Star Fox: Assault
Encyclopedia
Star Fox: Assault is a third-person shooter
video game for the Nintendo GameCube
developed by Namco
and published by Nintendo
. It is the fourth released title in the Star Fox series. It was released on February 14, 2005 in North America, on February 24, 2005 in Japan, on April 29, 2005 in Europe, and on June 16, 2005 in Australia. The game was available at Blockbuster
and Hollywood Video
stores starting February 1, 2005 as a promotion.
Assault returns the Star Fox series to its space-combat roots after the previous game in the series, Star Fox Adventures
, took a more action-RPG approach. Assault takes place one year after the events of Adventures and introduces a new enemy named the Aparoids, a race bent on the assimilation of the Lylat system into their collective
mind.
When Assault was initially announced by Nintendo and Namco, it was also rumored that an arcade game
was under development. However, the arcade game was never heard about again in the public.
The gameplay of Star Fox: Assault is divided into three distinctive types. The player can either fly an Arwing (a spacecraft), or drive a Landmaster (a tank), or perform certain tasks on foot. All three play types are available for multiplayer mode
although some levels on multi-player mode are specific. For example, Level 1, "Fortuna: A New Enemy" is specifically Arwing. The game follows a completely linear track, unlike its predecessors Star Fox
and Star Fox 64
.
Arwing missions in Assault are similar to those of the first two games in the series. The player flies in space or close to the ground and shoots down enemies. Some levels are on rails, while others allow full freedom of movement in a relatively small area. As in previous games, the wing mates
of Fox, the main character, occasionally call for help when chased by enemies. Additionally, in some levels, the player has the ability to hop in and out of the Arwing at will.
While in the Landmaster, the player has complete freedom to move about the level. They are free to shoot or run over enemies as well as assist their wingmates when necessary. Playing on foot essentially turns the game into a third-person shooter
—the player starts armed with the blaster, a type of gun, and can acquire a variety of other weapons, including but not limited to a machine gun
and a homing launcher
. In two shooting gallery levels, the player rides on the wing of an Arwing or a Wolfen fighter, shooting enemies on the ground and in the air with a plasma cannon.
As an added bonus, by collecting all silver medals throughout the game, the player can unlock the NES
port of the scrolling shooter arcade game
, Xevious
.
Multiplayer mode offers several stages for playing, including stages from the single-player mode, "Simple Maps" (which look like they're made of building blocks), and other new maps. There are also several modes for play available, which can force a certain weapon (sniper, rocket launcher, etc.) or change the style of play (capture the crown, etc.). Also, there are a few customizable options, such as turning radar on/off, turning special weapons on/off, and turning Demon Launches on/off.
Multiplayer has a number of items and weapons, most of which are taken directly from the single-player mode. There are also special unlockable weapons such as the Demon Sniper and Demon Launcher (dubbed "The Loser Gun" by the gaming community, because one gets it when one is losing) which have the ability to kill in one hit. In addition, there are a couple special items such as jet packs (which give a player on foot a hovering ability similar to Landmaster's hover), and the "Stealth Suit", which can make the player invisible
for a long period of time.
, machine gun
, Homing Launcher
, sniper rifle
and the hand grenade
Also used is the Plasma Cannon
, a rapid-fire gun with unlimited ammunition. This, however, is only used at two specific points in Assault. The game also has a number of special items, including personal barriers which deflect enemy attacks. The usual rings seen in other Star Fox games that restore a vehicle's shield are also present.
Assault features the core Star Fox team, with Falco Lombardi
having returned, and Krystal taking over Peppy Hare's former spot. Peppy has retired from flying, and now resides in the Great Fox with ROB overseeing the missions. Star Wolf, absent from Adventures, returns as well. Pigma Dengar was kicked out, and Andrew Oikonny left. In their place is newcomer Panther Caroso.
