Star Fox: Assault

Thunderbolt

While certainly not perfect – the game is short and could have benefited greatly from LAN or online multiplayer support – there really isn’t a more versatile arcade-style shooter for the GameCube system.

eToychest

It can be beaten in a couple hours on Bronze difficulty, then Silver and Gold fall not long after that. It is a roller coaster ride of pretty graphics and interesting characters.

Game Chronicles

Features some of the best graphics ever seen on the GameCube and an over-the-top orchestrated score that gives new meaning to the word “epic.” The only thing restraining Assault from being a blockbuster title is the lack of online play and extremely short story mode.

Inside Gamer Online

This kind of game could have been a lot of fun online, but Nintendo apparently doesn’t see it that way. At the very least a system-link mode would have been a welcome addition.

Nintendo Power

It's great to see Fox get back on track with complex flying missions. Though in-flight character dialogue can get repetitive, SFA's tripple-attack-method gameplay stays varied and intenst. [March 2005, p.104]

netjak

Has its ups and downs, but it's easily one of the best hybrid shooters available for the Cube. It doesn't do any one thing excessively well, but rather strikes a good balance between the two genres it wants to straddle.

Gaming Target

The controls, especially the on-foot levels, seem to be a little too loose. Additionally, the interplanetary combat doesn’t capture the sense of urgency that the SNES and N64 Star Fox titles held.

N-Insanity

The physics, the color combinations, the cut-scenes are just flawless.

Kombo

Recommended and encouraged, even if it is too darn short.

Play Magazine

I miss Fox's awesome fur mapping, but I guess getting Krystal as a permanent team member makes us even. [March 2005, p.59]

GamePro

What makes this Star Fox even more appealing besides frantically avoiding asteroids and out maneuvering opponents is the outstanding visual presentation. Space never looked so sharp.

Stuff

Peppering enemy ships with lasers and smart bombs while navigating trench runs is white-knuckle fun.

Just RPG

A satisfying and enjoyable experience, a must-have for GameCube owners and hardcore fans who crave the kind of bang-bang shoot-‘em-up action that made SF64 a classic.

Armchair Empire

One other distraction to the proceedings is the inane squad chatter that constantly streams in.

Weekly Famitsu

8 / 8 / 7 / 8 - silver [Vol. 846]

Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)

Why did Namco have to mess with the tried-and-tested formula? Subdued and, frankly, disappointing. [GamesMaster]

WHAM! Gaming

A mixed bag of fun. When you’re in the cockpit of your Arwing you’ll forget where the time went, but drop you onto the ground and you’ll be asking "are we done yet?" within minutes.

Deeko

If you can overlook the minor inadequacies found in the control scheme and don't mind a game that is rather short in terms of length and difficulty, than Star Fox: Assault is certainly a game you’ll enjoy!

Cinescape

The space missions are an absolute blast, and it seems like the tank missions just screw us out of more flight in the name of diversity.

Nintendophiles

While this addition to the Star Fox universe is a blast, it is just too short. Added to that problem are others such as shoddy voice work and horrible sound mixing.

GameCritics

Yes, it feels thin compared to fifty-hour role-playing games and branching platformers that let players choose their own paths. But it's fast and furious; we even get to fly our own spaceships and yell "Ka-pow!" at no one in particular. What more could a ten-year-old boy want?

Electronic Gaming Monthly

It has a truly epic feel, buoyed by fantastic graphics and a rousing, orchestral soundtrack. Star Fox Assault succeeds where most games fail: It's simply exhilarating to play, despite its flaws. [March 2005, p.132]

GameSpot

The game has its heart in the right place and provides some entertaining moments, but Assault doesn't quite measure up to the pedigree of its namesake.

GamingTrend

And for the love of all that’s holy, get some decent voice actors next time.

Da Gameboyz

Having a repetitive structure and a linear style of gameplay brings this title down a few notches.

Xequted

Probably the worst Star Fox game released to date – but that doesn’t necessarily make it an irredeemably bad game. It is still a shame, however, to see that Star Fox: Assault has been in development for about three years and this is the result.

GameShark

It has some good stages and good production values. Unfortunately, when for half the game the player is surly thinking, “Oh no! I’m on the ground again.”, it does not speak well for the overall package.

DarkStation

Undone by the clunky and unpolished on-foot missions. Star Fox: Assault is a missed opportunity for the developers to resurrect the series, which means you probably should give this a miss too.

Electric Playground

Don't expect lots of depth, but it is a decent shooter with lots of eye candy. Whereas "Dinosaur Planet" offered a long gaming haul, Star Fox: Assault keeps it short and sweet and simple.

GameSpy

A great example of a "good" game. The not-so-good parts (the foot missions) aren't bad enough to weigh the entire package down, but the excellent bits (the flying chunks) just aren't enough to counter the rest.

IGN

Through the game’s opening sequence will rekindle your love for the franchise, only to have it betrayed by the shoddy control and repetitive play of successive levels. And the multiplayer, while dishing out mild entertainment, wears thin excessively fast.

