Nintendo GameCube

Reviews:

This tiny, but powerful, game system is roughly the size of 1/3 of a loaf of bread. It uses 3" DVD discs for software and includes analog/digital controllers with built in rumble capability. There are three expansion ports (both a telephone modem and a broad band modem are coming out soon) and four controller ports (and don't forget that a cable will soon be available to use your Gameboy Advance as a controller! Think of the possibilities, NO other system offers that!!!). Simply put, this is an amazing little system! It definitely has a slight edge on graphics against the PS2 and is about on par with the X-Box. It's quite a bit speedier than the PS2 (the GameCube has a processing clock speed of about 490 Mhz, while the PS2 is at a measly 298 Mhz - Just for comparison, the Dreamcast is 200 Mhz and the Nintendo 64 is 93.75 Mhz) and it's cheaper than both the PS2 and the X-Box ($199 instead of the heftier $299 for each of the others). It's available in Indigo and Jet Black. Of course, I got the Jet Black color, much cooler.

Graphics: 9/10 ------ Sound: 9/10 ------ Control: 9.5/10

About half the software library are Nintendo specific games, many with famous Nintendo characters (such as Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Star Fox etc.). It's obvious that the bulk of these are aimed at younger kids, but are great fun nonetheless. I mean who just can't wait to take Mario and go beat up on Pikachu on Super Smash Brothers Melee? Many other Nintendo specific titles with famous Nintendo characters are also slated to arrive soon (such as Metroid and Link). Sequals to popular favorites, such as Perfect Dark, are also on the way. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rouge Leader, is also a Nintendo exclusive. Of course, Star Wars: Obi-Wan is an X-Box exclusive, so the choice isn't so easy for Star Wars fans.

The other half of the software library are cross platform games like SSX Tricky, Simpsons Road Rage, Crazy Taxi and all the EA Sports games. For the most part, the more popular games have been ported, and look great! Admittedly, the PS2 still has the largest selection of games, but this can be attributed to time. Besides, Resident Evil is coming to GameCube as well as Soul Caliber 2 and the new Bloody Roar!! This brings up the most glaring deficiency in the GameCube line up, fighting games. There's isn't a single fighting game outside of Super Smash Brothers Melee. You can bet I'll be lining up for Soul Caliber once it hits the shelves, but until then, PS2 and X-Box, with Tekken Tag Tournament and Dead or Alive 3 respectively, share the crown on this point.

>> Simpsons Road Rage <<

Basically, if you're a Simpsons fan, this is the game you've been waiting for. With real character voices (although sometimes repetitive) and terrific character models located in "real" Springfield environments, how can you go wrong? But for those who aren't Simpsons fans, we need to delve a little deeper.

Take Crazy Taxi 2 and add Simpsons characters and couple mission based adventures. That's Simpsons Road Rage in a nutshell. It's a great game with responsive controls and colorful, well rendered graphics. It's better than Crazy Taxi, but not quite as good as Crazy Taxi 2. No jump option was added, as was in Crazy Taxi 2, but the cartoonish graphics and voice acting do a lot to keep this game on top (although the quips do get tiresome after awhile). Think of it as Crazy Taxi 1.5 with Simpsons Characters. Lots of Simpsons characters. It has a terrific reward system where winning money during the game accumulates and allows you to unlock more characters and locations. And you can choose which character to open each time! A great idea.

The final word is that although it lacks imagination or innovation, it's a solid game with good gameplay and a nice twist for Simpsons fans. Also, if you don't have a Dreamcast, and thus no access to Crazy Taxi 2, get Simpsons Road Rage over Crazy Taxi.

> Graphics: 7.5/10 ----- Sound: 8.5/10 ----- Control: 8/10 ----- Fun: 8.5/10 -----

> Replay Value: 9/10 ----- Overall: 8/10

>> SSX Tricky <<

If you liked SSX snowboarding on the PS2, you'll love SSX Tricky. It's basically SSX 1.5. It has a few additions including incredibly cool "Uber Tricks" (a basic and a character specific uber trick) which you can perform after you fill a trick meter and slightly more complicated courses (spruced up from the original SSX). It also retains the 6 original characters while adding 6 more. The graphics are about the same and control is right on target. The addition of new music tracks and Run DMC's "Tricky" when you fill the meter is cool and will keep you tapping your feet throughout the run.