The game marks the introduction of the Aparoids - insect-like creatures that are part-machine, part-life form. The Aparoids are capable of infecting
other life forms and machines and transforming them into Aparoids. The game calls this infection Aparoidedation. Large Aparoids contain a core memory that contains instructions as well as information on contacting the Aparoid Homeworld.
The Aparoids are led by the Aparoid Queen (Aparoid Mother in the Japanese version) on their home planet. The Queen believes that all things in the universe exist for the Aparoids to infect, and that becoming an Aparoid is not infection, but rather a form of evolution
. Beltino Toad created a program that took advantage of the fact that Aparoids cells are created using apoptosis
which is a chemical used in self-destruct programs. Fox used this program to destroy the Aparoid Queen. As all Aparoids are networked together in a hive mind, once Fox executed the self-destruct program in the Aparoid Queen all of the Aparoids and their home planet were forever annihilated.
The Aparoids seem to draw heavy inspiration from Star Trek
' s Borg
, which assimilate other life forms. The appearance of the Aparoid Queen who serves as the leader also reinforces this.
. Andrew Oikonny, Andross's nephew, assumes leadership over his dead uncle's army and starts a rebellion against the Cornerian Army. The Star Fox team, consisting of Fox McCloud
, Falco Lombardi
, Krystal, Slippy Toad
, and Peppy Hare (who has retired from piloting, and instead stays in the Great Fox with ROB to Guide the Star Fox team through missions), quickly fly in to assist them. Once they fight their way through his forces, they follow Andrew to Fortuna, where he attacks them by transforming his ship into an imitation of Andross's final form, but much weaker. Before his battle with the team is through, however, his ship is destroyed by a strange, insect-like creature, which then attacks the team. Fox destroys it, and takes a partial "core memory" from it for research just before a large number of insects identical to the one just destroyed arrive.
Once back at the Great Fox, Fox and the team learn from Beltino Toad that the attacking creature was an Aparoid, one of a powerful species capable of destroying entire Cornerian fleets with little effort. The team also learns that a distress signal is being sent from Katina and they suspect Aparoid involvement. Fox investigates the planet on foot, only to be trapped inside the base with the Aparoids. With the help of a Landmaster, he is able to fight them off. After defeating a large Aparoid boss
, resembling a giant UFO
with four legs, he recovers another Core Memory. This is quickly stolen by Pigma Dengar, who sent out the distress signal himself and believed he can become rich from the Core Memory's sale.
The Star Fox team tracks Pigma to the Sargasso Space Zone, a popular hideout for bandits, which is overseen by the Star Wolf leader, Wolf O'Donnell. After infiltrating the base, they discover Pigma is not there and the Star Wolf team shows up with Panther Caroso as their newest member, soon after their discovery. Wolf, Leon, and Panther engage the Star Fox team in a dogfight, which they subsequently lose. Wolf then told Fox that Pigma was no longer part of Star Wolf. Panther however, attempting to flirt with Krystal, tells her that Pigma is on the planet Fichina. When Fox and crew quickly rush over to the planet, they discover that Pigma had deactivated its climate control center, turning it into a snowy wasteland. After defeating an Aparoid that threatened to destroy the control center reactor, the team then follows Pigma through an asteroid belt. Once they catch up to him, they find that Pigma had been taken over by the Aparoids and had no control over his actions. He lets himself be assimilated (to avoid capture) into a large spacecraft with large tentacle-like metal arms as weapons. Fox fights and destroys Pigma, and retrieves the core memory, which has the information that will lead the team to the Aparoid Homeworld.
