Star Fox Adventures puts you in the shoes of everyone’s favorite space-faring fox as he tries to free Dinosaur Planet from the tyrannical reign of General Scales. The story shapes up like this: Fox is unemployed after saving the Lylat system from the big monkey known as Andross back in Star Fox 64, and now his services go for the highest bidder. When General Pepper calls upon the Star Fox team, sans Falco, to help out the world of Dinosaur Planet, the dollar signs come into play and Fox sets a course.

When you arrive at Dinosaur Planet you will find that several pieces have been lifted away and are now orbiting the world, instead of being attached. During the course of the game you find out that DP holds some major magical power and with that power comes the aid for several stones that, when placed at the correct temples, hold the planet together as one. General Scales, being the enemy that he is, took these stones and the planet has ripped itself apart. It is your job, among many, to bring the planet back together and overthrow the general.

Star Fox Adventure’s heritage dates back to the Nintendo 64 with a Rare game called Dinosaur Planet (are we beginning to see the similarities?). Dinosaur Planet featured a blue female fox whose job is not unlike Fox’s during the course of this game. Early on you take control of Krystal, which introduces you to many of the bigger aspects of the game including the Krazoa Spirits, and the back-story involving General Scales.

Throughout the game you can see the work that Rare invested in the design and implementation. Graphics are topnotch throughout, and while there are only a few things left over from the Nintendo 64 version, this beautifully crafted world will have you gaping in awe. No one said Rare wasn’t talented, and it becomes more evident when you look at the individual character models. Fox, and any character with fur, is beautifully rendered to the point where individual pieces of fur can be manipulated by the wind and surrounding environment. It is a very creative sight to see when watching in-game cutscenes that progress the story. The game world is also topnotch in its design. Worlds are varied and lively, and there are even points where environmental manipulation is essential to progressing.

Fox, however, won’t be able to get through this world alone, so Rare created a sidekick in the name of Tricky, a Triceratops look-alike who is crowned Prince of his tribe. One of your first missions is to track him down after his mother is injured during a battle with General Scales’ henchmen. Tricky follows you around for a better part of the game, alerts you to secrets and provides some other uses such as his flame command that can light furnaces and melt ice during the appropriate levels. While the character does add another dimension to the gameplay by making you solve puzzles differently, having him follow you around from time to time can fray your nerves.

Krystal’s staff, which Fox will find and use during the first level of the game, can be equipped with many different power-ups that let it perform a variety of different functions. These power-ups include a flame blast, ice blast, a rocket jump and a “missile launcher” for lack of a better word. The staff, and interface itself, is very reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64 and its upcoming sequel for the GameCube. You can assign a function to the Y Button while the C-stick manages your inventory, B backs you out of it, and A is sensitive to the situation, but performs all of the major functions in the game. When Z is pushed you will enter a first person mode where you can’t move around, but have the ability to use the analog stick and look where ever you need to.

The majority of the gameplay in the early going of the game revolves around the Rare patented find, collect, deliver gameplay. What this involves is Fox being sent on errand runs by every animal in the game to get something that they need, but are too lazy to get for themselves, so you are left with the somewhat daunting task of locating any set number of meteors/nuts/berries/fruit/etc. which can prove rather tedious and turn players off to the game during the first couple of hours. Near the 33 percent mark, you will find that these missions have eased up a bit and you are able to get into the real adventure part of the game, where all of the fun lies.

What, you say? Where are the flying missions -- after all, this is a Star Fox game? Well there are a few segments, mainly when traveling back and for the between the different fragments of Dinosaur Planet, where you do get to fly Fox’s trusty Arwing, but these seem more like distractions than anything else. You are forced to fly through any number of rings in order to bring down a force-field on the segment of the planet you are attempting to land on. The funny thing is, nowhere on either the maps or any briefings does it state that each part of the planet has a force field protecting it, and if they do, a lot of good they did in keeping the General out. Filler material at its finest to keep the Star Fox enthusiast happy.

Puzzles range from the “Duh!” to the “What the hell?” as you try to progress through your quest, and not giving much help is your team Peppy the Hare, Slippy Toad and General Pepper. Every time you enter the menu you are treated to their nails-against-the-chalkboard voices that play every…time…you…need…see the map, get your game stats or ask for help. Granted, Slippy’s help when you are stuck does prove to be useful, but rather than hinting at what you could do next, most of the time he just blatantly states what needs to be done next, basically holding your hand through the entire game if you so choose.

Star Fox Adventures is a very, very good game, and a decent effort by Rare as their last GameCube game. While they will be sorely missed in the future, especially with Perfect Dark Zero and its new look, it is best to think about what we have gotten from them over the years and cherish each and every game. While this isn’t their best game, the crazy Brits have delivered a fun, engrossing game that will keep you busy and playing till the end, and if you get frustrated with the collection quests just remember that everyone who bought this game had to do the same thing, and we all survived. Truth be told, Star Fox Adventures is a great experience and worthy of any GameCube owner’s attention.