One for me and One for me! GEX, a 3DO masterpiece.

T2KFreeker · Post by **T2KFreeker** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 9:32 pm

You know, I am sure that there is a topic for the green Gecko on the site already, but I have to make a new one. This is the game that should have sold the 3DO. It did improve sales of the console at the end. The series should have remained in 2D also. I hate the "Mario 64" generation of games. It really was sad to see so many mascot games go 3D just because they could. Not to say that there weren't a couple that pulled it off well, but look at the train wrecks we got to see that didn't. Even poor Gex could not escape the fate. Even though I liked the 3D GEX games a little bit, they still were nowhere as good as the original game, which was so creative and not plagued by things like a bad camera system. The game so needs more people to play it. Sadly, Crystal Dynamics has been neglecting the little green dude to boot. It's just sad really when assclowns like Mario and, sadly, Sonic can be shoved down our throats with bad sequel after bad sequel and we still can't get one good game out of the Gecko. WTF? I say we all bombard Crystal Dynamics with e-mails demanding either an HD update of the original game or a new 2D Gex game! Besides, I am sure that Dana Gould could use the work these days.

Post by **3DOKid** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 10:50 pm

It was during that whole phase of me have the 3DEEEE's! (the Kids Love 'em!)

and i sure did love 3D. It was ace. But in the same way the Hollywood has butchered and murdered some of the great 80s movies recently, 3D did butcher the classic 2D games.

Except for legacy of Kain, which i enjoyed anyway

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 11:40 pm

Funny, i actually played Gex for the very first time today.. I had forgotten i had it, and when my japanese FZ10 arrived i used it to test it, and ended up playing almost all the graveyard tv-channels.. Its a really good platformer for the day. And the film-qoutes crack me up. "AAdriaaaan!"

T2KFreeker · Post by **T2KFreeker** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 11:43 pm

3DOKid wrote:It was during that whole phase of me have the 3DEEEE's! (the Kids Love 'em!)

and i sure did love 3D. It was ace. But in the same way the Hollywood has butchered and murdered some of the great 80s movies recently, 3D did butcher the classic 2D games.

Except for legacy of Kain, which i enjoyed anyway

Well, I am not saying that there should not be any 3D games. 3D has it's place and there have been some fine 3D games. Thing is that there are 2D franchises that should stay 2D. Megaman and Castlevania both come to mind. Think about it. Were the 3D installments of these franchises anywhere near as good as the 2D ones? Of course not. Then again, look at Metroid. The Metroid Prime games are fine examples of 2D to 3D working. Then there are the franchises that are a mixed bag. I loved the original Sonic Adventure. From there it got bad. Then the 3D Wii games were pretty good. Still, Sonic's recent return to 2D on the big consoles have been the best Sonic games in years.

Gex, I loved the original game. Enter The Gecko, while it had some serious camera problems in spots and the controls were a bit irritating at times, I enjoyed. Deep Cover Gecko is the one that I am ho hum about. I feel they really dropped the ball in that they relied on the "Stardom" factor too much instead of a deep gaming experience. I still think we need a new Gex game though. He's sat on a shelf for far too long.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 12:11 am

Honestly, i think the classic mascot type games are in the past for most developers.. Its all about the next big FPS now it seems. Only Nintendo themselves seems to go all in with the mascot type games.

I keep a good base of classic consoles for these games, and enjoy the modern RPGs, action adventures, GTA's etc on my modern consoles. So its all good to me.

FrumpleOrz · Post by **FrumpleOrz** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 2:00 am

Well, I am not saying that there should not be any 3D games. 3D has it's place and there have been some fine 3D games. Thing is that there are 2D franchises that should stay 2D. Megaman and Castlevania both come to mind. Think about it. Were the 3D installments of these franchises anywhere near as good as the 2D ones? Of course not. Then again, look at Metroid. The Metroid Prime games are fine examples of 2D to 3D working. Then there are the franchises that are a mixed bag. I loved the original Sonic Adventure. From there it got bad. Then the 3D Wii games were pretty good. Still, Sonic's recent return to 2D on the big consoles have been the best Sonic games in years.

Hey now, Mega Man Legends 2 was a fantastic game. It's probably not worth the money people charge for it on various sites but still a fine game, definitely worth playing. I suppose it could be argued that is isn't a "pure" Mega Man game either though. Either way, I'll probably be popping in my copy tonight now, heh.