Krystal receives a sudden distress call from Sauria - formerly known as Dinosaur Planet - which is under attack by the Aparoids. Fox quickly lands on the planet and destroys the Aparoid hatchers before the dinosaur
s there are wiped out. After the battle, Fox and Krystal reunite with Prince Tricky, now a teenaged EarthWalker. Back on the Great Fox, General Pepper informs that while the Star Fox team was on Sauria, Corneria City was hit with a full-scale attack by the Aparoids, leaving it and its fleet devastated. Fox, with the help of Star Wolf, who arrived to assist in defeating a common enemy, is able to take out most of the attacking Aparoids. They soon find out, though, that General Pepper's ship(with the General inside being taken over as well) had been taken over by the Aparoids, and has started to attack Fox. However, General Pepper insists that Fox destroys the ship and himself. Fox is able to take down the ship with his plasma cannon and Peppy saves Pepper by using his Arwing. After the battle, the Star Fox team heads for a large space station
above Corneria, the Orbital Gate, which is used for warping to other planets. Before they are able to travel to the Aparoid homeworld, they are forced to defend it, with the help of Star Wolf again, from a series of various Aparoid missiles. They eventually destroy the missiles, just in time for Beltino Toad to finish creating a program that will destroy the Aparoids.
Once the Star Fox team reaches the Aparoid Homeworld, they realize that the entry to the core of the planet is blocked by a base and a large shield. Though the Star Fox Team is able to infiltrate the base and destroy a large amount of Aparoids, and the first shield, a second shield is formed and laser power is useless against it. However, the Great Fox - damaged by the Aparoids - appears and destroys the base. Peppy and ROB ram the Great Fox into the shield and open it long enough for the team to get through before it explodes.
The team enters the core of the planet, with Star Wolf showing up again to help them. Right before they reach the Queen, they are attacked by an extremely durable swarm of Aparoids. Wolf, Leon, and Panther decide to distract them to allow Fox to proceed onwards to the Queen's lair. The team confronts the Aparoid Queen, who uses the voices of Peppy, General Pepper, Pigma, and Fox's father in an attempt to deceive them into joining her. The team ignores her pleas, and fight her until Fox is able to shoot the program inside of her. However, the queen is able to repress it, and attempts to escape. Slippy informs Fox that if he does not destroy her and launch the program, the queen will create an antibody
. Fox drives a missile into the queen's heart which then explodes, killing her. The program launches, and the Aparoids go into self activated meltdown and are killed. The team escapes from the core of the homeworld, and soon discover that ROB and Peppy are still alive in an escape pod. Fox mentions the possibility of Star Wolf's escape. The game ends with Fox thanking the team for their efforts.
at Namco. New information about the game didn't show up until a short video montage
at 2003's E3 in Los Angeles
, which showcased the game's first-person
perspective. According to Electronic Gaming Monthly, the video was booed by viewers, and EGM itself said the video was "remarkably unimpressive".
During development, the game had the working title: Star Fox Armada, but eventually came to be known as Star Fox: Assault.
In 2003, the game was intended to be multi player oriented, and the ground missions of the game had a control scheme similar to the on-foot multi player mode in Star Fox 64
.
At 2004's E3, EGM, the same magazine that wrote poorly about it a year before, wrote a follow-up that said the game looked "much better than...a year ago". Assault was scheduled for a November 2004 release, but was delayed to the beginning of 2005.
Assault uses middleware provided by the Japanese company CRI Middleware
as a game engine
. Yoshie Arakawa and Yoshinori Kanemoto provided Assault with a musical score and sound effects with the music performed by the Tokyo New City Orchestra. Most of the score pieces use themes from Star Fox 64
, composed by Koji Kondo
and Hajime Wakai.
. Some complaints were aimed at the control scheme during on-foot portions; IGN
worded the complaint as "ground missions suffering from sloppy control". GameSpot
noted that the multiplayer portion of the game has little lasting value, an annoyance that IGN felt as well. IGN went on to say the design
was too simplistic. However, IGN noted that being able to switch between the Arwing and Landmaster at will was a "welcome addition". In Electronic Gaming Monthly, two of the reviewers gave it an 8.0 out of 10. Play Magazine gave the game 8 out of 10. Thunderbolt
gave it 9 out of 10. Kevin Gifford said that "the game is aimed less at the Mario club and more toward the hardcore crowd". EGM also noted that Assault had an epic feel, helped by a great soundtrack.
The game became enough of a commercial success for it to be included in Nintendo's Player's Choice
line, which also includes Star Fox 64
and Star Fox Adventures
.
