Star Fox 64

THE GOOD:
This game was easily my most favourite ever on the Nintendo 64. As such, I find the good qualities vastly outweigh the bad.

The good properties included:

- Storyline
- Diverse character personalities
- Different types of battle
- Instruments of war
- Upgrades system
- Simplicity of weapons
- Fascinating levels
- Unique bosses
- Hidden features
- Graphics
- Replay value

THE BAD:
The bad side of the game was minute in comparison to the good parts.

The bad properties included:

- Short game
- Easy final boss

SUMMARY:
Lylat Wars, or Starfox 64, is the second game of the Starfox series. As such, it had the expectations of not only being better than the first but also becoming a milestone from which future games could hopefully improve and also be successful. So is Lylat Wars a great sequel? Will it be an excellent step from which to ascend to future games?

The storyline was, perhaps, a little cliche. Having said this, however, it's enjoyable none the less. You're Fox McCloud, son of the murdered James McCloud who must return peace and liberty to the Lylat System by the defeat of the evil Andross. So in short, it is your duty to finish what your father started.

Your plan is to achieve this with help from the Starfox Team. The team members include Peppy the Hare (your father's old friend, a gem of wisdom), Falco (basically your right hand man, equal in brains and skills as a pilot) and Slippy the Toad (an energetic young member who causes more trouble than good). To stop you in your mission, Andross employs the use of Team Starwolf which is basically a mirror of your own. It's headed by Wolf O'Donnell (long time enemy of Fox but holds him in high respect for being his equal in all respects), Leon Pawalski (Falco's nemesis), Pigma Dengar (Peppy's nemesis, an ex member of Team Starfox who betrayed Fox McCloud) and Andrew Oikonny (Slippy's nemesis, nephew of Andross).

Beginning your journey from Corneria, you eventually spread out across the system before finally reaching Venom at the other end. Upon Venom Andross hides in waiting, ready to destroy you if all else fails as he launches his plans. Your services have been hired by the Cornerian Army, headed by General Pepper.

The characters of Lylat Wars are diverse, and as such gives everyone someone to like or relate to. It can be anyone from the hot-headed Falco to the hilarious antics of Pigma Dengar. Whether it be hero or villain, serious or funny, Lylat Wars has it all.

Lylat Wars offers two types of battle, being "constricted" and "all range mode". By constricted, I mean that your Arwing must follow the designated path and that the camera will not move with you. All range mode is an option which comes in to play when encountering a boss, where the restrictions of movement are lifted and you are free to fly your Arwing anywhere you wish upon the battlefield designated. This ensures that you don't become bored or upset with just the one option.

Instruments of war is in referral to the weapons used in the game. This can be broken down into two elements, the laser guns/laser turret and the bomb/torpedo. The laser guns are your primary weapon. It begins as a single green beam which can be upgraded to twin beams and then twin blue beams. It can also be charged up by holding down the A button and can also lock on to the enemy. Each upgrade increases the power and the two shots instead of one is invaluable. The bomb is more for clusters of enemies or for withering a boss's health down fast. These can also be used in a homing in style by holding down the A button, locking on and then pressing B instead of releasing A.

The game incorporates a number of upgrades. These Arwing repairs, gun upgrades and rings. The Arwing repair is a simple invention which allows you to replace a wing(s) on your Arwing, which can be lost to enemy fire. Gun upgrades allow you to progress through the three stages of weapon power and capabilities. Rings come in silver and gold. Silver rings can be obtained to restore a small amount of health while a gold ring will restore a large portion of health and the collection of three can result in an increase in your health bar's capacity along with an extra life for every three gold rings after that.

The simplicity of the weapons makes the game enjoyable. For the player it means less hassle contemplating strategies and wasting gaming time and allows you to get stuck in fast. The two types of weaponry are efficient for game enjoyment and doesn't complicate matters.

The levels of playing are, in short, breath taking. Each is unique in its own way, with different enemies and spaces to explore. There is no repeating of scenery, with every second presenting something new. There's also three paths being of hard, medium and easy difficulty which can be taken in any way you like jumping from difficulty to difficulty to play on your favourite planet or prove your metal!

In terms of bosses the sky's the limit. You can take on a guy in an "over the top" spacesuit with a laser pistol, an evil clam or even a giant mechanical head which can shoot laser beams and spit out rocks! Although most of the bosses do seem to be monkeys, there are many others such as the pirate or train driver and each is just as evil and scheming as the next.

The game carries a number of hidden features to add to the excitement. This can be alternate routes within levels, hidden places within levels to end up at a different place for your next battle than normal or even unlocking side characters. This just adds further to the vastness of gameplay and fun.

Graphics! For the Nintendo 64, they are nothing short of fantastic. The graphics quality in Lylat Wars is easily my most favourite of all the Nintendo 64 games. It's bright, vibrant along with well shaded and defined. The 3D look is well done, furthering enjoyment of the game.

Ok, so there was a couple of bad points as well. Although they don't detract from the game, they do stand out.

The game is short, there are no two ways about it. Taking the easiest route with a minimum of one play through can mean completing the game again in under an hour if you play your cards right. As such if you're one who prefers long games over quality then it's not for you.

Andross can be summed up by one word, wimp. Being the final boss anyone would expect him to be rock-hard, especially since he destroyed your father. A tactic, however, proves he can be beaten by simply rapid laser fire followed by a couple of well place bombs to defeat him in under 2 minutes depending on your accuracy.

So all up Lylat Wars rates an extremely good game. Although not perfect, it will always be a home favourite for any age group whether it be new or veteran. As such, I give the game a 4.8 to represent it's near perfect status.