Hurrah! Tell me about the weapons.
They're pretty cool. The 'A' button unleashes a stream of hot... light (isn't that what a laser is?). Holding the 'Y' button charges your lasers for a more powerful attack and 'X' activates the shield. Our favourite part has to be this shield - when the 'X' button is held down, you can move the stick to position the shield and deflect shots back at the enemy. Don't rely on it for too long though, as there's a finite amount of energy that takes a little while to replenish. Other weapons are available by means of the trusty power-up, obtainable by destroying certain objects and enemies. A tried and tested formula. It's actually quite similar to the classic Star Fox on the Super Nintendo, only not as good.

Why not?
Mainly because Star Fox was great five years ago and not now. Also, Star Fox had a clever character-driven storyline and multiple paths - you really felt like a part of the team. That's not to say that Red Dog is more like Dog Poo, but early impressions are that it doesn't have that certain va-va-voom.

But does it have multiplayer?
Indeed. Red Dog is replete with multiplayer mayhem. Up to four players can battle it out, split-screen stylee, in over 20 arenas. All the usual play modes are present and correct, including King of the Hill, Deathmatch and Suicide Bomb Tag (just like when you die first in a four-player Mario Kart 64 session).

Do say...
Die, alien scum! Die and don't come back. Grr.

Don't say...
Can't I just drive around and do a few stunts?