|
Links:
|
What would you do if you encountered an enemy in Dinosaur Planet? Check out the movie! A while back, UK developer Rare released a very early version
of a game entitled Dinosaur Planet. Rare showed the world a third-person
action-adventure for the N64 which had an identical control scheme and similar
play mechanics to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The game, an epic
adventure centered around a planet controlled by dinosaurs, sported some of the
most glamorous graphics to ever grace Nintendo's cartridge-based system, and it
had system owners eagerly awaiting its eventual release.
But it would never be. Dinosaur Planet went into extinction for more than a year, Nintendo continually delayed the game's ship date and then one day it dropped off official release lists altogether. This was around the same time that the GameCube was finally coming into focus, which led many Dinosaur Planer enthusiasts to believe the game had secretly been switched to this platform. It turns out they were 100% correct, but they still didn't know the full story. Not only did Dinosaur Planet switch to GameCube, it switched main characters and added one of Nintendo's most famous and memorable mascots as its new hero. The title showed up at E3 2001 on GameCube as Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet starring -- you guessed it, Fox McCloud and featuring his classic team mates and companions Slippy and Peppy. The game kept the play mechanics of its N64 version, but happily displayed a completely changed graphic look complete with larger environments, more detailed textures and new, shimmering water effects at every turn. Basically making every graphic feature better. Features  Gameplay Roughly eight years after the defeat of Andross (from Star Fox 64), Fox, with pals Peppy (in charge of directions), Slippy (weapons master) and Rob the Robot (who offers extra supplies), arrives at Dinosaur Planet. It isn't long before players discover that General Scales, having captured the pterodactyl princess of the land, is up to no good and its left to the Star Fox team, with the help of Tricky and Krystal, to save our beloved planet. Star Fox Adventures controls exactly like Zelda: Ocarina of Time with a few enhancements. The control scheme is pretty much identical, with an automatic jump system employed. The analog stick is used to manipulate Fox through the giant 3D world, whereas the A button executes actions, be them projectile shooting or hitting en enemy with a staff. Also, the Z-targeting (from Z:OoT) has made an appearance. Enemies can be targeted as they were in Zelda, whereupon Fox can strafe around them and fight. Of course, there's much more to it than that. Fox can also shape-shift into different beings and use a wide variety of items -- everything from keys to enhancement spells, by selecting them. The camera stick is used for quick item selection, which works quite intuitively and to it in a word; PERFECT! Graphics Overall
|
urs,
trees, streams, grass, and rock formations, not to mention man-made structures,
temples and pyramids. In the E3 2001 demo we played, though, it was clear that
the engine was based on groundwork initially laid down for a Nintendo 64
product. Some of the polygon objects and textures were of lower quality while
others seemed more fitting of a GameCube title, for example. A comparison of
environments between the N64 and GameCube versions showed a marginal difference
in some areas, whilst others highlighted magnificent upgrades with higher-poly
models, crisper textures and beautiful, transparent, animated water effects.
There is no doubt in our minds, however, that the finished product will shine as
all Rare games do and if early improvements are any indication, it will be one
of the better looking GameCube titles available at launch.