I wanted to make this thread to give my impressions of what i played of this game on the show today because it really struck me as one of the most refreshing takes on how to make a sequel defying (and in my opinion exceeding) expectations and i think many are not really understanding what's the appeal of this title. I played this pretty extensively today and the first thing i should say it's that being a Starfox veteran, at first i REALLY sucked at it, and got better and better the more I played and the more I understood how to properly juggle all the different elements that make this sequel.
So here go my impressions: This is Starfox with enough new to have you relearn the a-b-c,that feels familiar yet had a level of complexity other titles in the series lack, and it all just felt very elegant once it clicked. There are a ton of little surprises that the cockpit view and transformations allow. Also, the music is sublime.
When i pictured a sequel, i always tought bigger and badder set pieces was the way to go. They took it in a completely different direction (although bigger and badder is still somewhat present), and made just the experience of flying the arwing feel fresh. It's almost like getting a bunch of remote controlled toys. Due to this, it's not as snappy and intuitive add previous games in the series. Its somewhat slower and requires great coordination. Picture controlling a remote controlled car or helicopter. It almost feels like Starfox combined with some magnified elements of Steel Diver (which makes sense given Miyamotos involvement). The enemies are not wrongly placed (like some people seem to be inducing by looking at videos), by the mere fact that piloting the vehicles is a bit more of a challenge, yet rewarding. Once you kill them there is a great sense of accomplishment in managing both screens and mobility. Don't judge it only by what's on the screen. The input of controls here makes a HUGE difference. The most astonishing thing about this is while all of this is taking place, the classic Starfox gameplay can still be enjoyed by looking soley at the tv (and as a matter of fact it seems the game encourages you to alternate, at will, between looking only at the tv and expanding the gameplay with cockpit view and transformations should you want to look for secrets or alternate ways of completing missions).
It was the most fun I had at the show so far, and frankly, it's amazing.
Edit:
This videos show on some level the remote controlled vehicle feeling this game accomplishes:
https://youtu.be/k8ooyoMrstE
https://youtu.be/33Sr-oa83VY
So here go my impressions: This is Starfox with enough new to have you relearn the a-b-c,that feels familiar yet had a level of complexity other titles in the series lack, and it all just felt very elegant once it clicked. There are a ton of little surprises that the cockpit view and transformations allow. Also, the music is sublime.
When i pictured a sequel, i always tought bigger and badder set pieces was the way to go. They took it in a completely different direction (although bigger and badder is still somewhat present), and made just the experience of flying the arwing feel fresh. It's almost like getting a bunch of remote controlled toys. Due to this, it's not as snappy and intuitive add previous games in the series. Its somewhat slower and requires great coordination. Picture controlling a remote controlled car or helicopter. It almost feels like Starfox combined with some magnified elements of Steel Diver (which makes sense given Miyamotos involvement). The enemies are not wrongly placed (like some people seem to be inducing by looking at videos), by the mere fact that piloting the vehicles is a bit more of a challenge, yet rewarding. Once you kill them there is a great sense of accomplishment in managing both screens and mobility. Don't judge it only by what's on the screen. The input of controls here makes a HUGE difference. The most astonishing thing about this is while all of this is taking place, the classic Starfox gameplay can still be enjoyed by looking soley at the tv (and as a matter of fact it seems the game encourages you to alternate, at will, between looking only at the tv and expanding the gameplay with cockpit view and transformations should you want to look for secrets or alternate ways of completing missions).
It was the most fun I had at the show so far, and frankly, it's amazing.
Edit:
This videos show on some level the remote controlled vehicle feeling this game accomplishes:
https://youtu.be/k8ooyoMrstE
https://youtu.be/33Sr-oa83VY
