Gamecube - Mario Kart Double Dash review

I don't mind what other people say about this title, perfect or not perfect, this is a must buy for Gamecube! It's been 5 years since I bought Mario Kart 64, and it's been a long wait if that. This game has a positive turn out because the tracks are wacky, but MK64 is known for it. One draw back is the music, but I'll get to this later. The game comes with 24 grand prix tracks, and 50cc, 100cc, 150cc. One questionable fact in the new mario kart is the player only gets to pick 12 tracks at the beginning. Only 12 tracks? While the original came with all tracks at the very beginning, and had 200cc (hardest difficulty) This by no means makes Double Dash any less difficult. The competition will give you a challenge. 50cc plays like 100cc in Mario Kart 64. 100cc plays like 150cc. And 150cc will play like 200cc. I'm sugessing that a game starring Mario is actually difficult for hardcore gamers. I mean at the very beginning.

Double Dash has the exact same features as Mario Kart 64. Although many gamers would agree, Mario Kart 64, which was probably the prefered racing game of any N64 game, didn't come as a bonus disk or unlockable feature in this game. I mean how hard can it possibly be? I'd just take the Mario Kart 64 ROM, and stick it on the mini-disk. The game disk has 1.6 GB. This did not happen of course. Rumor is that Nintendo is putting N64 classics on a game disk and releasing it. Okay, enough of the rumors. Double Dash is based on the same point system of Mario Kart 64. Okay, I'll explain:

If you get first in a race, you get 8 points. Second place 6 points. Third Place 5 points. Fourth Place 4 points. Win the races and you earn vehicles (like the Waluigi Racer), extra characters (like Toad) and tracks (like the Special Cup.) If you don't see the Rainbow track (seen in N64 as Rainbow Road), don't have a fit, it comes apart of Special Cup, once you've earned it.

This game is colorful, the character models look generic, but it's not suppose to have the shiny, shadow look. I mean if you take all Mario games, they are very clean, but feature Super Mario 64 style graphics. I can't say it any simpular. Ever since Super Mario 64 was a mega hit, Nintendo just stuck with the graphics style. They wouldn't make a cell shaded Mario Kart. (AKA: Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.) A interesting fact is Hal Labitories, the developer of Super Smash Bros. Melee, made all the characters more shaded then usual. This lead to make gamers believe that all future Nintendo games would indeed follow the same formula. Although it would be nice if this were true, I believe Nintendo wanted the New Mario Kart game to be the way that most people expected it would be. No details were released at IGN.com until mid-July 2003, but everyone knew that it would look a lot like Mario Kart 64 in High Res. It would be nice if Nintendo added extra polygons to the characters.

The game has this good feel, and makes it easily the top Nintendo game for Christmas last year. It is better than it's predecessor, I wished though, the game didn't use some content from Super Mario Sunshine. Super Mario 64 was clearly better designed than Sunshine, and it would be like that. Although, Nintendo fans don't know what's behind the highly classified game in the works, dumbed Super Mario128, and if it's going to feature the same level design as Super Mario 64. And if Luigi will join Mario in 2 player mode or at least be a unlockable character first featured in the 1985 game, undeniably the best NES game ever which made Mario and Luigi immortal stars, Super Mario Bros.

Double Dash comes with four average Battle Mode maps. They aren't bad, but they could of been more. Clearly, Nintendo was more interested in making Grand Prix mode better than average, so other "minigames" got a little simular. The bottom line is that I believe the Super Mario 64 (if you've placed the game) were better. Why Nintendo did you get rid of the maze idea, that was an in-genius idea I thought featured both in Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64? So many features in Double Dash rely on Grand Prix mode including Multiplayer, Time Attack, and Mirror mode. Hell, it's still fun, it comes with 5 cups. No Mario Kart 64 fan would expect anything less in the main game.

The graphics, this game isn't the prettiest game on Nintendo. It's kinda showing its age already. This isn't the games fault, it's just as game consoles improved, the older games just look more pixely. This is what some gamers call "The Cube Factor." The older consoles were based on sprites while the new consoles are 3D and use polygon. The cube factor goes stands against the newer games because it leaves out the classic formula that either made the game a hit or a lackluster in the past. Why do people still play NES? The cube factor draws them in. Games long ago that were as beautiful as they were simple. Back when all games were 2D. I believe the older games were sometimes better because they didn't use a joystick. The d-pad, and a couple buttons were all gamers needed to play the game. Not since characters can move in 360 degree radius they need a 360 degree stick to accompany it. Thus with a 2D layout, level design can be focused in 2D, camera angles are not a factor although some gamers say Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Super Mario 64, Goldeneye, and Grand Thief Auto 3, and Vice City were perfectly executed the camera. Camera angles aren't considered a big issue in racing titles because the camera is always behind the car, and it follows the same pattern in every lap. Same case with First Person Shooters. The camera is your eyes, and doesn't need to follow the character at a trillion possible bad angles. The graphics are prettier then any Playstation 2 game. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is coming to Gamecube, so gamers can't say can't say Metal Gear Solid 2 has better graphics. Gamecubes graphics are usually superior to Playstation 2 even if it's just a small ammount. Which do you think has crisper higher resolution graphics, Final Fantasy X or Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles? I am not ripping on PS2 at all since I own one, but sometimes I just get this feeling that Mario Kart Double Dash 'higher resolution' graphics beats any Playstation 2 game on the market . Okay except for Grand Thief Auto, which looks better than many Gamecube game ports that also are for Playstation 2. Bottom line, I think this game looks better then 97% of PS2 games. PS2 gamers, you know you'll just say how superior Playstation 3 looks to Gamecube. And I know this because it's also going to look better then Xbox. But PS3 will also nudge graphics of many PS2 up like PS2 has done with PSone games. Tell me that great games like Gran Tranismo 2 and Final Fantasy 7 look upgraded on PS2.