Multiple modes include Single event and World competition with "Race" and "Show Off" options. It's pretty self explanatory, one is racing, the other is a trick competition where you need to score a certain number of points to place and get new courses. During races, you can knock over competitors. But be careful, knocking them over will adversely effect their attitude towards you during future races! Winning races and showoff competitions will open new tracks, new characters, new outfits and give you more points to allocate how you which to your attributes. And trust me, you'll want them all. Of course, there's also a practice option and a freeride option available.

Although nothing new, it is the ultimate in "unreal" snowboarding. It does to snowboarding what Blitz did for football. Good wholesome fun that's addictive as H-E-double hockey sticks! And I'm not exaggerating at all.

> Graphics: 8.5/10 ----- Sound: 8.5/10 ----- Control: 8.5/10 ----- Fun: 9.5/10 -----

> Replay Value: 10/10 ----- Overall: 9/10

>> Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader <<

Many of us have played through Rogue Squadron on the N64. With the 4 Meg upgrade, it was a blast with superior graphics. Here's more for all of you that have finished all those missions and have been dreaming of more missions battling the evil Empire (and, of course, didn't like the ugly ships available in Battle for Naboo on the N64).

The premise and the game are about the same, but this time missions are based from the movies and the books (such as Hoth, Endor and the Death Star Run). Graphics are amazingly real, especially cut scenes, and movement is fluid, although somewhat jerky under the touchy GameCube controls. Targeting tie fighters in the distance can sometimes be a real pain in the you know what! More ships are allegedly available now, and the sound has been updated slightly.

If you liked the first one, you'll love this one. It's everything the first was plus a bunch more. However, if you didn't like the first one and you're not a Star Wars fan, this game is unlikely to bring anything new to convince you. In m opinion though, a Star Wars fan couldn't ask for anything more.

> Graphics: 9/10 ----- Sound: 9/10 ----- Control: 7/10 ----- Fun: 8/10 -----

> Replay Value: 7/10 ----- Overall: 8.5/10

>> Super Monkey Balls <<

Talk about party games and this one takes the cake. Basically, in addition to having th Monkey Ball arcade game as the main game, it also includes three party games and three mini games that you open by gathering points from the main game.

The main game is akin to the old wood panel games which you tilt in order to guide a little metal ball through a maze and not fall into holes. The only difference is now it's in glorious colorful 3-D graphics and includes the use of one of four cute monkeys in a clear ball. Yeah, it's nerve racking moving that monkey ball around those thin platforms, but it sure is a rush to finsh that "one impossible level."

In addition, finishing levels of the main game will give you points which you trade in for mini games such as Monkey Billiards, Monkey Bowling, and Monkey Golf. All these games are games worthy of their own title. Great fun for group!! And those great party games...I just can't stop playing Monkey Target! And four players on Monkey Race and Monkey Fighting...phew...

If there's ever been a reason to get four controllers, this is it!!!And the Main Game ain't half bad either!

> Graphics: 7.5/10 ----- Sound: 7.5/10 ----- Control: 8.5/10 ----- Fun: 9/10 -----

> Replay Value: 9/10 ----- Overall: 9/10

>> Super Monkey Balls 2 <<

Coming Soon.

> Graphics: 7.5/10 ----- Sound: 7.5/10 ----- Control: 8.5/10 ----- Fun: 9.5/10 -----

> Replay Value: 9.5/10 ----- Overall: 9.5/10

>> Super Smash Brothers Melee <<

You may think you know everything about this game, but you don't. Yeah, we all know it's a super cool, quick to learn but hard to master 2.5-D (mostly 2-D fighting with 3-D graphics) fighting game with all your favorite Nintendo characters including Mario, the Princess, Bowser, Yoshi, Star Fox, Pikachu, Link and Zelda among many others. But did you know about the Adventure mode?