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
video game for the Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
developed by Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
and published by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
. It is the fourth released title in the Star Fox series. It was released on February 14, 2005 in North America, on February 24, 2005 in Japan, on April 29, 2005 in Europe, and on June 16, 2005 in Australia. The game was available at Blockbuster
Blockbuster (movie rental store)
Blockbuster LLC is an American-based provider of home video and video game rental services, originally through video rental shops , later adding DVD-by-mail, streaming video on demand, and kiosks. At its peak in 2009, Blockbuster had up to 60,000 employees. There are around 1700 Blockbuster...
and Hollywood Video
Movie Gallery
Movie Gallery, Inc. was the second largest movie and game rental company in the United States, behind Blockbuster Video. The company rented and sold Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, VHS tapes, and video games...
stores starting February 1, 2005 as a promotion.
Assault returns the Star Fox series to its space-combat roots after the previous game in the series, Star Fox Adventures
Star Fox Adventures
Star Fox Adventures is an action-adventure video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube as part of the Star Fox series. It was released in North America on 23 September 2002, Japan on 27 September 2002, Australia on 15 November 2002 and Europe on 22 November 2002...
, took a more action-RPG approach. Assault takes place one year after the events of Adventures and introduces a new enemy named the Aparoids, a race bent on the assimilation of the Lylat system into their collective
Collectivism
Collectivism is any philosophic, political, economic, mystical or social outlook that emphasizes the interdependence of every human in some collective group and the priority of group goals over individual goals. Collectivists usually focus on community, society, or nation...
mind.
When Assault was initially announced by Nintendo and Namco, it was also rumored that an arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
was under development. However, the arcade game was never heard about again in the public.
Gameplay
Multiplayer game
A multiplayer video game is one which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time. Unlike most other games, computer and video games are often single-player activities that put the player against preprogrammed challenges and/or AI-controlled opponents, which often...
although some levels on multi-player mode are specific. For example, Level 1, "Fortuna: A New Enemy" is specifically Arwing. The game follows a completely linear track, unlike its predecessors Star Fox
Star Fox (video game)
, released as Starwing in Europe and Australia due to a game of the same name and subsequent trademark issues in those regions, is the first game in the Star Fox series of video games. It was released in the spring of 1993 for the SFC/SNES...
and Star Fox 64
Star Fox 64
, known in Australia and Europe as Lylat Wars, is a scrolling shooter video game for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It is a reboot of the original Star Fox, and the only game in the Star Fox series to be released on the Nintendo 64....
.
Arwing missions in Assault are similar to those of the first two games in the series. The player flies in space or close to the ground and shoots down enemies. Some levels are on rails, while others allow full freedom of movement in a relatively small area. As in previous games, the wing mates
Wingman
A wingman is a pilot who supports another in a potentially dangerous flying environment. Wingman was originally a term referring to the plane flying beside and slightly behind the lead plane in an aircraft formation....
of Fox, the main character, occasionally call for help when chased by enemies. Additionally, in some levels, the player has the ability to hop in and out of the Arwing at will.
While in the Landmaster, the player has complete freedom to move about the level. They are free to shoot or run over enemies as well as assist their wingmates when necessary. Playing on foot essentially turns the game into a third-person shooter
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
—the player starts armed with the blaster, a type of gun, and can acquire a variety of other weapons, including but not limited to a machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
and a homing launcher
Shoulder-launched missile weapon
A shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-launched missile or man-portable missile is a projectile fired at a target, small enough to be carried by a single person, and fired while held on one's shoulder...
. In two shooting gallery levels, the player rides on the wing of an Arwing or a Wolfen fighter, shooting enemies on the ground and in the air with a plasma cannon.