To conclude my review I give Mario Kart an average of 4.5 out of 5.0. The game works pretty well on the Gamecube controller. The controls are precise, and tightly adjusted. I happen to play this game often, and it's still fun after you beat it. (I haven't beaten it yet, but I will someday. This game will be a #1 pick in my Gamecube collection so I'll be playing this game long after Gamecube's predecessor is on the market.)

Changed Geocities webpage again

Other news that happened this week and I got my midterm grade and it happens to be Bs. School's not terrible. I'm having fun in technolegy class. Chris Crow is very entertaining. His speeches do a lot for the room. I'm learning Power Point and Microsoft Word. What do you think of that! I still go to Indian Technical college in River Falls. I wanted to drop out, but that can't happen because I need the credit to graduate this year.

And when my friend, Chuck came over to visit and play games, I couldn't play Unreal Tourament 2003, so we played the Unreal Tournament instead. So at first it was this too gory for me, but I found that later on I got use to it. I found Deck 16 ]i[ off the Internet. The map rules. It actually looks like the old version for Unreal Tournament. (Most popular UT map of all time)

Later that night I found the 3 disc set in my cd case. I wasn't looking hard enough.

GBA - Mario Kart Super Circuit review

| GAME FEATURES |	Developer : Nintendo
A.) Mario racing karts on Gameboy Advance	Publisher : Nintendo
B.) 32 tracks including all unlockables and battle mode tracks. This is a big game.	Released on August 27, 2001
C.) A practice area where someone can increase their skills at coverting to white shielding or black shielding in the game. A lot of practice will be needed for an average gamer to get past the C grade level at the end of the practice run.
D.) A co-op option letting a friend battle evil with you.	Type : Kart Racing

This is a game that I've played everyday at school in the 12th grade during brakes. Mario Kart invented the kart racing formula. No other game can match it's style and success. When I say this game rocks, I mean it's fantastic. Why, because I had nothing better to do, no one to talk to, and it was the only GBA game of two I own. The game not only has 4 tracks and 4 cups, but not intended also has all the SNES Super Mario Kart tracks for the gamer to unlock. I haven't unlocked any because I never had first on all four tracks on 150cc difficulty. The game is harder then Super Mario Kart 64 much because you play the game on a small screen. If only I had a Gameboy Player. Does anyone even care? I sure didn't think so ....

Mario Kart Advance's graphics aren't as pretty as some other games. But it isn't bad. I'm not use to draw in graphics which the Gameboy Advance has. The game isn't on CD format so it can't load very detailed backgrounds, one disadvantage of having a 32 megabyte cartridge. It's average by the console's standards. I'm guessing that the Sony PSP will be more powerful then the Gameboy Advance although the Gameboy does have more games for it.

Since I spent more time on this game then any other game for the hand held, I thought the Grand Prix mode in Mario Kart was the best. Even if I could time myself in time trials. I don't see any point to the time trials. I mean the only way you can get better is to race the grand prix until your good at it. I am able to get 1st or 2nd place in the 50cc tracks. The 100 are less unforgiving. One mistake and your out of the race. Did I mention that you must get a certain number of coins before you can get a good grade. But since the GBA LCD screen is so small, you have to switch to see the Screen times. It's worth it though playing this game on the computer. Though emulation, you can of course blow up the image to full size. The game can click ass especially when GBAEMU has a multiplayer that can be activated through networking. A cool feature. The only thing that needs to occur is the host computer needs to be able to ping the computer your playing on. (article posted August 09, 2003 4:10AM)

Summing up Mario Kart : Super Circuit
Graphics	8.0	The characters models are well done. Nintendo drew out the maximum amount of detail that the gameboy advance can juice out. But the level design is what's there. The game goes back to the SNES roots with backgrounds that stay still while the track itself moves around on an axis. Back in 1991, this was new technology. Know it's what's expected in a videogame. The Gameboy Advance wasn't created to run 3D games That's why the backgrounds are too 16-bit era. They don't have an hardcore feel to them. They don't look high resolution. It's not that complex like we see in other unintended games like Super Mario Advance 3. Fine so the graphics are really good, just not amongst the gameboy advance's best.
Control	9.5	The game is extremely challenging in Single Player Mode. You can have your friends all hooked up to the Game's muitiport feature, but your biggest challenge is not against your friends but the game. I can tell that his game is harder then Mario Kart 64. Compared to most games, MK64 was easy. In the game you use the right trigger to slide while you use the d-pad to turn directions. The karts come in weight classes. Which I think is a good idea. Without weight classes ever racer would be equal. Take Yoshi, the easiest to control of the bunch. Mario is the favorite and is medium weight. I would think that Luigi is a light weight because he looks so skinny, but he is also a medium weight like Mario. Donkey Kong and Wario are heavy weights. These karts can't be knocked around. And some times on the easier courses, these guys are best to pick. One reason is that they'll end up in front quicker and they'll stay more still then the others so if your timing is right, the heavy weights pick up all the coins on the track. My experience with Wario was best because I could pick up most of the coins in the track in the Flower Cup. That about sums this game up. It's still challenging. I bet that a lot of you grown tired of challenging games if you even picked this game up.
Orginalism	9.0	Mario Kart is highly original. The idea to put Mario in a racing game wasn't a bad one, it caught on. I was once anxious to get Mario Kart 64 when I was 13. Now 7 years later I have forgotten mostly about that game and this game is the only Gameboy Advance game that I play. I'm glad Nintendo brought back the Rainbow Road race from the N64.
Sound	6.0	The sound is alright. Nothing really good about it.
Replayibly	10.0	You'll be playing this game a lot because it's one of the most fun games to play if your looking for a 3D racing game.

