Jet Force Gemini

An initially compelling Rareware adventure, Jet Force Gemini boasts great visuals, superb sound design and an amazing soundtrack. The controls and camera are decent for a third-person shooter; personally, I don't find them at all as terrible as some do.

Unfortunately, the game is considerably harmed by Rareware's burgeoning obsession with gated level design and copious collectables. You could get hours and hours in before coming to the realisation that you must now backtrack and collect every Tribal--all in one run, with the correct character and without accidentally killing any--in every level to actually finish the game. At that point, you have to wonder whether it's all worth it.

Another Rareware gem that is vastly underrated; find some time to play this one.

So deeply frustrating that I don't love this game as much as I want to. The sci-fi atmosphere married with Rare charm is awe inspiring, including one of those bubbling under stories that alludes to the threat and scope more than it actually shows but well enough to make it tantalising, and the visuals and music aid this feeling, the soundtrack especially being incredibly epic. The level design is actually fine, with good mixes of platforming, exploration and shooting with a kind of recursive design that almost justifies the back-tracking and dead ends, but this is a fairly early 3D shooter, so the controls aren't great. Aiming is fine, but moving and shooting is troublesome and takes too much control away, to say nothing of the boss battles which retain the core form of combat but completely change the controls. Lupus' boss is so very difficult.

But the big bummer comes with level progression. JFG teases you with so many collectibles that are not worth picking up on a first run through because only a full Tribal rescue mission will count, and there are way too many instances of areas being locked behind a certain door or jetpack area, which requires you to hit the end of each character's branch to unlock. Essentially, you must beat the game four times to see the end. Don't bother.