Gex: Enter the Gecko

Gex: Enter the Gecko
North American PlayStation box art
DeveloperCrystal Dynamics
Publishers
DirectorGlen Schofield
ProducerJeffrey Zwelling
DesignerEvan Wells
Programmers
  • Adrian Longland
  • Daniel Chan
Artists
Writers
Composers
SeriesGex
Platforms
Release
  • PlayStation
    • NA: February 24, 1998
    • EU: April 3, 1998
    • JP: September 10, 1998
  • Nintendo 64
    • NA: August 26, 1998
    • EU: February 26, 1999
  • Windows
    • NA: September 30, 1998
    • EU: 1998
GenrePlatform
ModeSingle-player

Gex: Enter the Gecko is a 1998 platform game developed and published by Crystal Dynamics for the PlayStation. It was originally released in 1998, with ports to the Nintendo 64, Microsoft Windows releasing later. The game is the second installment of the Gex video game series and the first with 3D graphics. Its protagonist, Gex, a TV-binging, wisecracking gecko, seeks to collect three types of remotes to unlock different TVs in the overworld that aid in the fight against his arch-nemesis, Rez.

After creating the original Gex, which released for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, PC, Sega Saturn, and PlayStation in 1995, developer Crystal Dynamics sought a sequel in the form of a 3D platform video game in the style of Super Mario 64. The Gex model was rebuilt with this perspective in mind, and much of the game's humor was inspired by the Fox animated sitcom The Simpsons, on which scriptwriter Robert Cohen had previously worked as a writer.

Critical reception of Gex: Enter the Gecko was mostly positive. Critics' main concerns centered on the game's camera, graphics, low-polygon enemies, and simplicity. A version for the Game Boy Color also titled Gex: Enter the Gecko (1998) was made in 2D and released in 1998. The game was followed by 1999's Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko, which was released on the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Color.