For all those people who hate to be inside, I know exactly how you feel. Wasting much your time infront of a computer surfing the Internet for new software. The question is not that there isn't any good games out there, its how much time you look for that one game. I found a couple games today that I've downloaded. One game called Tetrix. A tetris clone type game. Pretty ordinary and nothing special about it. Then there's Kaggz 4.0. This is close to SmileTris on Linux. Match the colors and they'll fade right away. Music is included, but I am not bothered by it. I had no one to invite over, much like yesterday. I played a little Dungeon Siege. I managed to build a farm girl up to warrior statis in 3 days. Pretty average, anyone can do that. Then I tried out Never Winter Nights. It is way too much like Baldur's Gate. The game got good reviews on the Internet. I was trying to play NWN online but my ping was really low. Although I do like the idea that you right click on a person to attack him. That seems to work out pretty darn well. I post my feelings about the games I play in reviews. I may be a while before I know what I'm doing in NWNs. The look of it makes me unsure about were to start and all that. I wonder how many teens think the same I do?

GBA - Sonic Advance review

| GAME FEATURES |	Developer : Sonic Team
A.) Sonic in high resolution for an handheld. Still a blast to play even after the 7 years Sonic Team discontinued the Sonic the Hedgehog 2D games (since Sonic CD for Mega32x in 1995) There was Sonic Pocket Adventure for the Neogeo Pocket, but I'm so unfamilar with that game.	Publisher : Sega
B.) Good sound track. Familar sonic the hedgehog tunes	Released on February 05, 2002
C.) A practice area where someone can increase their skills at coverting to white shielding or black shielding in the game. A lot of practice will be needed for an average gamer to get past the C grade level at the end of the practice run.
D.) A co-op option letting a friend battle evil with you.	Type : Platform

I played Sonic the Hedgehog on the Genesis. Yes I've played it and I played it for free thanks to emulation. Haven't we all at one time or another? Could Sonic Advance be the best 2D sonic ever? Look at the "colorful" history of Sonic games. Well back then it was good, now Sonic's Director Cut(s) are in the dark ages it seems like. Sonic Adventure was not exactly a very successful game on the Gamecube.

Let me ask this question, many say, including me that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for Sega Genesis was the best Sonic the Hedgehog game in the the history, until Sonic Advance came out. Needless to say that Sonic 2 was a more high profile game then the first and the 3rd wasn't has high profile as the 2nd, so like wise, Sonic 2 would be the most famous Sonic game around. Sonic the Hedgehog could easily of been a mediocre platform title in it's time if it wasn't for the fast pace, colorful world that was better then most action shooters of the day. If you have played the old sonic you'll first realize that the GBA has 2 buttons while the genesis controller had 6 buttons. However Genesis didn't come with triggers which made it difficult to hold 2 buttons at once. But the originals didn't use more then 2 buttons anyways. The Sonic the Hedgehog was known for it's industrial level, the second zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. It had a good soundtrack, a long level, lots of secrets and it wasn't boring. If you played the casino level in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 then you know that it was fun trying to get the best score. Sonic could spin in the jackpot cubes and win big or loss it all. Sonic Advance is like the original Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The graphics are twice as colorful as those in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. They look like it's in high resolution, which beats all the other 2D Sonic the Hedgehog games.

So graphics aren't the only thing that makes this game fun, although the game is already amongst the prettier bunch as GBA games go. In the game, Sonic is usually running. The first zone is easy to start out with. It's impossible to die in this level and the stage 2 of zone 1 is also easy. Zone 2 is still easy. This time your in a slightly different world. If you followed Sonic very much you'll know that Sonic has a world with familiar characters that appeared in past Sonic games much like Mushroom Land with Mario. Sonic Advance has a famous beach level seen previously in the Dreamcast demo disc and Sonic Adventure. But the game also has other zones like the lava stages seen in the 16-bit generation. The game doesn't stray too far from the other 2D Sonic games because they are all timed, the game features 3D bonus stages, the game has the final encounter with Dr. Robotnic. The 3D stages look better then the Genesis version of Sonic 3D Blast! I find that the control on the GBA controller is hard to work with when doing 3D. Although the game is still one of my top GBA picks next to my personal favorite Super Mario Kart - super Circuit. The level design is better then most GBA games although the 3D platform Sonic the developer also makes for Gamecube is out of date and needs considerable updating. (article posted August 07, 2003 2:41PM)

Summing up Sonic Advance
Graphics	10.0	Has scrolling background, looks like flash on the Internet. Everything is sequenced to happen the same way at the same time in every game. But Treasure has some nice 2D artwork. I admit that the bosses are cool looking in 2D shooter 3D form. I really like this game okay. It's next to genius. All levels flow at a good frame rate. There is a lot of color including my favorite, the opening level. It's like Super Mario Bros 2. Except Mario or Luigi don't go loop for loop or in a spiral like what Sonic does. The backgrounds are so bright and are in high resolution when they scroll with each frame that goes by. You don't get low resolution artwork that makes other games only average in comparison.
Control	9.0	I don't really know about the Games control. I doesn't deserve a perfect score because I've seen what Super Mario Advance is capiable of. But in this 2D age the game either sucked or didn't suck. You can't measure the control in 3D like if the game had a 3D engine. The control is much like the old school Sonic games. The first Sonic the Hedgehog in it's day was a must buy because the control was pretty good and most people liked the gameplay. I'm not going to go so far to say that games aren't like they use to be, because this game is a good example of how a game that once was on a console 10 years ago came back into something that was worth buying at full price. Only in my own opinion though.
Orginalism	9.0	I couldn't give this game a perfect score but if it's not broken then why fix it. Remember the old Metal Slug games by SNK. I mean I've played it on a emulator and it was enjoyable. Reminded me of Metroid. The series just continues. The levels are really well constructed partly due because the team that invented Sonic the Hedgehog 10 years ago made Sonic Advance and Sonic Pocket Adventure. Not many developers keep their original license that long.
Sound	8.0	Unless you got a Gameboy player for your Gamecube, you don't have a very 3D sounding game hear. Nothing can compare with that of Final Fantasy or Golden Sun. It' just is that, the game has no 3D sounding music on the GBA. Most games don't have any sacrificing 3D sounding on the limited hardware that the Gameboy Advance can generate. I haven't heard of any MP3 technology before on Gameboy Advance. But midi can if done carefully should sound just as good. You have the original Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2 music which is excellent idea although the majority is okay. The infamous ring chime does well on the GBA I thought.
Replayibly	9.0	It's funny how emulation can steer you always from playing the same game twice. Because your not forced to play it twice. With emulation you have many choices. This game though is fun. I like it. You should find the ROM or buy it at a store. The game has a save option which is needed in all GBA games. But like the old school games before it, it's probably best to play the whole game through one time. This game is a BLAST to play!

