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Star Fox Wii U Announced With Connections To Other New Sci-Fi Projects
Fox McCloud is suiting up and finally flying his Arwing back into the fray. On Sunday at a special pre-E3 2014 event in Los Angeles, CA, Nintendo announced a new game in the Star Fox series during a private event. The title uses the Wii U GamePad and players' TV screens to accommodate both first- and third-person perspectives. We got hands on Fox's latest sci-fi excursions, along with two other possibly related titles.
The event was hosted by Nintendo luminary Shigeru Miyamoto. The industry icon demonstrated the new Star Fox game while wearing a stylish Pikmin shirt, donning a few more gray hairs than last we saw him, and an unmistakable twinkle in his eyes. The creator of Mario and Zelda announced a new chapter in Fox McCloud's saga, complete with hands-on gameplay.
This new Wii U Star Fox game is a departure from the formula established on the SNES and N64. Of the gameplay shown, players soar through open environments rather than narrow valleys of its predecessors. In the first section, Fox flies an Arwing around a closed-in battlefield while gunning down rival aircraft and tanks on the ground. Nintendo is taking advantage of the GamePad's second screen by letting players choose between third- and first-person perspectives on the fly. One can be on the TV, the other on the controller itself. The third-person view offers better peripheral vision, good for maneuvering away from foes or finding the most action. Unlike the third-person view, the first-person view offers a reticle used for fine-tuning your aim. Not aiming in third-person takes some adjustment for Star Fox fans, but I eventually got the hang of it.
Another new feature is the ability to change into a Landrover tank on the fly. Clicking in a thumbstick transforms the Arwing into a tank, which allows players to explore new areas and gain a new perspective on the battlefield. Aiming laser blasts and launching missiles feels the same with both vehicles - movement is relegated to a control stick while moving the GamePad aims more precisely. This section concludes with a faceoff against series antagonist Wolf. Flicking the thumbsticks in specific directions lets Fox do somersaults, u-turns, and famous barrel rolls to shake Fox's nemesis.
The next section shows off an open city area with a huge monster attacking the tall buildings. Fox flies a helicopter around the area, gunning down tanks on the streets and plinking away at the giant beast. The helicopter can also lower a robot, helpful in exploring the rooftops and finding collectibles. It's a cool new vehicle for the series, but the context for experimentation was a little underwhelming.
Even though this is the first reveal of the new Star Fox, underwhelming sums up my general feelings. The early demo is rough around the edges, looking more like a GameCube-quality title than something running on Nintendo's next-gen system. Draw distance is limited and jagged edges mar the terrain, but not in the classic, early polygonal style of old Star Fox titles. During a roundtable Q&A a fellow journalist noted the rough-around-the edges appearance, prompting a response from Miyamoto.
"Originally we weren't targeting E3 as the announcement time for the Star Fox game and in developing it we really came to like it," Miyamoto says. "And I also wanted to motivate ourselves to complete the game as quickly as possible."
On the topic of accelerating the development, Miyamoto says the title began as an in-house project, but the company is seeking external help to finish up the project.
Further muddying the waters is the announcement of two other smaller games, Project Giant Robot and Project Guard. These smaller experiences feature giant, physics-based robot battles and a security camera-based tower defense-style game, respectively. Nintendo didn't make any mention that these games are related to the Star Fox title, but I spotted a Star Fox logo on one of the cameras in Project Guard. When asked, Miyamoto said, "As I said, there will be multiple different kinds of missions within the Star Fox game, so, maybe something like that could appear."
Miyamoto's caginess makes us even more suspicious, but he offered a further hint about the possibility that Project Giant Robot and Project Guard will be part of Star Fox. "I think the robot that came down from the helicopter is the same robot that you were shooting in [Project Guard]."
The clues suggest that the Fox McCloud's next title may also be packaged with or closely associated with a few other fun minigames. Both Project Guard and Project Giant Robot are fun uses of the GamePad (read my hands-on impressions here), but as a Star Fox fan I'm not convinced this is the sequel I've been waiting for. But as Miyamoto admits, the game is still quite early in development and it's too early to cast judgment. For now, it's exciting that the furry pilot has taken flight once again.
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