Genre: Compilation
Developer: Limited Run Games
Publisher: Limited Run Games

Speaking as someone who had it reserved and got it on release day, the original Gex was a showcase title for the 3DO with its insane special effects and cool pre-rendered characters. Unfortunately, this version is based on the PSX port, so some of the assets are a little grainy. On the flip side, it's sixty frames-per-second, which feels almost surreal to play. The second title is one of the best 3D engines this reviewer has seen on the PSX, with fluid framerates, lots of geometry on screen, and high texture resolution-- plus 16:9 support in this collection! The third game adds environmental mapping and reflections on certain objects and surfaces-- and how about those real-time triangle-deforming heads in the Egypt level! The package is wrapped in a nice, super high resolution menu system where Gex's head cutely turns to face the TV playing whichever of the three games the player has selected.

The original Gex's pre-recorded soundtrack is one of the all-time classics from the 32-bit era across any platform-- and it sounds wonderful in this collection, from the opening graveyard theme to the hilarious sample-filled jungle tunes to the haunting kung-fu stage songs. The DSP music in the second and third games isn't as memorable, but it's still not bad, and fits the action. Dana Gould's one-liners across all three games are hilarious, even after heard several times-- with lots of Arnold, "Austin Powers", and "Star Trek" references, among myriads of other influences.

Gex is masterpiece in control scheme and level design both-- with stages expertly paced and designed around the player's ability to climb on stage walls and background surfaces! The second game has an extraordinarily fussy camera, which makes navigating the platform-filled, small-areas-interconnected stages somewhat tricky. The third title occupies a spot just above something like C-tier "Croc" in the landscape of "Super Mario 64" clones-- and pretty much eliminates the camera problems, while introducing some fun gameplay mechanics like the ability to ride a camel, or shrink into a miniature Sherlock Holmes to kill fleas on a bear's head. It also adds swimming, which is cleverly used in certain stages.

The original Gex on 3DO is in the same echelon as "Super Mario Bros. 3" or "Sonic the Hedgehog": it's one of the best 2D platformers ever made-- and it's worth this collection all by itself. The second game is a tremendous tech demo for what the PSX hardware could do in the right hands-- but the level design is spotty, and camera issues make it unnecessarily challenging. Meanwhile, the third title is one this reviewer never played back in the day-- and its expansive, exploration-based stages make it a surprisingly fun component in this package. Add in an insightful Dana Gould interview along with full scanned box art plus manuals, and this Gex Trilogy is a very solid package.