Gamecube - FIFA 2002 review

| GAME FEATURES |

Most developers will find its going to be hard to crack this near perfect Gamecube title. EA Sports made use of this version. Nintendo this happen to get a winner in the soccer field. With the exception of already having some of the best graphics in a sports game. EA also hosted two announcers which speak 300 sentences and can announce 1000 different players who play with over 400 professional teams.

Gameplay

You'll find it easy to score goals against the keeper in amateur setting. I don't watch professional soccer but a soccer game is the best sports game you can buy with your money, I think. For one thing it doesn't require coaching. American Football requires a lot of it. Instead I can focas on scoring goals. Once you get into the professional settings you will get your ass kicked. Trust me, its not an easy task. Since the first soccer games that where made in 3D.developers like EA have gotten to modify them to the point that made them more accurate with better all around players, better all around effects, better all around modes. If you go through the games tutorial, you'll learn many things. The key to winning games is practicing against them as you play against another. I don't play this enough to get great at this game so I'm not the one to practice. If you can lobb successfully you'll beat the normal difficulty easily. I could never lobb successfully. But for many people to keep the game fun, you might wanna remember to restart if your opposite is 3 or 4 goals ahead. In a real soccer game, you already lost.

Conclusion

FIFA 2002 and Soccer Jam (Sega's cartoonist version of soccer) are the only soccer titles out. FIFA 2002 is going to be your first choice and will probably stay that way for sometime. EA Sports created a game worthy of ownership here. Videogames.com gave this title a 8.9 out of 10. But in my opinion, its deserves more credit. The game is very fun besides the fact that I'm a soccer fan. I say the best games are expedition games or as the announcer quotes, "A friendly, nothing up for grabs game including *so and so*. (posted 04/27/2002)

Gamecube - Sonic Adventure 2 Battle

| GAME FEATURES |

A.) Featuring original cast : Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles, Amy Rose, Tails, and Dr. Robotnic.
B.) The next chapter in Sonic's never-ending saga to end Dr. Robotnic plans to conquer the world.
C.) 3 - 4 hours of gameplay.
D.) faster frame rate and better loading times over Dreamcast

Sonic came to Gamecube with a lot of people wondering why? It was Sega that went to Nintendo not the other way around here. So since the two major publishers had 3 big titles to put on Gamecube, Sega this made extra Dreamcast software that would do perfect ports or this is what it looked like. As for Sonic Adventure 2, all you get is Sonic and his speed. To me, this is all right at the beginning. But dies off more as the storyline goes on. SEGA probably got every 10 year old who owns Gamecube wanting to buy it. It is not your Sonic that you once knew and loved on Genesis. But you can tell that Sonic really came along when Sega put him into 3D with clearest pixels and some indirect lighting effects to match.

The Level Design

You might not like Sega for turning Sonic into a more "Techno Sonic". I know why too. Japan is crazy about Techno Remixs. SEGA wanted Sonic to become a Disc Jocky before someone could say that they went overboard. When they did the idea was official and no one could change it. Sonic Team most defiantly borrowed from NiGHTs and famous NES classic Marble Madness to create the Sonic World we're now familiar with. The treasure hunts where more satisfying and height doing Sonic levels. What do you think of that? Knuckles is cooler then Sonic. You can also tell that Sonic Team cleaned up the levels since Dreamcast.

The Control System

Either then Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast. Whether or not you think the gamecube controller has out or not.

Sound

Sonic Team did one thing right out of the sound department. They made the music fit the game. I recently tried doing remixs with songs and all of them turned out horrible. Sega probably did their best in the sound department. The music sounds like alternative rock or hip-hop customized for Sonic and Knuckles. I personally don't care for it much. Most people would listen to the radio anyway so it depends on your preference.

Conclusion

Sonic Adventure 2 is a less a winner then the original but I agree with those people who give it 3 1/2 stars. It would make a decent retail. (posted July 11, 2002)

Today was Dungeon Siege Day. I downloaded this file called Yesterhaven. A 50 MegaBype file. The expansion is pretty good. Made by Gas Powered Games and released at the very end of 2002. The level starts out easy but suddenly becomes increasely difficult as you go though the ice caves and stuff. You have to defeat the Ice Queen. I am not there yet. I wanted to get better items from a trader guy on the way. I wonder how many other people have played Dungeon Siege. Today was Dungeon Siege Day. I downloaded this file called Yesterhaven. A 50 MegaBype file.

The expansion is pretty good. Made by Gas Powered Games and released at the very end of 2002. The level starts out easy but suddenly becomes increasely difficult as you go though the ice caves and stuff. You have to defeat the Ice Queen. I am not there yet. I wanted to get better items from a trader guy on the way. I wonder how many other people have played Dungeon Siege. True, Dungeon Siege will never be as good as Never Winter Nights, but Dungeon Siege is a nice alternative. Even if I believe it is better. Read my review. The scenery in Yesterhaven is Dungeon Siege type graphics. Depending on your videocard, it'll look as good as regular Dungeon Siege. So I was playing that for 5 hours. I also downloaded another expansion Lands of Hyberborea (50 MB) As for The Sims I started a guy who keep lighting the microwave on fire. I was playing Simcity 4, and that was short lived for good reason.