That's right, there's an Adventure mode!! Now traverse famous levels mimicing, among many others, a level from Super Mario Brothers, a dungeon from the Legend of Zelda, a jungle from Donkey Kong Country, a track from F-Zero, and the Pokemon Arena! It's a side-scrolling 2.5-D adventure (2-D play with 3-D graphics) with any character you have open complete with end level boss battles! WOW!! And the Final Boss is none other than Bowser! COOL!! All you Nintend-geeks will love it.

Is that enough for yeah? No? How about four person SIMULTANEOUS fighting? Not good enough? Collects points and open up a full gallery of classic Nintendo figurines while you're at it.

All in all, a fun game for all ages. And all ages together at the same time! Also a great piece of nostalgia (as you'll definitely humming along with the Super Mario song and the Zelda song during those levels).

> Graphics: 8.5/10 ----- Sound: 8/10 ----- Control: 8.5/10 ----- Fun: 8.5/10 -----

> Replay Value: 8/10 ----- Overall: 8.5/10

>> Luigi's Mansion <<

Get ready for a frighteningly good time in Luigi's Mansion! With his trusty vacuum but quickly fading courage, Luigi will venture through countless rooms of side-splitting spooks to rescue brother Mario. Watch Luigi creep, cower and cry out in fright as the roaming spirits try to scare him out of his wits! The action-packed, ghost-sucking fun of Luigi's Mansion is only for the Nintendo GameCube.

Personal Review Coming Soon

I also have the Official Guidebook.

> Graphics: 8.5/10 ----- Sound: 8/10 ----- Control: 7.5/10 ----- Fun: 8/10 -----

> Replay Value: 7/10 ----- Overall: 7/10

>> Madden 2002 <<

Well, being an avid video game football fan, ever since the days of Tecmo Bowl and early Madden football games, I was pretty excited to check out the latest and greatest from EA sports. And I can say that although I wasn't blown away, I was not dissappointed.

First of all, the controls were dead on. I had no problem using the GameCube controller to pull off all the moves, be it jukes, spins, speed bursts and dives. The straight arms are little trickier since you either need to use the Z and L or R buttons in combination or the yellow analog stick, but you'll get use to it without too much effort. The graphics are terrific, very detailed. The faces are almost too detailed and are kind of eerie at times since the expressions don't change much, so sometimes that weird smile seems out of place on that running back that just got hammered in the backfield. In addition, the graphics look a little bit on the dark side and some animations seem to speed up for no real reason. But all that is pretty nit picky, for all intents and purposes, it looks great.

The sound of course is terrific with Pat Summerall and John Madden calling the shots. Can't beat it. The crowd noise does get a little monotonous at times, but there are ocassional announcements over the loud speakers, which are actually pretty funny (listen for them!). And the Madden Cards are a great idea. Basically, for completing certain objectives during gameplay, such as rushing over a certain number of yards, you get points which allow you to "buy" packs of Madden Cards. These cards sometimes add temporary boosts to certain players or the team or sometimes even unlocks classic teams and stadiums. So the replay value is greatly increased with these. You can even wager them with a friend or trade them! Too bad you can't go online with them...

The other regular options are there, Exhibition, Season, Career, etc. All of them are terrific. And don't forget you can play four players at the same time!

The bottom line is that it's the best football game on the GameCube. It's also one of the bests on all systems. The only football game that comes close, and in some respects surpass it, is NFL 2K2 by Sega. Too bad the Dreamcast has become defunct...

> Graphics: 7.5/10 ----- Sound: 9/10 ----- Control: 9/10 ----- Fun: 9.5/10 -----

> Replay Value: 9.5/10 ----- Overall: 8.5/10

>> Wave Race: Blue Storm <<

Experience the high velocity, intense racing action of Wave Race: Blue Storm! Packed with realistic special effects, such as monstrous tsunamis and lifelike weather conditions, gamers are sure to feel the power of the waves! Wave Race: Blue Storm makes a big splash only on the Nintendo GameCube.

This game has beautiful wave/water effects, which adds to it's high medium learning curve. You'll be able to pick and go for the Exhibition, but the Normal races will take a little practive, and the Expert tracks start to really turn on the frustration. You enjoy great racing, and a Stunt option, but stunts will take some practice. Luckily, the game includes a step by step, take-you-by-the-hand stunt trainer. It still took me a couple trys though. The graphics are gorgeous, the best water you'll ever see. The animation is smooth with no skipped frames or slowdown. Once you get a hang of it, the controllers work very nicely. Definitely the best of the jet ski games, but not for the easily intimidated.