I used to think Sonic Adventure was a great game too but I tried playing it again recently and the camera makes it almost unplayable. Talk about having childhood memories dashed...

On topic though, Gex is a fantastic game. Unfortunately, my copy has a scratch in juuuuuust the right spot and I can't get it to load, even after a resurface attempt. Probably gonna be my next purchase now.

T2KFreeker · Post by **T2KFreeker** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 3:43 am

I don't think that the classic Mascot has gone away. Sly Cooper? Jak and Daxter? Ratchet and Clank? Sega is still churning out Sonic games, which have gotten good again, thank God. Sony also just re-released the original Sly Cooper games in HD and a new game is coming later. As was said, Nintendo still does this too, and no matter how bad I think the Mario games are, they still sell like hot cakes. I think a Mascot game is only as good as the game itself. They still sell rather well.

FrumpleOrz · Post by **FrumpleOrz** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 4:59 am

Would you really call Sly Cooper a mascot though? I mean, sure, he's a platforming hero but he's in a different league from Mario or Sonic in their prime. I'm not sure I'd even put Sly Cooper mascot level as high as Chester Cheetah or Joe Camel.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 8:48 am

Compared to the 2D hayday, yes i do consider the mascot type games gone. That SOME of them still apear in games, mainly because they are HUGELY popular and thus still a money cow, doesnt change the fact that they are a tiny minority of the games available for modern consoles. I stick with them being mostly Nintendo exclusives.

T2KFreeker · Post by **T2KFreeker** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 12:49 am

grimm wrote:Compared to the 2D hayday, yes i do consider the mascot type games gone. That SOME of them still apear in games, mainly because they are HUGELY popular and thus still a money cow, doesnt change the fact that they are a tiny minority of the games available for modern consoles. I stick with them being mostly Nintendo exclusives.

Okay, but by your own logic then 2D platforming itself is dead as it is nowhere near as prevalent as it was back then. I don't think it was so much a mascot thing as it was a Platforming thing as the main majority of the games released were platformers, mascots or not.

Trev · Post by **Trev** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 3:52 am

T2KFreeker wrote: I don't think it was so much a mascot thing as it was a Platforming thing as the main majority of the games released were platformers, mascots or not.

Yeah, thats what I was thinking also.

Martin III · Post by **Martin III** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 4:54 am

Gex is great, so much so that I'm keeping an eye out for the 3DO version even though I already have it for the Saturn, purely for historical interest. It doesn't have quite the degree of polish that Crystal Dynamics's later games would have, but it more than makes up for that with the ingenious design of its levels and most especially its player character. If there's anything that beats licking up power-ups, it's climbing all over the walls and ceiling.

Plus, Rez has to be one of the coolest boss fights ever.

Only problem with the game as a whole are the voice clips, exasperated a bit by the bug that, in the Saturn version at least, makes Gex occasionally get "stuck" on the same quip, repeating it several times in fairly short succession. Is this bug in the 3DO version as well?

Trev · Post by **Trev** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 5:15 am

Martin III wrote: Only problem with the game as a whole are the voice clips, exasperated a bit by the bug that, in the Saturn version at least, makes Gex occasionally get "stuck" on the same quip, repeating it several times in fairly short succession. Is this bug in the 3DO version as well?

I've never noticed it.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 9:28 am

T2KFreeker wrote:Okay, but by your own logic then 2D platforming itself is dead as it is nowhere near as prevalent as it was back then. I don't think it was so much a mascot thing as it was a Platforming thing as the main majority of the games released were platformers, mascots or not.

Platforming as it used to be is also pretty much gone yes. I think it was a mascot thing, but they used the platform type game for most of them yes. It was the most popular genre after all.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 10:26 am

This is one I need to finish. I started on the PSX version last year, but quit about halfway through the game.

T2KFreeker · Post by **T2KFreeker** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:10 am

Austin wrote:This is one I need to finish. I started on the PSX version last year, but quit about halfway through the game.

3DO version is much nicer. I really think the visuals are clearer and the controls feel tighter in the 3DO version. I do, however as much as I hate the admit it, love the look of the Saturn version over all of them.

Post by **3DOKid** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 6:47 pm

I've been playing Gex again all afternoon. It is astonishingly well done for a first attempt at a platformer.

It's also amazing what you remember. i was racking my brain trying to remember the end of level boss for the Horror section, and then it turned up. the witch on the pile of skulls.