Gamecube - Super Mario Bros. Melee

| GAME FEATURES |

Super Smash Bros : Melee is another great title to own from Nintendo. Basically it is a fighter filled with trademarked characters. The game includes a nice touch with playable characters like my favorite, Zelda with others including Link, Mario, Luigi, Samus, Browser, Ice Chambers, Shriek and over 20 others. This game is a great 2D Fighter to own. Everything fits into place. Rumors on the development time is that Hudson started development as soon as the fight title on N64 was in order. And I can gladly say that the sequel is better. Melee includes with SSB1 didn't. Detailed backgrounds, CD quality music, a lot of items to smack your opponent with. Its all in this game. Its not the best game but I does reach the Top 5 in the field of this years fighting titles.

Graphics

The graphics are nice. Many people where glazing at the perfection Nintendo had with Zelda and Mario. Zelda is minimal jigged lines on her character. Some nice texture work on her dress and every thing make the game a fun experience. Stages in the game are good, but not something that you be amazed about. The game runs at a solid 30 frames per second with all effects on.

Gameplay

The basic maneuvering in this game doesn't interfere with anything. Opposites are sometimes difficult to take down mostly because they use every trick in the book against you. SSBM isn't button mashing. You can easily figure out the movies because Hudson didn't clutter this games with extra attacks. For an example if you press A + B + L trigger you get this attack. SSMB is mainly won by using the best item that falls. Watch out for the sledge-hammer, its a killer ! The game is even more fun when having company.

Conclusion

SSMB is a very good title to own, but it isn't a must buy title to own. Since now-a-days it's really hard to say what is an exceptional game out of over 500 titles in stores really is anymore. I'm sure this one is in the Top Ten percent of all console fighting games today.

- END -

Gamecube - Resident Evil review

GAME FEATURES |
A.) Dolby Pro Logic II sound
B.) 30-40 hours of gameplay
C.) hard-to-beat zombies / monsters
D.) 3 playable characters all with different stories and different events
E.) 3 difficulties
F.) huge amount of detail, not in polygon amount, but objects showing at once.
G.) new areas not seen in original game
H.) fully acted story line. And very good acting
I.)Options to have HDTV recongization.

Resident Evil for Gamecube is the bloodiest shooter that hit the console. Capcom spent 2 years on this project redoing all the still framing. You can hear a difference since the game also has a audio advantage as well. Zombies look much more in depth. To me the game doesn't look extremely good, but the game IS extremely large. Covering a 60 plus room mansion. Capcom had to invent a new engine which I think they sub-license with Nintendo. In the beginning you get to play Three S.T.A.R.S. members including the most famous Jill Valentine with Chris Redfield and Rebecca Chambers (main character in both RE0 / RE Movie)

Gameplay

Playing this game is not easy nor hard. It this takes a lot of memorization cuz you'll be playing this port for 30 hours. The game comes with the all the advantages of Code Veronica but has the worst difficulty of all the franchise. Ammo is scattered throughout the mansion and the combat knife is not do all that much damage. This is a bad thing. But that doesn't affect the game much. You may want to take a break between sessions due to the great amount of consternation it takes to keep your character alive. The game offers 4 control setups. The games control feels like the Resident Evil games on Dreamcast. The controller for Gamecube basically is the Dreamcast controller on a more powerful console.

Artificial Intelligence

Zombies aren't dumb in this Gamecube port. The little mistakes you get away with your old PSX port or some Dreamcast ports are in no way similar in this game. This game is much harder to beat.

Such movements as Zombies do is - they fall on you never stop until your die or automatically knowing where you stand can make you really agitated can even make you swear. Zombies can brake down doors in front or surround you on all sides with no way out. Your allies from the old Bravo team and your team help you complete Resident Evil. However your the one that decides their fate. This is the difference between ammo (4 shots per zombie, 7 shots for lickers) or allow your partner do all the shooting.

Sometimes you find that your ally takes the same number of shots that if you killed the zombie or what ever anyway and he come back to life and still waste someone's ammo. One thing that I don't ' think that many reviewers caught in Resident Evil for Gamecube is that once a zombie feeds on another victim or another zombie, every one of them comes to life. Some monsters here are even impossible to kill. So in times like these you can do nothing else but to be scarce. One way to avoid some zombie bites are to have a fair amount of herbs handy. This can be the difference between life and death.

Graphics

Capcom does a good job making this game technology superior over any other console games. The backgrounds have lightning effects, man made lighting effects, precise shadowing and far less low resolution parts of walls or parts of characters such as cloths, pictures, fires, rubies or other items found. All items pop up and show themselves quit nicely. All the FMV *full motion video* is in full screen, ultra high resolution (DVD quality video) and between 10 to 30 seconds long. Its amazing how Capcom could of done all of this spanning 2 discs. You really do get what you pay for in Resident Evil. This makes few wonder what Capcom will feature in Resident Evil : Zero currently pushed for a December 2002 window.

Conclusion

Defiantly being the best game for Gamecube in 4 ways : Superior graphics : Superior quality : Superior length (could be the longest game ever on a Nintendo console) and superior difficulty. If you are over 17 and own or want to get a Gamecube, this game is currently the best title to own. This game is a academy award nominee for 2002 games. (posted May 05, 2002)

Gamecube - James Bond - Agent Under Fire review

| GAME FEATURES |

All franchises that included James Bond relied on him to bring game buyers to it. That’s exactly what Agent Under Fire had done. The games controls weren't so easy at first. I mastered these controls. But my friends have not. One highlight of the game is the multiplayer support which is like most FPS, fun for a while. But I'll get to that later. Agent Under Fire has a Single Player setup which isn't confusing, isn't really detailed, you this try to make it to the end of each stage. The first few stages in the game is easy to beat. You may play for a hour and get the first 4 completed out of the total 12. EA fixed many of the AI / camera errors in the PS2 game that made it not function. But due to Gamecube’s tremendous 64 bit cache, EA could easy run the game at a solid 30 frames and use the extra cache to modify some aspects that made Agent Under Fire unreasonably hard.