As an added bonus, by collecting all silver medals throughout the game, the player can unlock the NES
Nes
-Localities:In Norway:* Nes, Akershus, a municipality in the county of Akershus in Norway* Nes, Buskerud, a municipality in the county of Buskerud in Norway* Nes, Hedmark, a former municipality in the county of Hedmark in Norway...
port of the scrolling shooter arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
, Xevious
Xevious
is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game by Namco, released in 1982. It was designed by Masanobu Endō. In the U.S., the game was manufactured and distributed by Atari. Xevious runs on Namco Galaga hardware. In Brazil the arcade cabinet was printed with the name 'COLUMBIA' for the game, while the...
.
Multiplayer
The game features multiplayer with support for up to four players simultaneously. This mode starts off very limited, with only a few playable characters, weapons, items, and maps; but many more can be unlocked by either playing a certain number of multiplayer games or achieving certain accomplishments in-game. Players are able to fight on foot or in a vehicle (a Landmaster, Arwing, or Wolfen), though some stages prohibit certain modes of travel. Playable characters include the entire Star Fox team (including Peppy) as well as Wolf O'Donnell.Multiplayer mode offers several stages for playing, including stages from the single-player mode, "Simple Maps" (which look like they're made of building blocks), and other new maps. There are also several modes for play available, which can force a certain weapon (sniper, rocket launcher, etc.) or change the style of play (capture the crown, etc.). Also, there are a few customizable options, such as turning radar on/off, turning special weapons on/off, and turning Demon Launches on/off.
Multiplayer has a number of items and weapons, most of which are taken directly from the single-player mode. There are also special unlockable weapons such as the Demon Sniper and Demon Launcher (dubbed "The Loser Gun" by the gaming community, because one gets it when one is losing) which have the ability to kill in one hit. In addition, there are a couple special items such as jet packs (which give a player on foot a hovering ability similar to Landmaster's hover), and the "Stealth Suit", which can make the player invisible
Invisibility
Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be invisible . The term is usually used as a fantasy/science fiction term, where objects are literally made unseeable by magical or technological means; however, its effects can also be seen in the real...
for a long period of time.
Weapons and items
Assault features a number of projectile weapons, such as the blasterRaygun
Rayguns are a type of fictional directed-energy weapon. They have various alternate names: ray gun, death ray, beam gun, blaster, laser gun, phaser, etc. They are a well-known feature of science fiction; for such stories they typically have the general function of guns...
, machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
, Homing Launcher
Shoulder-launched missile weapon
A shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-launched missile or man-portable missile is a projectile fired at a target, small enough to be carried by a single person, and fired while held on one's shoulder...
, sniper rifle
Sniper rifle
In military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
and the hand grenade
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
Also used is the Plasma Cannon
Plasma rifle
When discussing weapons in science fiction, a plasma weapon is a type of raygun that fires a stream, bolt, pulse or toroid of plasma...
, a rapid-fire gun with unlimited ammunition. This, however, is only used at two specific points in Assault. The game also has a number of special items, including personal barriers which deflect enemy attacks. The usual rings seen in other Star Fox games that restore a vehicle's shield are also present.
Setting and characters
Star Fox: Assault takes place in the Lylat system, a location featured in the previous games. All of the planets visited in the game, save for the Aparoid Homeworld, have been seen in previous titles. Venom, prominently featured in past installments, is not seen.Assault features the core Star Fox team, with Falco Lombardi
Falco Lombardi
Falco Lombardi, known as in Japan, is an anthropomorphic falcon or pheasant character from the Star Fox series of video games. He was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and designed by Takaya Imamura. Falco acts as the wingman and friend of title character Fox McCloud for the majority of the...
having returned, and Krystal taking over Peppy Hare's former spot. Peppy has retired from flying, and now resides in the Great Fox with ROB overseeing the missions. Star Wolf, absent from Adventures, returns as well. Pigma Dengar was kicked out, and Andrew Oikonny left. In their place is newcomer Panther Caroso.
The game marks the introduction of the Aparoids - insect-like creatures that are part-machine, part-life form. The Aparoids are capable of infecting
Infection
An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...
other life forms and machines and transforming them into Aparoids. The game calls this infection Aparoidedation. Large Aparoids contain a core memory that contains instructions as well as information on contacting the Aparoid Homeworld.
