This had the potential to be a truly great classic on the Gamecube, but it just comes up short, and I mean WAY short.
Assault has a great presentation in the department of graphics. The different stages are varied and detailed. The very first stage is gigantic space battle where players can not only just tell where the two opposing fleets are located while flying the pre-determined rail path, but can even see spot other skirmishes between other fighters that have broken away from the main battle far away in the background give a great sense of depth to the environment. Character animations in the cutscenes are very well done.
The game’s audio delivers as expected. All of the sound effects very appropriate and do a good job during boss battles clueing players in on when they are damaging the enemy. The music is mostly all tunes from the N64 version done to orchestra. A personal favorite selection besides the Star Fox theme is the theme for the rival Star Wolf team (that is a very cool trumpet solo). Character voices seem more acceptable than in previous titles with maybe a couple of exceptions. Fox’s voice sounds somewhat more mature than his last outing giving more credibility that time is passing. The dramatic change is the Star Wolf characters. Wolf sounds more like a scoundrel with a voice with more grit and his wingman Leon sounds much more reptilian and threatening. The dialogue can come across as corny or cheesy to some, but it works in various places.
The Arwing starfighter feels just a nimble and smooth as it did in the N64 incarnation, but the control scheme may feel somewhat awkward those who aced the N64 version. The barrel roll technique doesn’t feel as effective as it did previously. The land battles could have been better done, as Fox does not handle well on foot. He has enough speed and quickness, but running and gunning effectively is difficult. There is a slight auto aim assist when shooting at enemies, but no auto-targeting makes having to target enemies while dodging a hard chore. The Landmaster tank seems to have lost effectiveness by being deployed in confined areas although its high firepower makes up for it.
The game’s serious fault is that is not long enough. There are only ten missions and most of the missions come in different sections. Dragging out the fight against the new alien menace by at least another five missions to ten missions would have made this game better. Also, a series staple of course selection is gone. There are un-lockable extras, a badge system for scoring a certain amount of kills similar to the medals of N64 title, and a multiplayer mode. These added features are not enough to add to the replay value that might otherwise make this good game into a great game.