One of the highlights of yesterday's Nintendo Direct was the highly anticipated "Star Fox Zero." Initially unveiled at E3 2014 as one of three projects for the Wii U, the long-awaited game is finally coming to stores on April 22 - marking the first original release in the series since 2006.
The game was originally expected to drop during the 2015 holiday season. But when that didn't pan out, many feared the worst for Nintendo's beloved dogfighter believing that the game could be further delayed beyond an early 2016 release. Not only did Nintendo lay those fears to rest, but it also revealed an additional game that would come alongside it: "Star Fox Guard."
"Star Fox Guard," known as Project Guard in early development, was another one of the three projects for the Wii U that would pride itself on using the Wii U GamePad controller in tandem with a television. The focus of the game was simple: monitor and protect an outpost by using a series of surveillance cameras as waves of enemy robots try to march in. Somewhat similar to a "maul" or "tower defense."
The final version of Guard will now have players help Grippy Toad, the uncle of Star Fox's Slippy Toad, defend against waves of robots, much like the original. There will be an online aspect to the game as well, allowing players to create and share their own custom levels with other players around the world.
Not to be outdone by a spin-off, Zero looks to impress, and many who had the chance to get their hands on both the original version and the updated one shown off during yesterday's Direct report that its been vastly improved from before.
Probably the biggest gripe with the game during its initial public build was the controls. Players need to use both the GamePad and television to effectively control Fox's Arwing to face the horde of mechanical baddies. While novel, many complained that the control scheme was difficult to utilize and even worse, it was hard to target anything - a problem when the aim of the game is to shoot enemies down.
While the control scheme is still in place, it's unclear if there is a way to change this. "Star Fox Zero" now has a tutorial mission where players can get accustomed to the new controls instead of simply dropping you off in the middle of a mission like the series did in every other title. Now it's possible to effectively treat your lasers like an independent turret rather than a fixed weapon, meaning that it's now possible to fly through parts of the level without changing your flight path but still have the capacity to shoot almost anywhere on the screen.
One thing of note, which was actually brought back from the Star Fox 64, is the branching paths that have an effect on the difficulty of the level. Through the use of teleporters that need to be found, the player can navigate to an "alternate dimension" which requires a solid understanding of the controls to survive. Enemies found on these paths are more dangerous and may have certain caveats in the encounter such as time limits - similar to the battle against the Star Wolf team on Fortuna or against Mechbeth on Macbeth.
Nintendo promises that "Zero" will provide a fresh, new experience that both new and experienced players can enjoy once the game drops April 22.
