Star Fox Wii U Dream Reviews
by James Charlton - May 6, 2015, 1:25 pm PDT
If everything from my nightmares comes true...
Star Fox U (Wii U) Review
The following is a work of fiction and does not reflect any insider knowledge on behalf of NWR, any similarities to the final product to be released later this year, are completely coincidental.
After a long absence, a lot was riding on this revival of the Star Fox franchise. Unfortunately this Wii U game is not what fans deserve. The levels generally feel like variations of ones we have seen in Star Fox 64, city, asteroid field, and valleys. Sure they look good (not great) in HD, but the lack of unique art direction really gives it a bland, uninteresting look. The level structure is also mainly the same, three main routes throughout the Lylat system, some harder than others. The levels are accessed in the same way they have always been and as a result it feels kind of run of the mill at this point.
The new vehicle, the gyrocopter, is probably the biggest addition and adds some unique control features on the GamePad. When the gyrocopter is stopped in hover mode, a robot is controlled via the touch screen. It's kind of awkward and as the camera doesn't change angle, and it often gets lost behind level geometry. There are some fun moments to be had with it, but ultimately it feels like a tacked on Wii U feature. The main campaign can be completed in about 40 minutes, however you will be playing through it at least 3 times to see everything putting the final hour count around 3 to 4 hours if you are thorough. The lack of online leaderboards or online play really hurts replayability and I would have liked to have at least seen some Miiverse integration such as adding messages to the map screen.
There is a local multiplayer mode, unlocked after completing the game at least once, but it basically plays like an upscaled version of the Star Fox 64 3D mode. If you don't have people round willing to play, you may never use it once as there isn't even a single player practice mode. The best part of local play is that players can tap an Amiibo after selecting their craft and get a cool skin. At the moment this is limited to the Super Mario series of Amiibo which released back in March. I would have liked to have seen Amiibo used elsewhere, such as single player, but again this feels like a rushed addition which is a shame.
Overall, the short development process becomes painfully apparent and you may find this title on your shelf much sooner than you'd hoped. There is nothing fundamentally wrong here in terms of the classic Star Fox gameplay, but the limited features and short single player make this a good game to rent, not buy.
+Classic Star Fox gameplay in HD
-Too short
-Little replayability
-Lack of online
Score XX/10
jarodeaMay 06, 2015
+Online co-op and battles, with voice chat!
Hahahahahahahahahaha... awww, I made myself sad.
Anyhoo, I see the game as a mix of the two. Graphics will be good but not great or inspired, there will be online that will be neutered classic Nintendotm style, several different vehicles to play which will range from really cool to gamepad gimmick, and some levels will be fresh and exciting with others tired and worn out.
I'm still excited for it and definitely hope it veers more towards the heaven side (and some other good sides not thought of).
JasonMaiviaMay 10, 2015
I'm starting to feel that the second mock review, "Hell", is probably the most-likely kind of review we're going to see when the game is done. I've waited too long for a great follow-up to Star Fox 64, but I don't think Nintendo's going to really give me what I really want.
I hope I'm wrong, and that whoever's in charge really knows what they're doing. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope that the next Star Fox game surpasses Star Fox 64 in every way and truly outshines the rest of the games as the best in the series.
Also, why have amiibo used for online play?
For co-op, why not have each player choose a character, Fox, Slippy, Falco, Kat, Krystal, etc., with more more enemies on screen, so that you'll have to work harder as a team to help one another?
Have you ever played the Silkworm/SWIV (Firepower 2000) series?
Those shooter that allowed two players to play together with one player as a tank/jeep and the other player as a helicopter. The helicopter only fired straight ahead, but was able to fly over everything, while the tank had to drive and jump around and over obstacles (including things like using bridges). This sort of idea could be used in Star Fox, with with each player having their own screen or with a player having their own full screen on the Gamepad.
Ever since Star Fox 64, I've wanted to be able to play a full game from start to finish together with another player. They could have it so some levels will require the use of an Arwing when you're in space and the submarine when underwater, but for other stages on land, they should allow the player to choose weather they want to fly in an Arwing, or drive on land in a Landmaster (like the Jeep and Helicopter in Silwork/SWIV/Firepower 2000).
famicomplicatedJames Charlton, Associate Editor (Japan)May 11, 2015
Let's face it, all of our ideas for co-op and online play are going to be better than what will be in the final game...
But I hope I'm wrong of course!
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seriesStar Fox