The Aparoids are led by the Aparoid Queen (Aparoid Mother in the Japanese version) on their home planet. The Queen believes that all things in the universe exist for the Aparoids to infect, and that becoming an Aparoid is not infection, but rather a form of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
. Beltino Toad created a program that took advantage of the fact that Aparoids cells are created using apoptosis
Apoptosis
Apoptosis is the process of programmed cell death that may occur in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes and death. These changes include blebbing, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation, and chromosomal DNA fragmentation...
which is a chemical used in self-destruct programs. Fox used this program to destroy the Aparoid Queen. As all Aparoids are networked together in a hive mind, once Fox executed the self-destruct program in the Aparoid Queen all of the Aparoids and their home planet were forever annihilated.
The Aparoids seem to draw heavy inspiration from Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
Borg (Star Trek)
The Borg are a fictional pseudo-race of cybernetic organisms depicted in the Star Trek universe associated with Star Trek.Whereas cybernetics are used by other races in the science fiction world to repair bodily damage and birth defects, the Borg use enforced cybernetic enhancement as a means of...
, which assimilate other life forms. The appearance of the Aparoid Queen who serves as the leader also reinforces this.
Story
Star Fox: Assault takes place one year after the events of Star Fox AdventuresStar Fox Adventures
Star Fox Adventures is an action-adventure video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube as part of the Star Fox series. It was released in North America on 23 September 2002, Japan on 27 September 2002, Australia on 15 November 2002 and Europe on 22 November 2002...
. Andrew Oikonny, Andross's nephew, assumes leadership over his dead uncle's army and starts a rebellion against the Cornerian Army. The Star Fox team, consisting of Fox McCloud
Fox McCloud
is an anthropomorphic video game character and the main protagonist of the Star Fox series. He was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and designed by Takaya Imamura. As his name implies, he is a red fox and the main player character of the series....
, Falco Lombardi
Falco Lombardi
Falco Lombardi, known as in Japan, is an anthropomorphic falcon or pheasant character from the Star Fox series of video games. He was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and designed by Takaya Imamura. Falco acts as the wingman and friend of title character Fox McCloud for the majority of the...
, Krystal, Slippy Toad
Slippy Toad
is a player character in the Star Fox series of video games published by Nintendo, debuting in the 1993 game Star Fox.-Design and characteristics:...
, and Peppy Hare (who has retired from piloting, and instead stays in the Great Fox with ROB to Guide the Star Fox team through missions), quickly fly in to assist them. Once they fight their way through his forces, they follow Andrew to Fortuna, where he attacks them by transforming his ship into an imitation of Andross's final form, but much weaker. Before his battle with the team is through, however, his ship is destroyed by a strange, insect-like creature, which then attacks the team. Fox destroys it, and takes a partial "core memory" from it for research just before a large number of insects identical to the one just destroyed arrive.
Once back at the Great Fox, Fox and the team learn from Beltino Toad that the attacking creature was an Aparoid, one of a powerful species capable of destroying entire Cornerian fleets with little effort. The team also learns that a distress signal is being sent from Katina and they suspect Aparoid involvement. Fox investigates the planet on foot, only to be trapped inside the base with the Aparoids. With the help of a Landmaster, he is able to fight them off. After defeating a large Aparoid boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
, resembling a giant UFO
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
with four legs, he recovers another Core Memory. This is quickly stolen by Pigma Dengar, who sent out the distress signal himself and believed he can become rich from the Core Memory's sale.
