Star Fox Zero
In typical Star Fox fashion, Zero is neither prequel, sequel nor remake of Nintendos original sci-fi shoot em up. Instead it is a reimagining of sorts, taking the basis of Starwing and Lylat Wars and adding its own bells and whistles as you blast through a short campaign against the forces of dastardly giant monkey head Andross. Indeed, the familiar first level has the anthropomorphic Fox McCloud and his team whooshing down to the surface of home planet Corneria, the tips of their Arwing fighter ships swishing through a sun-dappled ocean before being flung into a frantic, laser-fuelled dogfight.
It is a sensible gambit. After the disappointments of land-based Star Fox Adventures and the uneven Assault, this comforting opening salvo feels like reassurance on Nintendo and Platinums part. Its ok guys, they say to long-term fans. This is proper Star Fox, alright. While for newcomers, it tells you all you need to know: blistering on-rails shooting, punctuated by more open arena-based flight combat.
It is, without doubt, a great deal of fun. It looks terrific, with fizzing laser fire and a splendid sense of scale making you feel like you are in the throes of a much bigger war. One mid-campaign mission in the depths of space has a grandeur that even Star Wars might admire, while Platinum keeps things fresh across the campaign by throwing in mission twists: a new vehicle, a set-piece, a mammoth boss fight.
There is plenty of Platinums trademark arcade anarchy here, the kind of bolshy spectacle that has made the Japanese studio one of the most admired and prolific action game developers working today. But it comes in fits and starts, with Star Fox Zero never quite reaching its clear potential.
And it isnt, as you might expect, because of the games divisive control system. In an attempt to wring one last achievement from Nintendos eccentric Wii U gamepad, Star Fox gives you a cockpit view on your controller screen and allows you to fine-tune your aim by tilting the pad. It initially throws you off, largely because the feature is given undue attention in the tutorial, as you sweep the pad from left to right and nod your head from TV to controller screen. The result, as you might expect, is missing every Androssian army swine and ploughing your Arwing into a cliff.
Once you learn to use the gyro aiming and second-screen more sparingly, it makes a good deal more sense. Flight is quick and slick, with the right stick allowing you to bank and barrel roll to avoid fire or chase down an enemy. A gentle tilt to align a bad guy in your aiming reticule and soon you are blasting platoons from the sky. The initial muddle betrays the fact that Star Fox is actually a rather straightforward game, a flashy arcade shoot em up with a handful of eccentricities.
It is this simplicity, perhaps, that really does for Zero. While the game is committed to its dual-screen control scheme, it stops short of doing anything truly interesting with it. Nowhere is this more stark than when you pilot another vehicle. The Arwing can transform into the chicken-esque Walker robot during certain levels, skittering across the ground or finding its way into base vents to press a few buttons. Occasionally this will mean you cant see your vehicle as its disappears undercover, with Platinum briefly making you look at the gamepad to nudge a button before you nip back out again. It is almost apologetic, as if they didnt entirely believe in the feature but felt they had to pepper the game with brief moments that require it. The control scheme that works perfectly well with the Arwing also stumbles here, feeling far clumsier when on the ground.
The Thrustmaster tank and Gyrowing helicopter acquit themselves much better, but their appearances are brief. The Gyrowing, in fact, provides one of the more interesting missions, with its more precise and considered approach used to stealthily infiltrate an Andross base with the help of a hacking robot. It is a shame that moments like this arent explored more fully, but it does inject the game with good variety and pacing. The campaign moves along at a fair clip and these deviations, however fleeting, mean that you rarely feel like youre doing the same thing for very long.
With the main story mode polished off within around five hours Star Fox, as it always has been, is geared more toward replayability than a sprawling campaign. There are medals to find and win with good performance, alternative routes and an arcade mode for time-trialists. The learning curve makes it likely youll want to blast through again at least once with your flight skills finally under control. And this is when Star Fox Zero is at its best: a thrilling, fleeting and flawed joyride.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
