Let it be known that Cone has now been on this good Earth for a quarter of a century as of this past Saturday.
Happy Birthday!
August 2005
1/4 Century Mark
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Call for Emails!
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Hey Everyone just a quick reminder to send your emails in for tomorrow nights podcast. We would love to hear what you have to say about anything. If you want to talk about some forum news, something you didn’t like about a certain game, or just plain feedback on the podcast. We would love to hear what you have to say. Send them to myself or to Pickle, and you will get your emails read over the podcast. Thanks for the support and keep on listening.
OT: Cherry Garcia
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This is highly off topic, but I had a revelation last night that needs to be revealed. When it comes to ice cream I am a fan of plain vanilla and various other normal flavors. Dots has always eaten “fancy” ice cream like Ben & Jerrys. Last night while at the store I decided to try my hand at this flavor called Cherry Garcia and I have to say that I will never look at ice cream the same again. It was like someone rocked my world and now all that I am craving is that silly pint of yummy goodness. What a strange world we live in eh?
I should also point out that I thought today was Wednesday and have been operating as such all day. I don’t know which day I lost, but it is forever gone.
[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/starfoxassault/cover.jpg[/floatleft][i]Star Fox[/i] is one of the few games I actually remember playing back on the N64, which is funny because despite the awesome library for that system, I only owned a half dozen games at any given time. [i]Star Fox: Assault[/i] is the newest in the franchise and the second game to come out for the GameCube.
[i]Star Fox: Assault[/i] takes place after [i]Star Fox Adventures[/i] (GC), and when Andrew Oikonny, the nephew of the late Andross, is kicked out of Star Wolf’s gang of miscreants, he takes control of the remaining Andross fleet and brings a revolution. Star Fox and his team spring into action to defeat Oikonny and his rebellion.
[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/starfoxassault/ss04_thumb.jpg[/floatright][i]Star Fox: Assault[/i] sports a single-player mode, a versus mode, and last but not least, a bonus game which happens to be the NES version of [i]Xevious[/i]. Single-player mode takes you through the story of the game but also allows you to replay each mission you have currently completed to earn high scores. When you have completed story mode, you will unlock survival mode which allows you to embark on a survival game that challenges you to finish every mission without saving.
Unlocking the bonus game is accomplished by completing story mode on Silver difficulty.
As you play through [i]Star Fox: Assault[/i], you will encounter a few different types of levels. Some levels will have you exclusively piloting the Arwing, and some levels will have you embark upon foot. Missions on foot, all range stages, will allow you to take advantage of the Landmaster, which is basically a light tank. Likewise, you can also truck around on foot. While on foot, Star Fox has a highly expansive arsenal of weapons with which to eliminate his enemies. These weapons range from a simple blaster all the way up to a Gatling Gun and even a Demon Launcher, which is only available in the versus mode.
From a gameplay perspective, there isn’t a whole lot new this time around. Piloting the Arwing is basically the same as it ever was. When setting up your character, you have the option of inverting the Y axis for your Arwing, Landmaster, as well as on foot. These settings are independent of each other, which I find very comforting since I know some people like inverted flying, but not inverted FPS/3PS viewing.
[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/starfoxassault/ss08_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]After completing each mission in story mode, your score will be tallied up on the results screen. You will be awarded a score for the level based on your mission points (made up of your time bonus and enemy hits) and level difficulty bonus. You will also collect medals and badges for your accomplishments in this particular level. These are all tallied up for an overall score for your profile. You are also given a chance to save after each mission.
Versus mode allows you to play with two to four players in a split-screen melee. The number of options for versus mode is quite impressive and should make for a nice variety in a multiplayer gathering.
[i]Star Fox: Assault[/i] is not a terribly long game, but for me the inclusion of [i]Xevious[/i] has solidified its place in my collection (it’s sad, I know). The jumps in difficulty between Bronze, Silver, and Gold will keep a [i]Star Fox[/i] fan playing the game a few times to achieve maximum scores, and the multiplayer will give you and your friends a reason to come back for more.