> Graphics: 8.5/10 ----- Sound: 8/10 ----- Control: 8/10 ----- Fun: 8.5/10 -----

> Replay Value: 9/10 ----- Overall: 8/10

>> Resident Evil <<

Umbrella has been conducting unmonitored genetic research within the mansion walls for years. The Special Tactics and Rescue Squad (S.T.A.R.S.) response unit has been deployed to investigate the rumors. Penetrating the mansion's compound will be the easiest part. What begins as a mission to uncover Umbrella's secret conspiracy unfolds into a terror beyond their worst nightmares.

It’s no surprise to anyone that this game has “survived” for many years and in fact prospered. There are no indications that this will end. As everyone was shocked and amazed when Resident Evil 2 came out for the Playstation and as everyone couldn’t even believe the detail in Resident Evil Code: Veronica for the Dreamcast, once again, Capcom has pushed the boundaries of survival horror. Trust me, the GameCube version of Resident Evil does not disappoint.

The first thing you’ll notice is the improved and incredibly realistic graphics. The zombie slobber and bleed so incredibly realistically that you’ll instinctively back away from your screen every time you see one. Everything is very fluid, the movement and reactions. The next thing you’ll notice is a some much improved voice acting. Finally, you’ll actually believe Wesker when he says he’s trying to help and not just break out laughing whenever Brad speaks! The atmosphere has been completely redone to be darker and more ominous than ever before. The music is appropriate, but sparse. The sounds are chilling as ever, and the famous door opening transition screens have returned, seamlessly integrated into the game.

Now the new stuff. Many new areas are now opened, beautifully rendered and integrated into the existing adventure. And the nicest improvement, using defense items. Depending on the character you play, Jill or Chris, you can now use a dagger, stun gun or grenade as a defense item when you are grabbed by a zombie. Depending on the item, varying amounts of damage are done, but more importantly, it gives you the opportunity to escape without being bitten! Both auto and manual modes are available for these items, so newbies won’t lack the ability to use them and veterans can save their defense items for truly important time periods. If that weren’t enough, the zombies have been overhauled and apparently beefed up. It now takes 8 to 10 shots to take out a zombie, and the zombie may still come back after being “killed.” That’s right, after wasting 10 bullets on a zombie and seeing the tell-tale blood spill, the zombie may come back as a “crimson head” zombie, even stronger than before!!! And zombies can now come through doors and chase you! Is there no end to the horror? Only you can determine that...by playing Resident Evil for the GameCube!!

> Graphics: 10/10 ----- Sound: 9/10 ----- Control: 8.5/10 ----- Fun: 9/10 -----

> Replay Value: 8/10 ----- Overall: 9/10

>> Eternal Darkness <<

The shadows... The whispers... The fear will consume you... The intense psychological thriller of Eternal Darkness is sure to blur reality from insanity! Travel back to several different time periods, including the Middle Ages, Roman Times and the 19th Century to stop the ancient evil spirits from spreading their poisonous power over the planet.

Personal Review Coming Soon

> Graphics: 9/10 ----- Sound: 8.5/10 ----- Control: 8/10 ----- Fun: 8/10 -----

> Replay Value: 8/10 ----- Overall: 8.5/10

>> Animal Crossing <<

Step into the world of Animal Crossing, where villagers live their everyday lives in time with an actual 24-hour clock. To become a part of the thriving village community, you’ll get a job, buy a house and interact with other villagers, some of which can be controlled by friends and family. As you collect furnishings for your own house, check out what other villagers have collected for their houses. Build relationships by talking to other villagers, helping them with tasks and writing letters back and forth. Throughout the game, you’ll collect an assortment of items and artifacts and different plants and animals. To ensure it will be a desirable place for people to live, help to keep your village beautiful.

This game comes with its own 59 Memory Card. Personal Review Coming Soon.

> Graphics: /10 ----- Sound: /10 ----- Control: /10 ----- Fun: /10 -----

> Replay Value: /10 ----- Overall: /10

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