Preview: Star Fox

Forget the last effort - the real sequel to Lylat Wars is on the way, and it's looking fantastic...

Here's the game formerly known as Starfox Armada and Starfox 2, now down on Nintendo's list as plain old Star Fox. Regardless of the final name, it's looking as sweet as any Fox fan could possibly wish for, and the space combat scenes play almost exactly like Lylat Wars for the N64. We've hammered one on-rails space level, where the Arwing craft is drawn down a fixed path and you have to dodge missiles and destroy entire enemy squadrons with a single well-placed power shot.

The controls are wonderfully silky, using every button on the joypad. The C-stick handles evasive moves such as the loop and U-turn, and the trusty barrel roll manoeuvre returns for bullet-deflecting purposes. Falco and the others chatter away on the radio, pointing out landmarks, offering assistance when it's needed or, more likely in Slippy's case, begging for help while running away from toad-hating aliens. Krystal, from Starfox Adventures, now appears as part of the team, and Slippy has a fellow amphibian to sympathise with in the shape of Beltino, who is basically Slippy with a pair of glasses and a Hitler moustache.

Screenshot: >> Click here