A mindblowingly cool Sci-Fi epic in the form of a brilliant 3rd-person shooter/exploration game! Superb!
The story centres around a pair of twins- Juno, a boy, and Vela, a girl and their cybernetically enhanced dog, Lupus. The game begins with them receiving a distress call from the King of a peaceful race known as the Tribals, creatures bearing an uncanny resemblence to albino Ewoks. Shortly after this they find themselves split up as their ship comes under attack by the forces of the evil Mizar, the same warlord who has enslaved the Tribals. Thus, the game begins with you playing as Juno as he sets out after Vela and Lupus.
The gameplay of Jet Force Gemini takes the form of a third person shooter, with some minor platforming elements thrown in. Travelling from world to world with each of the characters is a great experience, as the levels are all beautifully laid out, with great environments, lighting effects and atmospheric music. The gameplay mainly consists of moving from level to level, mowing through hordes of ant-like enemies and rescuing as many Tribals as you can. This is not, however, as simplistic as it sounds, as you begin the game with only a limited arsenal, although you can expect that to grow dramatically throughout the game. The enemies have fairly decent AI too, as they will ambush you, gang up on you and run away if they're getting beaten. Enemies vary too, from the standard drones to drones with shields, snipers, the larger, more powerful Termites, a range of flying drones and beautiful, challenging bosses. The significance of rescuing ALL the Tribals isn't fully realised until a significant way into the game, but trust me, you'll want to get as many as you can the first time through each level.
The game also includes an enjoyable co-operative mode, which becomes available fairly early on in the game. One player controls the main character while the other controls your new friend Floyd, who has a targeting cursor that can be moved all around the screen. Trust me, Floyd is very useful to have, especially against massed enemies and Lupus's boss.
The gameplay of Jet Force Gemini is, of course, the most important factor, but all the elements come together to form a brilliant game. The story of the game is brilliantly handled through some beautiful cutscenes and well scripted dialogue. The music varies from world to world, with some beautiful, atmospheric music that always suits the mood of the level. The sound effects are similarly well done, with a great range of weapon noises, bird calls, character sounds and, importantly, explosions. In my opinion half the fun of picking off a giant termite from long range with the Tri-Rocket launcher lies in its ever so satisfying "BOOM!". In that respect, the weaponry in the game is great. While beginning with a simple laser pistol, you'll soon find yourself packing a machine gun, sniper rifle, plasma rifle, various mines and grenades, shruikens, a homing rocket launcher and the grand-daddy of them all, the above mentioned Tri-Rocket launcher. Among others. There's also the highly amusing fish food to find, useful for detonating enemy mines from long range and feeding a certain Tribal eating dog.
As well as the core gameplay elements, there is a limited but fairly enjoyable multiplayer mode. While far less customisable than games like Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, it features a range of modes, characters and levels. The modes vary from a 3rd person shooter deathmatch with a few different weapons schemes and some nice levels, an innovative target shooting game which can be very fun, and a racing mode which grows as you unlock elements in the single player game. Many of the elements are unlocked by finding totem poles scattered across the levels, another reason for exploring the whole of each level, besides ammo upgrades and that last annoying Tribal.
There are only a couple of minor downsides to this game, and neither detracts significantly from the overall enjoyment of the game. The first is the occaisional camera angle irritant, a problem which is unfortunately most evident in the very final boss battle. The other problem is the sheer size of the game, as you'll often find yourself having to go back and forwards through the levels with two, if not three of the characters to get every last tribal, weapon, upgrade, key or other necessary item.
This is easily my favourite Nintendo 64 game, and one I recommend to anyone looking for an immersive shooter experience, or with any interest in Space Opera. A must have masterpiece.