The Star Fox team tracks Pigma to the Sargasso Space Zone, a popular hideout for bandits, which is overseen by the Star Wolf leader, Wolf O'Donnell. After infiltrating the base, they discover Pigma is not there and the Star Wolf team shows up with Panther Caroso as their newest member, soon after their discovery. Wolf, Leon, and Panther engage the Star Fox team in a dogfight, which they subsequently lose. Wolf then told Fox that Pigma was no longer part of Star Wolf. Panther however, attempting to flirt with Krystal, tells her that Pigma is on the planet Fichina. When Fox and crew quickly rush over to the planet, they discover that Pigma had deactivated its climate control center, turning it into a snowy wasteland. After defeating an Aparoid that threatened to destroy the control center reactor, the team then follows Pigma through an asteroid belt. Once they catch up to him, they find that Pigma had been taken over by the Aparoids and had no control over his actions. He lets himself be assimilated (to avoid capture) into a large spacecraft with large tentacle-like metal arms as weapons. Fox fights and destroys Pigma, and retrieves the core memory, which has the information that will lead the team to the Aparoid Homeworld.
Krystal receives a sudden distress call from Sauria - formerly known as Dinosaur Planet - which is under attack by the Aparoids. Fox quickly lands on the planet and destroys the Aparoid hatchers before the dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s there are wiped out. After the battle, Fox and Krystal reunite with Prince Tricky, now a teenaged EarthWalker. Back on the Great Fox, General Pepper informs that while the Star Fox team was on Sauria, Corneria City was hit with a full-scale attack by the Aparoids, leaving it and its fleet devastated. Fox, with the help of Star Wolf, who arrived to assist in defeating a common enemy, is able to take out most of the attacking Aparoids. They soon find out, though, that General Pepper's ship(with the General inside being taken over as well) had been taken over by the Aparoids, and has started to attack Fox. However, General Pepper insists that Fox destroys the ship and himself. Fox is able to take down the ship with his plasma cannon and Peppy saves Pepper by using his Arwing. After the battle, the Star Fox team heads for a large space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
above Corneria, the Orbital Gate, which is used for warping to other planets. Before they are able to travel to the Aparoid homeworld, they are forced to defend it, with the help of Star Wolf again, from a series of various Aparoid missiles. They eventually destroy the missiles, just in time for Beltino Toad to finish creating a program that will destroy the Aparoids.
Once the Star Fox team reaches the Aparoid Homeworld, they realize that the entry to the core of the planet is blocked by a base and a large shield. Though the Star Fox Team is able to infiltrate the base and destroy a large amount of Aparoids, and the first shield, a second shield is formed and laser power is useless against it. However, the Great Fox - damaged by the Aparoids - appears and destroys the base. Peppy and ROB ram the Great Fox into the shield and open it long enough for the team to get through before it explodes.
The team enters the core of the planet, with Star Wolf showing up again to help them. Right before they reach the Queen, they are attacked by an extremely durable swarm of Aparoids. Wolf, Leon, and Panther decide to distract them to allow Fox to proceed onwards to the Queen's lair. The team confronts the Aparoid Queen, who uses the voices of Peppy, General Pepper, Pigma, and Fox's father in an attempt to deceive them into joining her. The team ignores her pleas, and fight her until Fox is able to shoot the program inside of her. However, the queen is able to repress it, and attempts to escape. Slippy informs Fox that if he does not destroy her and launch the program, the queen will create an antibody
Antibody
An antibody, also known as an immunoglobulin, is a large Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique part of the foreign target, termed an antigen...
. Fox drives a missile into the queen's heart which then explodes, killing her. The program launches, and the Aparoids go into self activated meltdown and are killed. The team escapes from the core of the homeworld, and soon discover that ROB and Peppy are still alive in an escape pod. Fox mentions the possibility of Star Wolf's escape. The game ends with Fox thanking the team for their efforts.
Development
Star Fox: Assault was first announced on May 8, 2002. It had a tentative release date of April 2003 for Japan, and would be developed by the same employees who worked on Ace Combat 2Ace Combat 2
Ace Combat 2 is the sequel to the 1995 Arcade/Flight-sim Air Combat, released in 1997 by Namco. Ace Combat 2 is part of Namco's Ace Combat series and continues the arcade style gameplay of its predecessor, with major improvements. Various subsequent Ace Combat games use similar maps or missions...
at Namco. New information about the game didn't show up until a short video montage
Montage (film)
Montage is a technique in film editing in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information. It is usually used to suggest the passage of time, rather than to create symbolic meaning as it does in Soviet montage theory.From the 1930s to the 1950s,...
at 2003's E3 in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, which showcased the game's first-person
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
perspective. According to Electronic Gaming Monthly, the video was booed by viewers, and EGM itself said the video was "remarkably unimpressive".
