I think I will. Here's what IGN had to say about it in May after E3.
Earlier today IGNcube went hands-on with the GameCube action shooter Star Fox 2. Keep reading for our hands-on impressions, but first a clarification. This is the game formerly known as Star Fox Armada and yes, it is developed by Namco.
Nintendo showed off Star Fox 2's multiplayer mode and we gave it a good run. What's it all about? Well, you control the classic Star Fox characters including McCloud and Slippy, and can run them about fair sized 3D environments in deathmatch style play. The difference, we suppose, is that the characters can jump into vehicles situated about the levels, from tanks to the Arwing, and then continue to battle with the opposition. There are even various interactive objects, like a rail car, which you can hop into and ride around an arena while blasting apart the competition. The concept isn't entirely a new one - these play mechanics have been established, and far better, in shooters like Battlefield 1942, but for Star Fox funs this is still not too shabby.
The control setup puzzled us at first. The analog stick does not make Fox and friends move. Rather, you have to hold down the R button to run and the L button to strafe left or right (in conjunction with the analog stick). While running, the analog stick manipulates the character's direction. It takes some getting used to, we assure you. However, once we got the hang of it, the mechanics seemed to fall better into place. "A" button is used for blasting and "Y" for jumping. Meanwhile, the camera stick is used for aiming, which can also be done easily while in mid-run, a near-must for games of this nature.
Once you're near a ship or vehicle, you can jump right into it and take it for a spin. We hopped into the Arwing repeatedly at which point we could take to the skies, turn around, and then barrel down on the other character. It's not exactly fair - Slippy is hardly a match for the Arwing, but it is fun. The Arwing controls exactly like it does in past Star Fox shooters. The A button blasts, R and L spin the craft, and there's not much in between, but simple or not it moves fast and feels great. Well, that's not entirely it. There is a really cool new feature. If you're in the Arwing and you hit the Z button, your character will actually jump out of his craft and stand on its wing. It gets better. You can actually control him independently and fire at foes on the ground. It's sweet. The drawback to doing this more often is that nobody is controlling the ship when you're on the wing so it just coasts through the air and possibly into buildings.
Several players can use the vehicles at once. We repeatedly chased each other around with two Arwings. The ships can even be made to fly low and under bridge overpasses.
If you are on foot, though, you're not exactly a sitting duck. The levels seem to be constructed for balance. So, while the Arwing will be more powerful, the players on foot can still take cover behind various objects and then blast the ships from flight as they pass by. It works. In many cases, being on the ground with a simple blaster in hand is better.
Unfortunately, we didn't get to play the single-player mode of the game.
Star Fox 2 does not have the prettiest graphics. It looks simple. The environments are large, but constructed with minimal polygons. The models feature crisp texture work, but the locales lack it. In many cases, it seems that developer Namco has in fact opted for an almost flat-shaded look similar to the classic games. Animation for characters is speedy, but not nearly as fluid or defined as Fox and friends were in Rare's Star Fox Adventures, for example. Particle effects, though, are detailed and well done and the title seems to be nearly locked at 60 frames per second, even in the quick-moving multiplayer mode.
Are we blown away? No. Definitely not. But is the game enjoyable? Yes. The multiplayer mode is fast and well balanced and it's always a "blast" to play around with the Star Fox characters.
Well, it sounds cool. The multiplayer sounds promising, and the single player will probably be good too. The controls worried me a bit, but I went and picked up my GC controller and used the controls the game will use for a minute. It actually felt pretty good.
When you think about it, this will actually be Satr Fox 4. MAybe they should change the name back to Star Fox Armada.
Here's Fox's costume in this game. I like his boots.
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