This game is definitely one of the best 3D Adventure RPG games that you will ever play.
Since finding the tribals is the goal of the game, most of the levels offer a great amount of exploration. You can go through a whole level not even finding one, since there are many different paths you can take that can lead you to optional level exits which can lead you to secret levels. The game gives little or no hints to what to do next so beginners might find this game a bit annoying. Throughout the game you'll have to solve puzzles to save Tribals, but the funnest part of the game comes from defeating your enemies the alien ants.
The enemies you face have pretty good AI, since they can run for cover, weave in and out and dodge attacks. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses. They alter their attacks depending on whether they've seen you or not and some weak ones just overwhelm you with huge numbers. The game lets you make your own playing style to counter your enemies. So you can snipe from far away with cover or go berserk with your guns firing nonstop. They both have their pros and cons since you can either lose time or lose life, but you can also play from the third-person which is necessary for the platforming part of the game. You can easily switch between third and first person point of view, so you'll never have a difficulty switching between both of these point of views.
Both of these views are very useful, but since the default view is third person you have to keep the R button down to switch to the first person view. You might prefer the first person view and want to play the whole game in this view, but you'll have to keep the R button pressed down throughout the game. The two different views have different control types which can be a bit of a bother and make for awkward play at first, but the button presses for each point of view are really responsive and work well in either point of view.
The game isn't that hard to beat, but it's really hard to complete the game 100%. When you find new items that will let you explore previously unreachable areas, you'll backtrack alot through the game so you can find everything in that level which greatly adds to the replay value of the game. One of these little secrets is a robot named Floyd that, which once you collect all of his parts and put him together, becomes your sidekick. Once you accomplish this, your friend can plug in their controller and play the story with you by taking control of Floyd. Floyd also unlocks special mini-games designed for him that can get you even more special items. You also get a reward for saving all of the Tribals, but if you hate them then you can kill them off as well if you please. With the nearly unlimited amount of hidden areas in the game, you'll probably still be finding new items your fifth time playing through the game.
You'll also find ways to unlock hidden characters and modes in the multiplayer mode. The multiplayer mode pretty much lets you set the restrictions of the fight and it ends up being a real enjoyable experience to play with your friends. With the fighting, target-shooting and racing parts of multiplayer mode, you can't help but want to play with your friends to show you are the strongest, most accurate and fastest player.
The gameplay of the multiplayer mode looks and sounds amazing because the creator's of Jet Force Gemini knew the Nintendo 64's hardware inside and out and used the hardware to the fullest of its potential. The graphics and sound run smoothly without any slow down or choppiness in the game. The graphics are too spectacular to mention all of the parts so I'll just mention that the explosives in the game give off an amazing glow that seems as if it was real which feels even more realistic with the rumble pak equipped.
Also, each level has its own theme and feel so that you actually feel like you're going from planet to planet not just level to level. The music throughout each level truly represents the mood and feel of the level whether it's happy or primitive or anything else. The graphics again have to be mentioned since Rare added a few little things here and there that makes the game that much more amazing like having flies over an enemies carcass and other things as well. The game does have its flaws like any other game like the way that platforming does become a bit of a problem here and there especially in the third person. Your enemies also end up glitching every once in a while becoming easy targets, the scenery sometimes seems a bit flat and the lack of voices kind of hurts the game in my opinion.
This game is engorged with a huge amount of gameplay that varies with different styles. Any person that likes games should pick up this great 3D adventure game, since it is easily one of the best games that came out on the Nintendo 64. We should hope that current game makers make games of this caliber with a lot of attention to detail. This game is definitely one of the best 3D Adventure RPG games that you will ever play.