During development, the game had the working title: Star Fox Armada, but eventually came to be known as Star Fox: Assault.
In 2003, the game was intended to be multi player oriented, and the ground missions of the game had a control scheme similar to the on-foot multi player mode in Star Fox 64
Star Fox 64
, known in Australia and Europe as Lylat Wars, is a scrolling shooter video game for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It is a reboot of the original Star Fox, and the only game in the Star Fox series to be released on the Nintendo 64....
.
At 2004's E3, EGM, the same magazine that wrote poorly about it a year before, wrote a follow-up that said the game looked "much better than...a year ago". Assault was scheduled for a November 2004 release, but was delayed to the beginning of 2005.
Assault uses middleware provided by the Japanese company CRI Middleware
CRI Middleware
CRI Middleware Co., Ltd. is a Japanese developer providing middleware for use in the computer and video game industry. From the early nineties, CRI was a video game developer, but shifted focus in 2001...
as a game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
. Yoshie Arakawa and Yoshinori Kanemoto provided Assault with a musical score and sound effects with the music performed by the Tokyo New City Orchestra. Most of the score pieces use themes from Star Fox 64
Star Fox 64
, known in Australia and Europe as Lylat Wars, is a scrolling shooter video game for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It is a reboot of the original Star Fox, and the only game in the Star Fox series to be released on the Nintendo 64....
, composed by Koji Kondo
Koji Kondo
is a Japanese video game composer and sound director who has been employed at Nintendo since 1984. He is best known for scoring numerous titles in the Mario and The Legend of Zelda series.-Early life:...
and Hajime Wakai.
Reception
Star Fox: Assault was met with mixed reviews and currently has an average score of 71% on Game RankingsGame Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
. Some complaints were aimed at the control scheme during on-foot portions; IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
worded the complaint as "ground missions suffering from sloppy control". GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
noted that the multiplayer portion of the game has little lasting value, an annoyance that IGN felt as well. IGN went on to say the design
Level design
Level design, environment design or game mapping is a discipline of game development involving creation of video game levels—locales, stages, or missions. This is commonly done using level editor, a game development software designed for building levels; however some games feature built-in...
was too simplistic. However, IGN noted that being able to switch between the Arwing and Landmaster at will was a "welcome addition". In Electronic Gaming Monthly, two of the reviewers gave it an 8.0 out of 10. Play Magazine gave the game 8 out of 10. Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt (website)
Thunderbolt is an independent videogames website that was launched on November 20, 2000 by Philip Morton . Thunderbolt publishes reviews, previews and features covering the major gaming platforms, particularly consoles...
gave it 9 out of 10. Kevin Gifford said that "the game is aimed less at the Mario club and more toward the hardcore crowd". EGM also noted that Assault had an epic feel, helped by a great soundtrack.
The game became enough of a commercial success for it to be included in Nintendo's Player's Choice
Player's Choice
Nintendo Selects is a marketing label used by Nintendo to promote video games on Nintendo game consoles which have sold well; Nintendo Selects titles are sold at a lower price point than other games...
line, which also includes Star Fox 64
Star Fox 64
, known in Australia and Europe as Lylat Wars, is a scrolling shooter video game for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It is a reboot of the original Star Fox, and the only game in the Star Fox series to be released on the Nintendo 64....
and Star Fox Adventures
Star Fox Adventures
Star Fox Adventures is an action-adventure video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube as part of the Star Fox series. It was released in North America on 23 September 2002, Japan on 27 September 2002, Australia on 15 November 2002 and Europe on 22 November 2002...
.