Knife Edge: Nose Gunner (1998). Play online

Summary

Knife Edge: Nose Gunner, sometimes just called Knife Edge, dropped onto the Nintendo 64 with a rail‑shooter twist that forces the ship onto a preset path while still letting me nudge it with the C‑buttons. I fire a vulcan cannon from a cursor that moves across the screen, and a secondary weapon adds a bit of fire‑power variety; each player’s cursor glows a different colour when we’re in the four‑player mode. The game hands out hints through a commanding officer, and the on‑screen HUD feels like a low‑tech targeting system rather than a polished light‑gun experience. Beyond the single‑player Story run, there’s a Practice stage for polishing aim and a Team Battle mode that pits up to four competitors against one another. Critics were split: Nintendo Power’s preview was lukewarm, IGN slammed the blurry graphics and sluggish pace, while Famitsu gave it a modest 22‑out of‑40 score.

Storyline

Knife Edge: Nose Gunner drops you into the aftermath of the United States’ “New Frontier Plan,” a late‑20th‑century program that funded the Mars Frontier Project. By the end of the 21st century humanity had built a space station, a domed colony called the Plant, and began terraforming Mars. Half a century later the atmosphere is breathable, oceans have formed, and the fifth wave of colonists is preparing to settle.

Reports then surface that unknown lifeforms are attacking a Martian outpost. The UN establishes a relay on Phobos and a military post on the planet, only to discover ancient 11th‑century ruins that hint at a long‑dead civilization. Communications from the colonies and the post are cut, and a desperate Mayday transmission warns that something is crawling and attacking the surface.

The player assumes the role of Second Lieutenant Michael Samson, a gunner in an experimental assault aircraft stationed on Phobos. Wing Commander Gregory MacKenzie guides him from the relay, while exo‑archeobiologist Dr. Linx provides intel on the alien threat after surviving the raid. Samson must fly the automatically piloted craft and blast the invaders to protect the new Martian frontier.