Post by **3DO Experience** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 1:10 am

I know what you mean Freeker, the Saturn beats both versions.

Martin III · Post by **Martin III** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 2:05 am

I just stumbled upon a copy of the 3DO version on Ebay and nabbed it. I'm looking forward to seeing for myself how it differs from the Saturn version.

CasetheCorvetteman · Post by **CasetheCorvetteman** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 5:27 am

Martin III wrote:Gex is great, so much so that I'm keeping an eye out for the 3DO version even though I already have it for the Saturn, purely for historical interest. It doesn't have quite the degree of polish that Crystal Dynamics's later games would have, but it more than makes up for that with the ingenious design of its levels and most especially its player character. If there's anything that beats licking up power-ups, it's climbing all over the walls and ceiling. Plus, Rez has to be one of the coolest boss fights ever.

Only problem with the game as a whole are the voice clips, exasperated a bit by the bug that, in the Saturn version at least, makes Gex occasionally get "stuck" on the same quip, repeating it several times in fairly short succession. Is this bug in the 3DO version as well?

Yes it is the same in later levels, he will repeat things over and over and over, i have the 3DO version and have spent the most time with it. See below for the other bit i was going to add:

3DO Experience wrote:I know what you mean Freeker, the Saturn beats both versions.

Sure does in this case

Trev · Post by **Trev** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 5:40 am

I've never ever noticed Gex repeating quips in multiple succesion on any level. During the course of an entire level he repeats some of course, as many levels are a good size, but over & over the same one ...? If it is a legit bug, it's gotta be limited to only certain copies.

FrumpleOrz · Post by **FrumpleOrz** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 6:06 am

Trev wrote:I've never ever noticed Gex repeating quips in multiple succesion on any level. During the course of an entire level he repeats some of course, as many levels are a good size, but over & over the same one ...? If it is a legit bug, it's gotta be limited to only certain copies.

I was playing it last night and I heard him say "Rocket Maaaaaaan' over and over again in that level. Oh god, did I want to go back in time and kill Elton John's parents so badly...

CasetheCorvetteman · Post by **CasetheCorvetteman** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 2:57 pm

Rocket man is a perfect example yes, as is the constant rambling in Rez's joint, stop this crazy thing, im working hard but not getting anywhere, stop this crazy thing, im working hard but not getting anywhere, greeaaat i found a health club in the valley of hell, im working hard but not getting anywhere... All as fast as you can say it, and that is the same on every version ive played!!

Trev · Post by **Trev** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 3:11 pm

Guess I'm fortunate. I've been playing Gex since 1996, and have never had to deal with that.

Post by **3DO Experience** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:53 am

I've only had it happen in the 3DO copy. He'll say it in the beginning of a level and then later on where they should play a different comment it's the same one.

CasetheCorvetteman · Post by **CasetheCorvetteman** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 8:08 am

Well i dont know id call it lucky, its more common in Rez land than anywhere, but ive never played a copy that DOESNT do it!!

Trev · Post by **Trev** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:51 pm

Just to be clear, we are talking about repeating identical phrases one on top of the other in rapid succession right? Not simply repeating the same phrase multiple times throughout the course of the level? I've only ever played just one copy (my original back from 1996) so I can't speak about other versions, but I have honestly never encounterd that sort of glitch ... and Gex is one of my favorites that I play often! Call it lucky I guess, I certainly am grateful.

Martin III · Post by **Martin III** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 10:59 pm

Trev wrote:Just to be clear, we are talking about repeating identical phrases one on top of the other in rapid succession right? Not simply repeating the same phrase multiple times throughout the course of the level?

Right. I remember points where Gex would even interrupt himself with the same phrase: "Sweet, like c- Sweet, like c- Sweet, like candy!"

I'm really curious now to see whether or not I'll find the same bug in the 3DO version.

Post by **3DO Experience** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 3:03 am

Trev wrote:Just to be clear, we are talking about repeating identical phrases one on top of the other in rapid succession right?

Oh I got confused I guess. That I've never had happen on either the 3DO or Saturn version. Spent many more hours on the 3DO.

Trev · Post by **Trev** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 3:25 am

3DO Experience wrote:
Trev wrote:Just to be clear, we are talking about repeating identical phrases one on top of the other in rapid succession right?
Oh I got confused I guess. That I've never had happen on either the 3DO or Saturn version. Spent many more hours on the 3DO.

Ok, good to know I'm not alone.