planet and become accustomed to the controls and basically just explore your surroundings. Again, the graphics are very detailed. If you hit a tree the leaves will slowly fall to the ground. As you wander about the level you'll notice cloud shadows slowly moving across the land, which is a cool effect. The other level puts you in a cave with a gigantic T-Rex that chases you down the corridor. For those of you attending E3 2000, this is the same demo that played on the N64 version. In order to attack the huge beast you have to lure it near the electrical prongs in the walls. Upon stepping on a button on the floor the beams will charge up and create an electric fence. The goal is to time it so the T-Rex is in the electrical field when it's activated so he gets zapped and falls to the floor, opening him up to attack. People seemed to be having difficulty at the club figuring out what to do on this level, as most people would simply try to hack on the dinosaur to no avail. Overall, the game shows promise. The demo wasn't terribly exciting to play, but I know Rare has much more planned for the game that wasn't shown. If Rare can capture the fun and excitement of a Zelda adventure then we all have something to look forward to! As the March date approaches (let's hope there's not another delay) more will be revealed about the game and I'm sure I'll anticipate its release more. Until then, we'll keep you posted on its development with new information and screens as they become available.
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