NintendoWorldReport

The most damaging change in the series is the overwhelming focus on ground exploration.

Pelit (Finland)

Some aspects of gameplay are a little rough around the edges. A good choice for beginners, though. [May 05]

GameBiz

The Arwing levels improved from Dinosaur Planet, while the on-foot ones worsened.

Game Informer

It's easily one of the most unique and entertaining multiplayer choices for the GameCube. [Apr 2005, p.131]

TotalGames.net

This entire concept is ridiculous. Why, oh why is your team so rubbish? Falco is supposed to be an 'Ace Pilot' for crying out loud. Your team is supposed to be the galaxy's last, best hope, yet they can't even shoot more than two enemies on any given level. They may as well not even be there and save us the worry.

BonusStage

Everything that is good about the game (the flight missions, the refurbished musical score) stems from the original Star Fox. What Namco tried to do with the on-foot missions makes me wonder why purists are arguing that the series hasn’t evolved enough.

My Gamer

Despite its flaws, any fan of Star Fox should play through Star Fox Assault, but don’t be too quick to pawn off your copy of "Star Fox 64" on eBay.

PALGN

Recommend for split screen multiplayer, otherwise wait for a price drop.

NTSC-uk

Without the burden of the name, it would be looked upon as an above-average mix of air and land combat; however Namco had a lot to live up to and haven't quite delivered the quality expected.

Edge Magazine

Perhaps the saddest misunderstanding in Assault, though, is its pedestrian, linear structure. There’s nothing wrong with it, but the multiple routes and secret branches of the earlier titles bound levels into a taut, short, player-directed adventure that was always seamless and could never be fully experienced in one sitting... Without it, Assault is a jumbled, disposable thrill. [Apr 2005, p.92]

Total Video Games

On the one hand the Arwing missons are pure StarFox with plenty of frantic button bashing. Sadly, the ground based sections are dull and really makes the game a disappointing one to play.

Pelaaja (Finland)

It’s a good thing that Star Fox series has returned to its space shoot ‘em up roots, but why did they have to include mediocre land-action sequences in the game? Also, some other small details, like a lack of radar or a map, only ten levels and uninspiring multiplayer elements stop this from being the truly next-gen Star Fox game since "Lylat Wars." [June 2005, p.70]

G4 TV

Sure, there's more variety in Star Fox: Assault than in past games in the series, but why give us half-baked concepts when all we want is another traditional Star Fox game?

Gamer.tv

Far from being the next generation of Star Fox game.

Maxim Online

Despite its replay value, this is little more than a restructured stroll down memory lane. Next time, let's hope Nintendo enters the 21st century and puts this puppy online.

Cheat Code Central

There's no variety in the missions themselves. It becomes very tedious shooting at swarms of enemies. Aside from learning some defensive moves with your arwing, there is a decided lack of depth to the gameplay.

VGPub

A major disappointment.

1UP

Everything about Star Fox: Assault comes across as competent, yet, frustratingly bland.

Nintendojo

As fertile a ground as the flight combat genre is for quality gameplay, this falls short of the target. Even more depressing is that this was a franchise that in the previous generation was considered an A-List series, but now is a strictly average game.

Sydney Morning Herald

Controls are sloppy, environments are bland and blasting alien bugs becomes dull. Even a futuristic tank cannot enliven the ground-based missions, particularly as the vehicle is clumsy to manoeuvre.

Gamestyle

At medium difficulty, it takes five hours or less to blow through, and considering its other missteps, that's just not enough to recommend Starfox: Assault for purchase.

GameCube Europe

It’s lazy, it’s textbook and less than half of it is worth playing.

Eurogamer

If it was ten solid levels of proper Star Fox space combat delivered with the same degree of glorious detail and a challenge that rose from the promising double boss-fight climax of the second section to the kind of crescendo Star Fox reached at its peak then they would fit like silk gloves.

GamerFeed

A disappointment. The controls are more sticky than they need to be, and the general presentation feels like a step back rather than a step forward.

Detroit Free Press

While hotfooting it around seems like a decent concept, nightmarish controls damper the action no matter which setting you select. They're far too wild and loose, and his Landmaster, a futuristic tank, feels like it's stuck in molasses, slow and clumsy.

Gaming Age

I can totally see 5 to 10 year olds eating this game up. They’ll love the characters in the game and it’s not overly challenging. The multiplayer modes will keep them entertained, but any serious hardcore player will want to play a game with more substance and deep gameplay.

games(TM)

The more you play, the more it becomes obvious that this is more than a case of shattered hopes. There are some serious issues concerning gameplay and enjoyment that leave this Star Fox game a fair way short of its predecessors. [Apr 2005, p.92]

Game Revolution

From a value perspective, you’re dealing with a feature-film’s worth of content for fifty bucks. Independently wealthy, rabid fanboys might want to check it out, otherwise we’d leave this fox to the dogs.