Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Just plain fun"

(+) easy pick-up-and-play 2d platforming fun; Gex's smart remarks are humorous; interesting level designs; different powers like fire, thunder, and ice to use

(-) not much to do other than defeat enemies and gather flies

This is the first appearance of the mascot of Gex the lizard. The story here is the evil Rez snatches him through the TV which he was up late at night watching movies. Now he has to go through different TV channels like a graveyard, jungle, toon town, china, and eventually Rez's fortress, and complete platforming challenges.

The gameplay is old-school but it is great nonetheless. You get points by defeating crazy looking enemies, collecting flies that are equivalent to Mario golden coins and Sonic rings. Gex fights by slashing his tail forward or down from a jump like a pogo stick. He can also acquire special fire, water, and electric powers when collecting the right items to add a special touch to the game. You can get where you need to go easily by climbing the walls either vertically or horizontally.

The graphics in Gex are pretty well done if you match them with the gameplay. It doesn't look that much different than something from the first Sega Genesis era, but it wouldn't have to considering how simple the gameplay is. But adding to the package is Gex's quick witted sense of humor either pulled out by movie references "Hey Scoob! Let's get back to the mystery van!" or downright bizarreness "I'm hungry damn it!" The attitude that Gex carries with him makes it that much more inviting to pick up and play.

Gex is a great game by any standards. There's a good mix of nostalgic 2D platforming action enhanced by the wise-cracking attitude that is signature to Gex. It's just too bad that the series discontinues so abruptly and no more games in the series were added to the Playstation 2 or other newer consoles because Gex would still have a lot of potential if it continued.