Is This Gecko’s Comeback a Croc or a Classic?
The 1990’s were the epitome of character based platform games, I reckon.
And it’s that which is the subject of today’s review, starting with a game that first appeared way back in 1995, followed by two sequels in 1998 and 1999. I am of course talking about Gex, a wise cracking gecko who appeared in the shockingly named Gex, Gex: Enter the Gecko and Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko, on the PlayStation mainly.
I missed these games the first time around (mainly as I was obsessed with Gran Turismo), but luckily my oversight has now been corrected with the release of the Gex Trilogy on Xbox. Coming from Limited Run Games, this promises to be an exact remake, but with the inclusion of modern day touches, wide screen visuals and analogue controls. Anyway, enough preamble, let’s have a look at what is on offer.
Evolving Presentation and Humour
Presentation of the Gex Trilogy varies depending on which game you are choosing to play. There is a narrative that spans the collection – and more on that later – but assuming you start at the beginning, with Gex, the presentation is that of a 2D side on platformer. This is the most traditional of the three titles, and works pretty well: the gecko of the title is a good looking chap and uses his gecko abilities to walk on the ceiling of the levels and so on.
The other two games decided that jumping on the 3D bandwagon kicked off by Mario 64 would be a great idea, and so that is the route they went down. Playing these games today, the first thing that jumps out is the camera: it seems at times to be bloody minded in refusing to show us a useful view of the action, pretty much determined to kill us. Once you get used to the “quirks” of the camera, the rest of it is all pretty good, but definitely of their time: graphical pop in is very real, and almost intrusive in some bits (looking at you, snowboarding section of Gex 3!).
Whichever game you play, there is a good strand of physical humour running through the Trilogy, and this also carries over into the soundtrack.
Wise-Cracking Gecko
Yes, Gex is very chatty, and the voice artist, American comedian Dana Gould, is on top form. Of course, the commentary that Gex spouts throughout the three games is somewhat dated now, and includes references that younger gamers will not understand, but overall they help Gex to have a personality that is balancing between cool and annoying.
The other sound effects and voices in the games are also good, and all in all, as long as you adjust your mindset to that of the 90’s, the presentation is very good.
Overlord of the Media Dimension
Story? Well, with three games, you’d expect to have a big bad to fight, a Bowser figure, right? And you’d be right, as the antagonist of the Gex games is a mechanical creature called Rez, the Overlord of the Media Dimension. Gex, being a TV obsessive, catches Rez’s attention, and he is drawn into the Media Dimension and must find his way out again.
The second game sees the return of Rez, whilst the third sees him return again, but this time he kidnaps “Agent XTra”, a full motion video captured Baywatch actress by the name of Marliece Andrada. The story isn’t a massive part of Gex’s appeal, to be honest, and while it works well enough, it isn’t going to go down in history as a classic piece of literature.
Tail Whips & Tongue Lashes
Gameplay wise and the traditional platform tropes come into play; very strongly. Starting with the 2D Gex, the main things that Gex can do, besides climb up some walls and walk on ceilings, are very much platform game staples – he can jump, and also do a high jump by bouncing. He also has a couple of other abilities to call upon; a tail whip attack that is used to fend off enemies, and a tongue lash attack that is best used to pick up the flies that act as health pickups in these games. The flies are contained in tellies, and whipping them releases the fly, which can then be eaten. The Media Dimension in this game is portrayed as a series of screens that we can interact with, and going through the levels and collecting remotes will open up new levels, and thus progress is made.
3D Challenges and Camera Quirks
The next two games, Gex: Enter the Gecko and Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko were not only released only a year apart, but if I had my cynical head on, I’d suspect that some content from the second game was held back to make the third. But that’s crazy talk, right? Anyway, these two are fully 3D, with the action having a nicely colourful vibe, and Gex’s abilities being intact, as he can do all the things he could do in the first game.
However, the move to a third dimension makes the tail whip in particular quite hard to hit things with, as the camera, when it isn’t trying to kill you, fails in trying to react to the fact that Gex spins when attacking. The result is sea sickness, with it lurching around like a drunken puppy. Trying to line the camera up is a fool’s errand; as soon as you move the carefully positioned camera (so you could do a tricky bit of jumping, say) moves and you fall down. Annoying? Oh yes.
A Fun, Flawed, and Faithful Platforming Throwback
However, persevere with the second two games and they start to show their class, and there is certainly a lot of content to go at in Gex Trilogy. Each level has multiple remotes to find, and only one can be found in each attempt: therefore each level has to be completed multiple times to fully finish the game. The achievements also seem to revolve around collecting a certain amount of remotes, so have at it!
The games included in Gex Trilogy are undeniably fun, and stem from a time when gameplay was the most important thing. That ethos shines through in everything found in this reissue.
Important Links
The Iconic Gecko is Back! Gex Trilogy Launches on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and PC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/the-iconic-gecko-is-back-gex-trilogy-launches-on-xbox-playstation-switch-and-pc/
Buy Gex Trilogy on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/gex-trilogy/9nj3sksbw8ww
