Star Fox Assault

Star Fox Assault
Developer	Namco
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Nintendo GameCube
Release Date	US February 14, 2005 JP February 24, 2005 EU April 29, 2005
Gallery	GH Gallery
Rating	ESRB: T

Star Fox Assault is a rail shooter that acts as the fourth video game of the Star Fox series and an attempt to return to the original space shooter formula after the mixed reviews received from the land-based gameplay of the previous game, Star Fox Adventures. It is the second and last Star Fox game for the GameCube.

Story

The Star Fox team has rebuilt since the previous game, with Falco Lombardi returning to the team and a new member in the form of Krystal, although the veteran Peppy Hare has retired from active combat. Fox McCloud leads his comrades into battle once again. Initially they are sent out to quell a rebellion led by Andrew Oikonny, but they eventually face a greater menace in the form of the aparoids, a horrific race of insect-like aliens that threaten to assimilate the entire universe into their control.

Gameplay

The game mostly features aerial combat, as opposed to Adventures were space shooter areas were rare. It is also possible to dismount the vehicle and fight on land with a variety of weapons. Both the Arwing and the Landmaster Tank appear as vehicles in the game. The branching level paths from the previous games are gone, and instead the player progress through a series of missions with different goals.

Just like Star Fox 64 and Adventures, the game features voice-acting. It also has a multiplayer battle mode.

Additionally, Namco's classic NES games appear as unlockables. The English version only contains Xevious, while the Japanese version additionally contains the games Battle City and Star Luster.

Legacy

Assault was supposed to receive an arcade counterpart sometime in 2004 or 2005, but the project was canceled for unknown reasons.

Sequels

The next game in the series was Star Fox Command for the Nintendo DS, which continued the storyline but while featuring a new gameplay style.