Multiplayer Mode

Agent Under fire is a First Person Shooter that comes with over 10 multiplayer maps. Not a bad combo. Worth your 40 bucks in my opinion because it is a first person shooter on gamecube. Most people I know like first person shooters. This game was made by EA Canada. It's not your Goldeneye. OK so it's not bad but it doesn't match up to any of the Goldeneye's personality. What Agent Under Fire doesn't have is very open maps. You can Camp and frag your friends in some of these levels without being seen (the bot knows where you are at all times, the only exception). But due to human's nature of not being perfect at kicking ass. We this say, this above decent. Agent Under Fire features a training mode with not to bad bot AI. It jumps, it shoots, it does damage. The multiplayer mode of Agent Under Fire has its moments but its nothing you would of seen in Goldeneye or Quake III Arena. (posted May 05, 2002)

Conclusion

Agent Under Fire is not worth the 49 dollars you pay for it. There are better games that are worth that cash. But it is good for a rental if you have friends over. If your looking for a good first person shooter, Retro Studios / Nintendo are coming out with Metroid Prime in July.

(posted April 27, 2002)

Gamecube - Extreme-G III review

|GAME FEATURES |

A.) 16 tracks
B.) 4 championship modes.
C.) 8 professional sponsors
D.) detailed backgrounds

Not many people will pick up a futuristic racer like this one. The Xtreme G franchise wasn't very popular. The developer that made both titles seize to exist now. But considering that XGIII has good graphics and a slick track design makes me personally want me coming back. I say this game has a high replay value to it. The developer took Battle Mode out of XGIII because they said it would wreck the point of the game, racing.

The controls are responsive. Except when you attempt to first play Xtreme G III, you know that you'll be hitting the rails most of the time. This is the biggest disadvantage in Extreme-G because not only do you have to say in the middle of the track, you have know whats behind you. That pulse that makes your bike unstable is the most dangerous. You can loose your place very fast. And all the competition will pass you before you can get your bike on the race track. Sometimes you will get stuck on a sharp curve and die from jumping the track. So to save civilization the bike has a distract sequence.

Xtreme G III has remastered tracks from the first game. Muon Harbor is an example of what was unchanged. It has been close to 100 years since Xtreme G has been incorporated. You have many tracks to play on ... 16 in all. The make up on the tracks are great but your not getting top notch designing here. Sometimes you look at Rush 2049 on the Dreamcast and see how the slightest graphical change doesn't mean anything. Resident Evil which have very big differences, is the few titles to greatly differ from the orginal release.

The Xtreme G franchises uses techno as a main music theme. I say if the Europeans like that stuff then it can't be all that bad. Acclaim also has rights to Dolby Digital Surround Sound. So if you have a entertainment system it will sound more realistic. And no this doesn't apply to me.

In this game, I'd like to say, "wow." Its a good title to come to play every couple 10 minutes. It's a "10 minute game." Easy on the eyes, good control and music that is fun to listen too. If you don't like it then you can always turn it way down.

Gamecube - Star Wars - Rogue Squadron II review

A.)fully licensed game
B.) great story line.

C.) 20 missions to play

D.) depending on skill level the game will stress you on time and accuracy

I personally wasn't a favorite of the first Rogue Squadron game. The game was way too difficult to be fun. In the second game made isn't so hard. One of the reasons that help ease the load off is your allies actually don't piss you off by not doing anything. They do help when you order them to fight on their own. And they do a nice job on their own. When I have a Tie on my tail I this as them to form up. This works well because Reinforcements are minimized as I do my the stage's objective.

The graphics are really good in this game. Some effects include shine off the X Wings on a Flyby maneuver. Others is that space is filled with Supernovas, Planets, comets. Detailed cargo ships. Gamecube looks pretty nice on a regular television, but looks especially nice on HDTVs. The images show off their full potential when you have a full digital connection between the Cube and HDTV. All of the work put in Rogue Leader to make the enemies hard to shoot down, sound effects that are accurate and allies who have a balance between taking the enemy down and asking you what to do. Well I guess Factor 5 put this in the 'code' so your allies will be with you when you forget to tell them to bug TIE Fighters. No scenes from Star Wars Episode I. Factor 5 mixed this with Battle for Naboo for Nintendo 64 and it didn't make much sense to people.

Game play in Rogue Leader

Your ships are very responsive. But so is your enemy. Piloting your A wing is no trouble but targeting the enemy becomes most difficult. This is why. You must line your target meter where the enemy is going to be not where he is. I had trouble remembering this. In fact this is probably the main reason you'll lose. In this game if you don't take down the enemy he'll get reinforcements and you'll take damage. If you master targeting you pretty much beat the game. Sure enemies can get harder but that's when you move the settings up. For our first time, you should get through the first 4 missions easily.

Conclusion

Buy this game if you enjoy the Star Wars genre. From what I heard this game is one of the better ones out. Obi Wan for Xbox didn't get a very good score but Stairways Star Fighter for the PS2 / Xbox is basically the same game. (posted April 27, 2002)

Gamecube - F1 Championship review

| GAME FEATURES |

A.) The entire 2000 F1 Grand Prix competitors and track statics
B.) decent framerate
C.) 3 - 4 hours of gameplay.
D.) a trail stage which allows you to qualify for the championship.

We know that EA Sports likes to skip around a lot with their 2nd to none franchises. Madden defiantly gets one game every year, F1 does one 2 years in a role then stops. On the 2nd year, EA made the major changes which were necessary to make F1 2002 a better title then F1 2001. Most of these changes where added to the Playstation 2 version. I believe the steering system is much more tighter then before. The Gamecube can pull the controls off much more nicely then the Playstation 2 or the Xbox in my opinion because the controller made of better quality. Every joystick is about the same now-a-days. Move a small ways on a PS2 controller and you move slightly, the same way it would be done on the cube.

Graphics
Not one of EA Sports flashiest titles. When comparing graphics I'd like to compare to Dreamcast's F1 World Grand Prix. Even though the dreamcast version had a resolution of 400/600 instead of 600/800 on the gamecube, the dreamcast game had close resemblance. F1 2002 has many more high resolution pixels in its game. Dreamcast doesn't didn't have a large amount of high resolution pixels because it can't handle it. This think now much better the same game looked if the same F1 World Grand Prix would be on Gamecube. Now I would love to see a direct competitor that would stand up against EA Sports.

