E3 2010: Star Fox 64 3D (Nintendo 3DS)
By:
Andre Segers
|
June 16, 2010, 7:05 pm

We don’t know much about Star Fox 3DS yet, but luckily they had a short demo of it on the show floor allowing us a quick glimpse of this title.

In short, this game is a remake of Star Fox 64, with that game’s first level being on display. Like before, it begins with you flying over an ocean as you approach the mainland. Right away, we were stunned by the graphical improvements--the water now refracts light and looks fantastic as it glistens in the sunlight. Of course, 3D was in full-play, but didn’t become apparent until we reached the mainland, where the passing buildings clearly appeared to get closer, just as they would in real life. The added depth really makes playing this game feel like an entirely new experience and actually does help in avoiding obstacles, since you can better gauge where they are in relation to your ship.
 
 
In fact, the game looks so brilliant, we might have been fooled into thinking it was a brand new Star Fox game, if it weren’t for the identical enemy-placement. Battling them ensured we had to get used to the controls quick. As expected, the control stick handles flight-movement while the face-buttons control weapon-usage, and the shoulder buttons utilized for tilts/rolls. However, tricks such as the somersault, which used to be performed with a press of the Boost button in conjunction with a direction on the analog stick, have been delegated to a direction on the control-pad. This, in effect, makes them easier to pull off (since timing the movement is no longer an issue), but is also a bit cumbersome as you have to take your thumb the analog pad first in order to reach the control-pad. Not a big deal, but certainly something to note. One welcomed addition was the ability to invert the controls on the fly with a quick left-press on the d-pad--a feature that may not make it into the final game, but one that’s handy for short demos.

Star Fox 3DS whet our appetite for more. The 3D addition really does enhance the experience and we can’t wait to fight our way through the Lylat system, once again.
Page URL:
blog comments powered by Disqus