Gex Trilogy Review (Sleepy)
Okay: first thing's first. This is a mixed bag of ports.
Cons, because these will likely be dealbreakers for some of you:
- No JP versions of the games.
- These are ONLY the 3DO port of Gex 1 and the PS1 ports of Gex 2/3. This might sound trivial, but the Nintendo 64 versions had some stages changed, and if you grew up with those versions, you're going to notice some levels in Gex 3 are significantly-harder. "Gextras" could have included roms with just these stages, but instead they opted for low-quality videos of them being played.
- Saving was, and no, I'm not joking, removed. You cannot save in Gex 2 or 3, and instead must rely on save states.
- Controller support is a little ass right now, but I think that's a work in progress.
- I was gonna say Leslie Philips isn't an option but the PAL versions just got added as I wrote this.
Pros:
- Bro it's GEX.
These games emulate fine. They run great, they feel like their original versions, and chances are they are just ROMs, but that's fine. I love Gex and I love these games.
Actual reviews in case you care:
Gex 1: I hate Gex 1, but playing it with savestates makes it a LITTLE more tolerable. Gex 1, as I've heard it best described, feels like Crystal Dynamics had a cool idea for a 3D platformer, bought a 3DO developer kit, and learned last minute that the 3DO doesn't work for 3D platformers. It has the making of a great collectathon, completely sabotaged by the fact that it's a 2D game like Mario World or Sonic. You're forced to find a remote in every level to progress, which isn't as straightforward as just beating a stage, and that alone is the most tedious thing you can ask me to do. I played Rez Knight Fever five times trying to find a remote that was literally next to a checkpoint and just blended in with the background. Not the fault of this collection: Gex 1 just sucks.
Gex 2: Gex 2, albeit a little frayed around the edges as a game, is a solid 3D platformer with lots of fun stages. Some stages are too hard, some are too repetitive, they run out of themes almost right away, and being the PS1 version, the Titanic stage isn't present here. Regardless, I still really like this game, and I think you should probably start here if you don't have the mental fortitude to finish Gex 1.
Gex 3: If you're gonna play any Gex game, it's this one. Gex 3 feels like the developers had the time to play Spyro, Banjo-Kazooie, and Mario 64, and learn from their design. Worlds in this game are not only unique, but feel like legitimate worlds meant to be explored. This game abandoned the idea of multiple stages for one theme, meaning they had a better ability to hone the design of each stage. Alongside this, stages like the Anime Channel and the Roman Channel felt like Crystal Dynamics finally found specific movies and genres they wanted to parody, as though Gex was finally becoming a franchise with potential to continue into the future. It did not. But one can dream!
This is a fine collection. Good? No. Just fine. But it's fine enough that I have high hopes for the future of the Gex series. After seeing Legacy of Kane get its rightful return as a Crystal Dynamics sleeper hit, I can only hope Gex, too, gets his time to shine.
EDIT: No, but seriously, guys. 30 remotes and beat the game for Gex 3??? You're only asking the bare minimum of your players?