On the whole you get high definition trees, mountains, lookout towers and a nicely "painted" background. The weird 3D still shots at the end of each race add to the game's personality. You also get rain, sunshine and cloudy weather. One thing I disagree with in graphics because it doesn't look quite right is the gamma . The gamma is a shade or 2 lower then most games to hide low RES pixels which fill in the backgrounds. It is to bad that the technology isn't there for Nintendo to clear up the backgrounds so they would look like the immediate pixels seen closes to the player.

Controls

Gamecube controls in this game are reasonable. You can't throttle the speed in this game. Its a major let down. If throttling was apart of F1 2002 it would of made me a happier camper. EA chose not to include the feature. Gamecube does have pressure sensitive triggers but I don't see why the game wouldn't use that feature. Other then that, I am surprised at how much you have to slow down on a corner and sleep up without over drifting. Over drifting is when you over accelerate or under accelerate and not have enough speed to turn the corner quickly enough. If you can master the basic methods of cornering, you have 1 of 3 areas of the game conquered. The other two are not hitting other drivers and staying on the track 'til the race is over.

Music

There's not much of a music selection in F1 2002. The title sequence is going to be the only music played in the entire game! The engine and streaking sounds from other racers are Formula One standard.

Conclusion

F1 2002 is probably going to be the 2nd best racing title for Gamecube right after Wave Race for the ability to pit stop and the fact that your also racing in a sporting event helps reply value immensely. If your a racing fan you should pick out this one. (article posted 07/17/2002)

Gamecube - Super Mario Sunshine review

| GAME FEATURES |

A.) Dolby Pro Logic II sound.
B.) High Resolution Mario.
C.) 10 worlds with 16 minigames.
D.) Healthy gameplay mechanics.
E.) One big headache playing the same objective over and over again.

We might of guessed it already but Mario on Gamecube. Every child in Walmart wants a copy like they wanted Sonic Adventure 2. Then why did an adult like I go out and buy a copy. One reason I can think of ... Mario. I grew up with the NES. I played Super Mario Bros franchise through LoppyNES on the PC. Like the most of us who got suck in buying a Gamecube because we all thought that "Nintendo will do it again" dispite the tight grip Sony has with all their good exclusive titles. I had to put this into concept because Nintendo does like to advertise Mario on the Internet I've commented on in my September 02 article.

| Story |

I hate to wreak Mario's good name but the story in Mario Sunshine has to be the weakest story I read in a platform game. Gex : Enter the Gecko being the worst of them all in my opinion. Mario saves Peach from a wacko Mario look-a-like who jumps around with a paint brush and leaves paint splats though out Super Mario Sunshine . Mario is on vacation in a warm tropical climate. I can say that Nintendo wanted more water in this game. In someways the story this plain sucks. (Story 5/10)

| Backgrounds |

The development team who created this game did a very good job re-creating Super Mario Sunshine like the well liked Super Mario 64. More the gamecube, this platformer is the crispist ever seen on Gamecube. With the exception of some low-resolution textures made up for wall textures. Ok, so their is nothing wrong with Nintendo's textures. Nintendo could of made them 3D. My concept score would soar without a doubt. I can't say that they are bad because this game ranks higher then Crash Bandcaiot 4 and probably slighly better the Rareware's Star Fox Adventures. Nintendo had slightly better tools then the UK developer could hope for. The water effects are well above average for a game of this magitude. I will be waiting for the GCN port of Rayman 3 and Star Fox Adventures to see what they play like. (Graphics 9.5/10 | Concept Art 6.5/10)

| "Shine Get" |

I like the locations of Shines in the game. All are spread out. There would be 150 in total. It is impossible for someone to get all shines without a stradegy guide. The writers at Gamefaqs are having a hard time finding all shines in the game. Playing the sequel is harder when getting 100 coins in each world. Having spent a week playing this game I haven't a clue how to get 100 coins in all those worlds. The coins are so stread out. Some coins are even hidden from the player. That takes the fun out right there. But in terms of gameplay, Mario can reach a lot of required Shines with his water pack. That is true to 9 out of 10 Shines.

Shines easily conquered - 30 Shines

Shines approached 3-5 times 70 Shines

very difficult Shines - 50+ Shines (including all hidden
Shines and all shines in the blasted air strip at very beginning)

(random quests 9/10)

| Sound |

The caravel music is childish but alright. All the music in this game fits the setting. If I was to change the music, I would change it to MIDI sounding remixes. I would associate with a professional musician who knows music from the back of his head. (Sound 8/10)

| Conclusion |

Super Mario Sunshine would be a good game for an audiance 8 - 15. The game does have a good all around gameplay. No level is lesser then another. Buy it if you want too. The game looks like the top ten of all gamecube games. Before making a final decision check out Star Fox Adventures. Star Fox Adventures is said to be a Legend of Zelda clone on Gamecube.

(posted September 24, 2002) v1.1 Spell Check Scan.

Imagine that someone has come up with a gadget to allow smokers to light from computers. It would make everything conveniant. Wow the things that you find off the net these days. I was listening to a lot of Monty Python - Holy Grail comedy lately on my mp3 player.

It's not that Monty Python isn't funny, some of the other music I listen too (like Metallica/2pac) didn't measure up to it well. It doesn't matter now. But that was what happened to me when I listened to Monty Python. A package came in the mail (drum role please) and it was .... a pair of speakers, one memory stick and one soundcard. Everything worked except for the blasted soundcard. The VIM editor in Redhat Linux is consuming me. Every difficult editor. This a bit above comprehension.

