SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About TLT
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
    • A to Z Book Lists
    • Book Review Policy
  • Teen Issues
  • Middle Grade Mondays
  • Programs
    • TPiB
    • Tech Talk
  • Professional
    • Teen Services 101
    • Things We Didn’t Learn in Library School
  • MakerSpace
  • Projects
    • #SVYALit
    • #FSYALit
    • #MHYALit
    • #Poverty in YA Lit

May 25, 2016 by Karen Jensen, MLS

Video Games Weekly: Star Fox Guard

May 25, 2016 by Karen Jensen, MLS   Leave a Comment

Star Fox Guard is a little confusing, but I’m going to do my best to explain.  Our library got a disc copy of Star Fox Guard when we ordered Star Fox Zero (which I reviewed last week) because we pre-ordered it.  So, if you ordered a copy of Star Fox Zero before April 2016, you might have a disc copy of Star Fox Guard lying around. If you did not, the game is only available as a digital download on the Wii U eShop.

YouTube Trailer:

Platform:  Wii U

Rated: E10+

Single or Multiplayer: Single

Background: Star Fox Guard is not a prequel, sequel, nor in any relation to Star Fox Zero other than the fact that it has Slippy (the toad character).  In fact, the game is completely different from Star Fox Guard.  Star Fox Guard is a combination of action and tower defense. “Tower defense” means exactly that; you have a tower somewhere on a map, and you have to defend it using weapons.  These weapons usually take up a slot alongside the enemy’s path, and do something to kill enemies as they walk by.  These weapons are usually on autopilot, meaning if an enemy appears in their range the weapon will automatically shoot at it.  Typically, players have to defeat enemies to get more currency, which can then be used to buy more weapons, upgrade weapons, or use special items.  One of my favorite tower defense games that you can play on any web browser is Bloons.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Storyline:  Slippy has an uncle named Grippy Toad who owns a mining company.  Grippy Toad hires you to protect mining towers from evil robots who try to shut it down and steal precious metals. Your job is to use security cameras that are spread out all over the map to shoot down enemies.  Enemy robots will continue to get better and better an infiltrating your security camera system, and players will have to use special cameras/airstrikes to shoot down large waves of robots.  Simple right? Not so much.  Take a look at the map below, which is what players see on the Wii U GamePad

Image: http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/media/37698/1/17.jpg

Controls:  This is vastly different compared to pure tower defense games because the player can only control ONE camera at a time instead of having all of the weapons set to automatic. This is where the “action” combination comes in.  On the TV screen, players have a view of all cameras.

Image: http://nintendoenthusiast.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/project-guard.0.0.jpg

See the monitor in the middle? That is the camera that the player in controlling.  Players have to aim the camera and shoot down robots.  If players want to change cameras, they have to click on the camera number on the Wii U GamePad map.  Enemies will appear on the map as yellow dots once they enter the map, but NOT WHEN THEY SPAWN OUTSIDE OF THE MAP. *head explodes* This adds to the complexity of the game, but I found it incredibly annoying rather than fun.

In my opinion, the controls are a pain in the butt.  Unlike Star Fox Zero, players have to move the camera/gun using the joystick. It would be one thing if the GamePad could be physically moved around in real life in order to look around/shoot like in Star Fox Zero, but they chose to make it oldschool.  It’s really hard to enjoy Star Fox Guard’s controls after playing through Star Fox Zero, and I just wasn’t that impressed.

Audience: This game didn’t work well for me because I was playing by myself. There’s just too much going on between the screens, and I wasn’t having any fun playing it.  I will admit though, I am biased.  I love tower defense games, and I think it’s a poor choice to label this game  as only a tower defense game. It’s more like 75% action, 25% tower defense.

Now, I can imagine this game would be fun if you have multiple people in the room. IGN wrote a positive review for this game, and they mentioned it is a fun game when there are many people in the room yelling out camera numbers.  So, I would say this is more of a single-player party game for all ages.

Verdict: If you already have the game because you preordered Star Fox Zero, it’s not going to go to waste on your shelf. If you did not, don’t bother trying to hunt down a physical copy.

Questions? Comments? Tweet them at me!

By: Alanna Graves (with the help of her copilot, Andres)
Twitter: @LannaLibrarian

Pricing

$50 on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/StarFox-Guard-Nintendo-Wii-U/dp/B01ENXM8EK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1463248181&sr=8-2&keywords=star+fox+guard

Filed under: Video Games, Video Games Weekly

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Karen Jensen, MLS

Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

August 2017

Video Games Weekly: Sonic Mania

by Karen Jensen, MLS

August 2017

Video Games Weekly: Slime Rancher

by Karen Jensen, MLS

July 2017

Video Games Weekly: Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

by Karen Jensen, MLS

July 2017

Video Games Weekly: Stardew Valley

by Karen Jensen, MLS

June 2017

Video Games Weekly: Magikarp Jump

by Karen Jensen, MLS

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Who’s Published the Most Newbery Winners in the Last 25 Years?

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

That Flag: An Interview with Tameka Fryer Brown

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Monkey Prince Vol. 1: Enter the Monkey | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Webcast Results

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

The Value of Innocence for BIPOC Students, a guest post by David Mura

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Looking Ahead: Our 2023 Preview

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

10 YA Sports Novels That Knock It Out of the Park | Summer Reading 2021

14 Funny Titles for Teens | Summer Reading 2020

Spotting Misinformation and #FakeNews: 10 Resources To Teach Students Media Literacy

Not Just for the Pre-K Crowd: Picture Books To Share with Tweens and Teens

An Uncomfortable Truth: 12 books that discuss the 19th Amendment and the limits of women’s suffrage

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023