Gex : Enter the Gecko

Gex: Enter the Gecko for PlayStation is a 1998 3D platform game from Crystal Dynamics and the second main adventure for the wisecracking television addict Gex. Following the 1995 original, it moves the series from side-scrolling action into fully polygonal worlds. The North American PlayStation release arrived in February 1998, putting the gecko back in the Media Dimension for another mission against the villainous Rez. Gex is voiced in the U.S. release by comedian Dana Gould, whose stream of pop-culture-heavy quips gives the game much of its personality.

The story begins after Gex has withdrawn from hero work to spend his time in front of the television. Rez interrupts that quiet life by returning to threaten the Media Dimension, and a pair of government agents recruits Gex for the job. A promised reward and a supply of spy-themed equipment convince him to go back. From there, the campaign frames its worlds as television channels: Gex enters a series of stylized broadcasts, works through their hazards, and ultimately advances toward another confrontation with his old enemy.

PlayStation Gex: Enter the Gecko uses a central hub, the Media Dimension, where television sets serve as doors to stages. Progress depends on collecting remote controls. Red remotes are earned by completing a level's main tasks, while silver remotes reward exploration and collecting enough pickups; bonus areas provide gold remotes. These remotes open more televisions in the hub and give the adventure a reason to revisit stages. Players who search carefully can pursue the complete remote set, including the additional material unlocked for doing so.

Gex's moves are designed around his gecko identity as well as the needs of 3D platforming. He runs and jumps across broad courses, strikes with a tail whip, launches a flying kick, and uses a tail bounce to gain extra height. Certain surfaces let him cling to walls and ceilings, turning rooms and vertical routes into navigable spaces instead of scenery. His attacks can defeat many enemies, activate hint devices, and break small televisions. Those TVs often contain flies that replenish health, add lives, mark checkpoints, or provide temporary benefits suited to a particular stage.

The levels take their themes from familiar screen genres rather than one continuous real-world setting. Horror, science fiction, cartoons, secret-agent fiction, and other television-inspired concepts give the environments distinct props, enemies, and visual jokes. Some stages add their own rules: futuristic areas use cyber energy to operate routes and mechanisms, while outer-space sections make oxygen pickups part of survival. This variety helps explain why a remote-collecting structure supports multiple objectives within the same level instead of treating every course as a straight run to an exit.

The PlayStation version is especially significant within the Gex series because it established the series' 3D format, which continued with Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko. It was also released for Windows in 1998, while the Nintendo 64 conversion, Gex 64, made notable content and presentation changes because of cartridge limits. The Japanese PlayStation release appeared as Spin Tail. For players exploring late-1990s PlayStation platformers, Gex: Enter the Gecko combines a TV-satire setting, collectible-based progression, and a mascot hero built for the era's shift toward free-roaming 3D worlds.