GENRE
	Platform
	DEVELOPER
	Crystal Dynamics
	PUBLISHER
	Midway
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1
	CONTROLLER PAK
	yes
	RUMBLE PAK
	yes
	RAM PAK
	no
	BUY NOW AT

Archived reader review from Dojo Reader Andy Blinder.

It's been two years since Super Mario 64 created the 3-D platform genre, and since then, there haven't been a whole lot of others. There was the excellent Banjo-Kazooie, which took the genre to a new level, but pretty much everything else has been inferior. Gex: Enter the Gecko is not as good as either of the above titles or it's Playstation counterpart, but is definitely a 3-D platformer that can hold it's own.

visuals

The graphics are pretty impressive in some aspects. The texture design is not nearly as good as BK, but it's still good and has lots of variety. There's also no pixelation, and not too much clipping. The real problem with the graphics is the excessive amount of fog. While the Playstation version had none, this version is full of the ugly stuff, and it really hurts the visibility. However, it doesn't really affect the gameplay all that much, it just looks ridiculous, and after seeing BK, it's simply not acceptable. Gex is also plagued with slowdown.

audio

The sound in Gex is actually very well done, not nearly as good as the Playstation version, but really not bad at all. The music is diverse and well composed and changes around in some of the levels, although not as much as BK. Occaisionally it gets a litle screwed up, and once in a while the music will stop mid-level. No big deal though. The SFX is good, all the expected whacks and thwacks come in fine. In the Playstation version Gex had about 500 humorous one liners from comedian Dana Gould, but the N64 version has been cut down to 100. They are mildy entertaining, but because there are so few of them, they can become annoying after a while. Some reviews have bashed Gex because they said that the one liners aren't funny or are too repetitive. While this is entirely subjective, they can be easily switched off, and the game is still fine without them.

gameplay

Gex goes with the Mario formula of having all the worlds connected together by one central word, and collecting items to open up more levels. Mario had stars, BK had jiggys, Gex has remotes. Gex is by no means a clone though. One of the game's strengths is that it is a long and challenging game. There are 14 worlds, 7 bonus levels, and 4 bosses which are all parodies of various TV shows and movies. Unlike BK, where the challenge was more to figure out what to do, Gex provides a clue, and shows a cut scene where the remote is. It's then a long trek through various platform adventures to make it to the remote. It's not too bad, but it isn't gound breaking either.

multiplayer

N/A

overall

Gex is not a classic, and is not a bad game. It's an average 3-D platformer. Being that the genre is so young and technically impressive, that really says something. An average 3-D platformer is, at least in my mind, more impressive then an average racing game or fighting game. So, because of the games length and challenge, it's a good buy if you're interested. Don't touch it until you've finished Mario and BK, and if you have a Playstation, get that version, but otherwise it's an entertaining, although not groundbreaking 3-D platformer.

7.0/10