It's goofy, corny, dated fun!
So back in my
previous review when I mentioned getting my first Playstation 1, I also mentioned how it came with a demo disk with a bunch of great games on it. Gex was actually one of those games...or more precisely
Gex: Enter the Gecko was the first that I played, with
Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko being the second. Amusingly, I actually didn't play the original Gex until many years later, when I had already experimented a bit with emulation. But worry not, while I still have it today, it is through perfectly legal means via the Playstation Store for the PS3/PSP.
Gex is quite a unique game series that, much like famous franchises such as Mario and Zelda, had a very ambitious alteration in its style when it was decided to jump to 3D. However, unlike those previously mentioned and other famous series titles, Gex made the switch after their very first game, starting up as a 2D side-scrolling adventure, and then evolving into more of a free-roaming 3D style much like Mario 64, Spyro the Dragon, or Jersey Devil.
The original Gex (overworld style)
The original Gex (level style)
Gex: Enter the Gecko
Gex: Enter the Gecko (GBC version)
Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko
Gex 3: Deep Pocket Gecko (GBC)
The story/plotline in all 3 games is practically the same: You're a gecko named Gex who stops an evil cybernetic being named Rez who resides in the Media dimension. In the first game, he steals you from the comfort of your home and pulls you into his domain. In Enter the Gecko, he's back causing trouble, and you voluntarily go after him. Finally in Deep Cover Gecko, you once again take the dive to the Media Dimension after he kidnaps the sexy Agent Extra (Xtra?).
Clearly, the series' strength isn't in its story, and that's actually the point. While effort went into making the intros nice to look at, the game intentionally keeps the stories very basic.
The game's biggest strength is in its comedy. While the original Gex doesn't give you the warning ahead of time, Enter the Gecko and Deep Cover Gecko make it very clear in the opening that you're going to be experiencing a comedy that basically parodies a multitude of media.
And that's what the series is: It's a comedy platformer game where the environments are crude caricatures of things we've all seen up until the period of time in which those games were released. It's a series that basically mocks all of the tropes and looks of the different genres of television and movies (and maybe the occasional game). From battling a obese farting superhero to destroying cities as Gexzilla, as I said the game makes its intentions very clear early on.
But the series also has a large drawback in this department, the voice acting. While the actors chosen for the voice acting fit perfectly fine, it's the constant...
constant chatting from Gex that can get a little grating at points. Sure, it's funny at first if you get some of the jokes. Hearing him make Scooby Doo references in the Graveyard area of the original Gex and Jackie Chan jokes in the Kung-Fu theatre levels of Enter the Gecko was funny at first. However, the dialogue makes it apparent that the writers tried to write it for multiple generations because with as many jokes that were funny for me as a kid, there were a
lot of jokes and references made to older movies and actors that just never quite hit because I didn't know what movie it was from or who the actor being referenced was. On top of that though, Gex would throw out a line every 3-5 minutes, and since there were only a limited number of dialogue choices per area, that meant a lot of repeating. So it ended up being a mixed bag feature (and I had to resort to turning off the voice volume if the game allowed it).
Outside of that though, much like the amusing style choice, I find the gameplay to be very enjoyable across the board. Also, much like what I enjoy about a good trilogy, each game also progressed as they moved on. As I mentioned, Gex 1 was a 2D sidescroller. You could jump, jump higher with a tail bounce (usually only when you hit something breakable), swipe with your tail, climb on sticky surfaces, eat flies with your tongue for various effects (extra life, more hit points, fire/freeze breath, a tornado that surrounds you for a short time and kills enemies), or just hit them and get back a lost hit point. There were bonus levels, hidden areas within levels, hidden videotapes with passwords (since there was no save mechanic), bosses, and 4 main areas (Cemetary, Jungle, Kung-Fuville, New Toonland) that contained the levels plus a final area, and a bonus unlockable area by doing perfect on each of the bonus levels.
Overall, the first game had a plethora of stuff that made it enjoyable. Then, Enter the Gecko took much of that and transferred it to 3D. Now Gex could free roam across larger environments. You now had the option to save your game OR use passwords. Levels still took place within televisions, but there could be more than just 4 types of places. Gex still followed previous tradition and had 4 main areas (basically gated sections that required a number of remotes to pass), but there was much more variety. Sure, "Horror," "Toon," and "Kung-Fu" themed TVs were still around since they were big parts of the original game. But now there were TVs for Circuit Central (an "inside of computer"/futuristic channel), Rocket Channel (Space), and Pre-History Channel (Prehistoric). Scream TV's levels were altered to a haunted house style rather than cemetery, and Toon TV was much more whimsical and felt like you were inside of a cartoon. Jokes were much more obvious and welcomed (certain parts of the Toon TV levels had you avoid hunters while dressed in a rabbit costume, and overall the comedy aspect (and unfortunately the dialogue) was heightened.
But even then, the difficulty and replayability aspect of the game also evolved. Rather than each level having a single shot at the game's main collectible (aka Remotes), most levels with the exception of boss/bonus areas granted you 2-3 per level, each requiring a different objective/path to get. There were also bonus remotes hidden throughout each level, as well as a secondary remote you could obtain for collecting the required number of each level-specific collectible (there were 3 sets in each level, and they would change into the next set when you hit the required number...for example getting 20 carrots in Toon TV gives you an extra life while the collectible carrots turn into spinach cans. Collecting 30 spinach cans gives you another extra life while the remaining cans turn into TNT. Collecting 40 TNTs gives you the bonus remote, and you can continue collecting TNTs for more lives). Finally, in 3 of the levels were secret tapes that would give you an extra FMV scene when found.
