Space Station: Silicon Valley was one of the first games announced for the Nintendo 64. It was finally released on October 22, 1998 -- 3 years after the debut of the N64. It was developed by Scottish design house DMA, of Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto fame.

Silicon Valley is the name of a space station, launched in 2001, full of artificial life and evolving robots. It disappeared mysteriously shortly after launch, and returned 100 years later. All parties sent to make contact with the station have never returned. The station is heading straight for earth and something must be done to stop it. The world government looks to professional heroes Dan Danger and his robot sidekick, Evo, to save the day.

Space Station: Silicon Valley begins with a moderately long real time cinema that explains the plot and sets the game into action. The visuals aren't all that great here, but they get the story across and are quite humorous. With cross-dressing, disco, and comb-overs being ripped on in the first few seconds of the game, it becomes very evident that this game's sense of humor has a decidedly wicked slant.

Once you actually start playing Space Station: Silicon Valley, the first thing you notice is the graphics and I don't mean that in a nice way. Aside from maybe Gex 64, or Chameleon Twist, these are perhaps the worst graphics available on the N64. Simplistic modeling, weak textures, and lack of effects date the graphics engine for what it is: Essentially, a first generation N64 title. But a lot of the graphical problems are a definite style choice.

Design in this game is top notch, with the designers going with a quirky retro-deco look in this game. It adds nicely to the weirdness and humor and doesn't at all seem out of place. Dan Danger's character model is especially funny, he's the quintessential dork, looking much like Woody Harrelson or Bill Murray's characters in Kingpin. The player-controlled models are well designed and hilarious. The Racemouse, a race car mouse; Rocket fox; and Helirabbit are adequately weird, and are animated nicely.

The sound of Space Station: Silicon Valley is on the same level as the graphics. Basically, like a first generation N64 title's sound would be. This doesn't mean it is bad though. The music is of the elevator-type and is generally pleasing, and is also implemented dynamically. Littered throughout the levels of the game are speakers of the station's sound system. If you don't want to hear the music, simply get rid of the speakers! (You can also alter sound functions in the options menu, but, let's face it -- blowing a speaker to hell with a rocket is much more fun than turning the music off.) Sound effects are nice, but they won't blow you away. They are comical, however, and the animal noises are cool. This game will not impress like Banjo-Kazooie, because it simply cannot compare in the graphics or aural area.

Space Station: Silicon Valley features around 60 different animals to control, and each controls differently. Each animal has 2 skills. "A" activates skill a, and "B" activates skill b. The trigger and "C" buttons operate various camera functions, while the stick controls movement. (In some cases, you must use a skill in conjunction with the stick for movement.) Environments and characters are intertwined a great deal with in-play control in this game. Your choice of animal, skills of that animal, and environment, all dictate how control is handled.

The game's replay value is based on a few points. Every one of the 28 levels has a lot of stuff to do, with additional, optional objectives also available. All of the animals are pretty fun just to play with and torture. These add a little to replay value, and there are some hidden things to find later on in the game. But since this game has no multiplayer mode, and isn't incredibly difficult, it loses some value in this area. The game does offer enough in other areas to compensate for that which is lacking in replay value, though.

I think that as an overall package Space Station: Silicon Valley justifies a purchase. It packs a large variety of characters, levels, puzzles and objectives. It's a sleeper that may get overlooked due to bigger name titles being released this holiday season, but it definitely has the gameplay to stand on its own. If one can look past its faults, it really has a deep gameplay package. It's a definite buy if you're simply looking for something to tide you over until Zelda or Turok 2 come out.