Gex Trilogy

A character named {Gex} probably doesn't mean much to the younger generation of gamers, as it's been 26 years since the previous adventure bearing the character's name. On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if the name is new to many veteran gamers, as the gecko never achieved any significant success.

{Gex} started his career as a mascot character for the 3DO console. When it quickly became clear that the 3DO wouldn't achieve much success, {Gex} quickly moved to other consoles and PCs of the time. Since there were different mascot characters available on every platform at the time, it was difficult to stand out from the crowd and {Gex} eventually fell behind his older counterparts.

However, now, 30 years later, the first {Gex} is a fully functional 2D platformer. The gecko is quite fluid to control and the level design includes some fine new ideas. The game is by no means a celebration of originality, but in addition to its other good points, it still looks and sounds quite impressive. Since this new game collection also includes free saves, there are no more worries about the old-fashioned password-based save system.

The game's developer, {Crystal Dynamics}, saw untapped potential in the character, so as 3D platformers took over the field from their two-dimensional counterparts, {Gex} was also moved to the third dimension. {Gex: Enter the Gecko}, released in 1998, and was a perfectly competent game for its time, even if it followed the idea developed by collect-a-thons like {Super Mario 64}.

So, 3D {Gex} includes a central map, in the style familiar of many other games, with doors to the game's different worlds. Controls are collected from these worlds, which are then used to open locked doors on the central map. Familiar nonsense. Unfortunately, {Gex}'s first trip to the third dimension has not lasted very long. The camera in particular is absolutely terrible and mainly aims to make playing difficult. The levels are unnecessarily deserted and confusing, and the appearance of the game has not stood the test of time very well either.

Considering these shortcomings, it is actually surprising how good the game that concludes the collection, {Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko}, is. The camera has been improved a lot and especially the level design has improved so much that I nearly finished the game in one sitting. Of course, the polygon graphics of the end of the last millennium are no longer as beautiful to look at as they were then, but the game is still quite tolerable and, above all, you can understand all the events without any problems. The third {Gex} is easily the best game in the entire set.

Why didn't {Gex} ultimately succeed back then, even though the first and third games in particular are still good to play? There are certainly many reasons, and the most important one is certainly the oversupply of platformers in terms of both mascot games and 3D platformers. One reason could also be the unique humour of the game series, which certainly didn't appeal to everyone. {Gex} is a creature that quotes from various movies to the point of being tiresome, and in addition, the game scripts were clearly aimed at the teenage boy audience of its time. The humour is really substandard in places, especially in the third part.

Still, {Gex} is a game series worth remembering. In its own way, the three games beautifully encapsulate the entire development of the platformer genre towards the end of the last millennium. First, a mascot-driven 2D platformer that happily moves into the third dimension, until the next game carefully learns from mistakes. Many other game characters experienced a similar development and fate at the time, but it is clearly noticeable in the case of {Gex}.

{Gex Trilogy} brings the games to modern TVs as is, meaning the collection does not offer graphical improvements or anything similar. There are a few different filters in the menus, but apart from free saving, there are no other improvements available. If you have happy memories of the character, or if this particular game series was something that didn't catch your eye back then, {Gex Trilogy} is not a bad purchase.