Likewise, there are more challenges that Gex can face. Traps are still a thing even in 3D, as are the sticky surfaces that he can walk across. Falling hazards are very much more of a thing in certain levels such as the various Scream TV levels as well as Space Channel (which Space Channel also has you battling to keep your oxygen level up). However, things like lava or underestimating an enemy can cause your demise as you only get a fair couple of hits with each life. Bonuses have been altered to collectible speed runs to win the remote. Bosses still have variety in how they're beaten...whether it be a chase/race to electrocute them, having a battle of giants in a city, or avoiding being toasted by knocking the enemy's fire back at them.
Also, much like the original game there are extra bonus levels outside of the hidden ones you find with the bonus remotes. In the Nintendo 64 version, there is a secret Titanic-themed level that you can find and access right away. In the PS1 and I believe PC, Saturn, and GBC version, there are instead 3 levels you can unlock with the right number of remotes. Basically, Gex: Enter the Gecko is one big remote hunt filled to the brim with collectibles.
Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko kept much of what made the previous entry good, altered some things, and added some more. While still a collectathon, the variety of them altered a bit. Rather than each level having its own sets of coin-like-objects to collect, Gex 3 went back to its roots and went with the Golden Fly coins from the first game. However, unlike the original title, there were exactly 100 in each level...50 would grant you an extra life, and 100 would grant you an extra remote.
There were also bonus coins that would grant access to the various bonus levels throughout, Paw coins which would give an extra life point when 25 were collected, Paw Cards which would open up a new main area (once again, 4 being the total number), and the Lost Tapes from Gex 2 made a reappearance. Along with the normal bonus levels, there were also 4 secret levels that, when beaten, would grant you a symbol for the Gex Vault. If the proper code was entered into the vault, you could gain access to extra lives, invincibility, secret movies, or the ability to play through the levels as one of the game's other characters.
On that note, bonus levels also allowed you to play through them as one of the other few characters in the game, provided you found/saved them in the game beforehand. But on top of this, Gex's outfits in certain levels were more than just a fashion accessory. On top of his normal actions or ones given via the various flies (another Gex staple), certain costumes within levels could give him different actions. Whether it be having the ability to glide in his Red Riding Gex or Vampire outfit, gaining super-abilities when he changed behind the hero-curtain, developed superhuman strength after being granted power as Herc-Gex, he's more than just your average gecko. Some levels also have vehicles, including a big honking tank to destroy an empty city.
The biggest change however, was that the levels were even more varied. Gone were multiple levels with the same style (IE Gex having specific areas and Enter the Gecko having multiple levels for certain channels). Instead, every channel was different from each other, with 11 levels total. Each level had 2-3 remotes once again as well as different paths to get each of the remotes, so the variety was welcome.
The downside, however, is that the number of bosses was once again reduced. In the original Gex, including the final boss there were a total of 5 - 1 for each area you visit, plus the final boss. In Enter the Gecko, there are 4 bosses - again 1 for each area but this includes the final boss. However, in Deep Cover Gecko there is no boss for the first area you start in, which only starts you off with 2 levels (plus a tutorial area).
While it's disappointing that once again the main bosses were reduced, Deep Cover Gecko was still a blast. Levels still retained the level of comedy (from both evil Elves and evil Santa vandalizing the North Pole with graffiti and messages written in pee in the snow to a remote in a western channel being tied to you traversing to the top of a literal mountain of crap). Some levels also had a sort of "mini-boss" (such as the evil Santa) which did help with the amount of bosses overall.
Outside of the comedy aspect, the levels once again were just a joy to traverse through...even the really difficult ones such as My Three Goons. Even though they were still a "confined" type of free roam, levels still felt expansive. Going through Red Riding in the Hood, you could almost feel just how gigantic the beanstalk was because of how much of a trek it was to climb. Clueless in Seattle was basically a large mansion with a hedge maze outside, but you could trek throughout the entire house and maze. Overall, the levels were confined within their own space, but they were still expansive enough that made the multiple-visits much less tedious and much more entertaining.
Again, my only gripe was the constant talking by Gex. The jokes were updated once again to fit up to the year this was released, and they thankfully once again didn't recycle any old jokes/dialogue from the old games, but it was still a constant annoyance once the charm of the new dialogue rubbed off.
However, I did appreciate the end-level cutscenes with Xtra after finishing a level for the first time. I thought the moments were charmingly amusing at points, even if some were cringeworthy (and let's be honest, the whole Gex (a gecko) lusting after Agent Xtra (an actual live-videotaped woman) was absolutely cringe-inducing).
Overall, I love these games. The constant Gex dialogue may get on my nerves after a bit of time, and the jokes (especially now) may be horribly dated, but the games are still an absolute blast to get through. Gex 3 is still by far my favorite as far as variety goes, while Gex 2 still retains the spot as my absolute favorite, but that may be because it's the first that I played and beat of the series).
Despite its outdated nature, it's still a series I'd recommend...although I'd warn you ahead of time that you may want to turn off the voices after a certain point. Heck, much like Jersey Devil, the Gex trilogy is one I'd absolutely love to see remade. Just fix up the jokes to be more current (or timeless), dial down on just how much Gex randomly talks, and we're good. I'm all for seeing Gex in a completely new fresh coat of paint, and I'd be thrilled to see that absurd-comedic style in a new form. Just call it the
Gex High Rez Trilogy, and we're good. Sure, Gex 1 might be in a completely different style since it was 2D, but even that one can keep its 2D style and have a look identical to what the other 2 games would look like.
Basically, I think if they tweaked the right things, a Gex Trilogy remake could do remarkably well simply because of just how charming the games still are. Or if not that...Gex 4 anyone?