Having some of my fondest childhood gaming moments with [i]Xevious[/i] makes this a no-brainer for me, but even without that stellar classic, [i]Star Fox: Assault[/i] is a worthy title to check out.
[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/flatout/cover.jpg[/floatleft]Demolition derbies are great to watch and undoubtedly more fun to be in, assuming you can avoid the risk of certain death. [i]FlatOut[/i], the new demolition racer from Bugbear, places you in the middle of that action and eliminates the risk of serious bodily harm (at least for you).
At its core, [i]FlatOut[/i] is an entertaining racer that is very shallow but packs in quite a few outlandish bonus games that are sure to keep you playing. Upon loading [i]FlatOut[/i], you are presented with a few gameplay options: Career, Quick Race, Time Trial, and Multiplayer. You will spend quite a bit of your time playing Career mode, and it is very similar to what you would expect. Career mode is basically a series of races in three different racing circuits: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Placing in the top three slots for each race will unlock the next race for you, and the higher up you place, the more cash you are awarded to upgrade your clunker with new parts or even buy a new car. In addition to standard races, you will also get to try your hand at some wacky bonus races. Bonus races are a collection of races that range from Demo Derbies to very strange High Jump challenges. These special races make special use of one aspect of the physics engine that some people will find offensive: hurling your driver through the windshield at neck-breaking speeds. Bonus courses also reward you for your hard work, and I have found that mastering the High Jump is the fastest way to build a sizeable amount of cash for purchasing vehicle upgrades.
[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/flatout/ss10_thumb.jpg[/floatright]Actual races in [i]FlatOut[/i] are quite simple and will require a mix of skills from standard racing as well as rally racing. Powersliding is a technique that will come in quite handy. Launching your driver from the car is also present in these standard races and can become highly annoying. The AI racers in Career mode are very aggressive and will oftentimes run you into a tree or some other obstacle and send your driver tumbling in the road. As expected, this causes quite an annoying delay in getting back on the track and continuing your race. The advantage to this is that the AI drivers are just as prone to slamming into obstacles as you are, so they don’t ever seem to get too far ahead. Rubberbanding also makes a nasty appearance in [i]FlatOut[/i] that keeps you from getting too far ahead as well.
One of the great things about [i]FlatOut[/i] is that the environments are incredibly destructible. Just about anything on or off the track can be slammed into and broken. Clipping a sign will cause it to come crashing down, possibly slowing down your opponents that are right on your tail. As the races progress, your car will also reflect impressive levels of damage. Unlike most games, you are basically rewarded for wrecking your car and hitting obstacles. Nitro boost is awarded as you plow into objects or other cars on the track. Not to worry about the damage, though, as it takes an awful lot to prevent your car from driving.
One complaint I have about [i]FlatOut[/i] is the lack of variety in cars and tracks. There are only a few areas that make up the settings for the races, and oftentimes they feel highly repetitive. The models and environments look great, but a wider variety would have been nice.
[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/flatout/ss05_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]I didn’t take [i]FlatOut[/i] online, but the multiplayer is apparently a blast with eight drivers causing massive carnage. A few key points about the online gaming is that the Xbox version is missing online demo derbies, and the PC version is missing the online component completely, only providing LAN play. So the one console that lacks a solid online solution is the only one that gets the full range of online options.
[i]FlatOut[/i]’s developer Bugbear is based in Europe, so the music will be a little strange for those in the States. After awhile, the music just blended it, but Bugbear would be wise to allow Xbox and PC gamers to make use of custom soundtracks in future games.
When it is all said and done, [i]FlatOut[/i] delivers a rusty demolition racing experience that provides a shallow amount of entertainment. The bonus levels are good for short bursts of entertainment and carnage, and the Career mode is provided as the staple for current racing games. My recommendation is that race fans should give this one a shot. The spectacular crash sequences may just be worth it.