Gamecube - Star Fox Adventures review

| GAME FEATURES |

A.) Dolby Pro Logic II sound.	Developer : Rareware
B.) Super Dupper Adventure.	Publisher - Nintendo.
C.) 2 playable characters.	Released on Sept. 23, 2002
D.) misson based game.	type - Adventure

We could have had a very clean, very fun title from Rareware. But we found out that that fun was only a myth. I Now we find ourselves trapped in Nintendo platform games. Star Fox Adventures lifts off as a Oricania of Time clone but Star Fox is still alittle out of its way. Don't expect a great game here. I've seen the game and Gamecube has matured with it's graphics in this game. This game has high resolution textures all through the game. You can see rushing water, rain, snow. What comes with it is good loading times between levels. The supporting cast has shadows which give the game an edge. However I feel like an idoit trying to enjoy Star Fox since Fox McCloud is acting like macho. But then again you can't blame Rare for that, they had an disadvantage in the voice department. For that I give them respect. Heck, Resident Evil voice acting is a simple match against Star Fox.

| Story |

Star Fox Adventures takes place 8 years after Star Fox 64. Slippy and Peppy are grown up into seniors. Falco has left the team. Fox McCloud has the main role. Star Fox appears in Dinosaur Planet, whom has been taken over by General Scales. He appears thoughout the game. But mischiefly scrams to another hiding place. Fox has three jobs A.) find 4 warpstones. B.) able to complete the game and go head to head with General Scales. C.) Find Tricky whom sometimes get captured. You'll never see your self backtracking. Tricky the dinosaur is usally The warpstones allow Fox to gain access to new stages. He must save Crystal, a prisoner of her home planet. So Fox and his sidekick helps him discover new ways to move ahead.

| Sound |

Sound in this game I believe is in dead middle. We have tunes that sound like Legend of Zelda. But it also sounds like the Rayman franchise too. Fox can give many combat sounds. It "sounds" like Rare done that part right with Fox. Hy-yah and yah mostly. (sound - 7/10)

| Combat System |

The combat system is appoved before. Not bad because it's popularity in well known games. The staff is always used half way through the game. But when it gets down to it all, all your really doing is a lot of button mashing. When you think of many combat arrangements -- you would "button mash" Yeah controling Fox is easy enough for a 12 year old to get the hang of it. I wanted something a bit more advanced. I never did get into deep combat. But I can see how Rare went around the problem of being cornered and over-powered by fighting one enemy at a time. I save the game often Fox McCloud has never been in a situation I couldn't instead shut the machine off and start over. (combat 8/10)

Conclusion is Star Fox Adventures you can grow out of the moment your mature and go see a "Rated R movie" for the first time. This because Star Fox is in it, doesn't mean that you should be over-joyed and spend 50 bucks on this game. *Sigh* The advantages of having a Playstation 2. Playstation 2 is kicking our butts in platforming games. What to do? ....what to do? (overall 7/10)

Posted 10/11/2002 12:40AM

Gamecube - Resident Evil Zero review

| GAME FEATURES |
A.) prerendered backgrounds and Cinema like FMU
B.) Rebecca and Billy team up and do double damage.
C.) The chapter before the well known Resident Evil chapter first played on Playstation.

Oh joy. The second Resident Evil game is avalible. It plays well and also looks good. This game isn't amongst my favorite on Gamecube. So far I only played 3 hours into this game. In easy mode everything is plentaful and I haven't died yet. Remember Resident Evil is all about shooting zombies. Neither Billy or Rebecca get infected with the T-Virus. Zombie smarts are even as good as the Resident Evil remake. Perhaps Rebecca will appear again in Resident Evil 5. We know that the newest Resident Evil game featuring Leon is debutting sometime next Winter.

Gathering items and walking around is all apart of Resident Evil. It is common for the gamer to get the item he/she needs and backtracks to the beginning and use the item. Sometimes using the item makes other things in the game happen. Every thing is labeled and alot of times Capcom gives you directions on how and where to use the item. A good example would be the hookshot found in the beginning. (Concept 10/10)

Control is fairly simple in this game. It's not smooth as silk but neither is dodging zombies. Most of the time the zombie gets you and draws blood. Too much blood with obviously kill you. Shooting the weapons are easy. Point and shoot. The games difficulty controls how strong the enemy is. If you switch the game to normal or hard you'll most likely run out of ammo. If you are afraid of dieing because of lack of ammo you should try the awesome easy mode. I highly recommend this mode because chances are you'll out last the game and have fun doing so. (Control 9/10)

I have many games in my archives at home but the story keeps me interested to hand pick this game to play. If the Dreamcast won't freeze up when playing RE2, RE3 or Code Veronica -- I would probably be excited to play them. But since I have a bad experience with the Dreamcast, I haven't got much into the series. (Replay Value 7/10)

First of all I realize that many gamers play this game because gore and blood is cool. You may want to pick up games like FIFA 2002, Metroid Prime or Star Fox Adventures before trying this game for there superior quality. But if you are wanting to pick up a Mature game, Resident Evil Zero and Resident Evil are good solid choices. If the game was 30 dollars instead of 50 I would rate this game 9/10. (Collection Value 7/10)

(Posed December 27, 2002 12:20AM)

Gamecube - Timesplitters 2 review

| GAME FEATURES |	Publisher - Eidos
A.) steady first person shooter	Developer - Free Radical Design
B.) 3 hours of story mode	Released on Aug. 18, 2002
C.) hard-to-beat zombies / monsters	type - First Person Shooter
D.) Have a wide selection of pulse guns, machine guns and pistols in a period of 600 years

Timesplitters 2 has been a solid effort and conquers every aspect you would want to see in a first person shooter. Designed by Free Radicial Design, the game looks really good. The down side of it is it looks good and their isn't enough of it. Some Europeans have a erge for dance mixes. But somehow we get a musical customized soundtrack from these guys. The game is suppose to increase replay value by having better AI then Timesplitters for the Playstation 2. The sequel added some new levels to the base which wasn't included in the PS2 verison.

I was going to say that this game wasn't good but it was worth 50 dollars. One of the best places I've played was in NeoTokyo level. Some say that that level was harder then heck because a security guard is hidden from view when the hacker makes her move towards her secret hideout. I've been caught red-handed every time.

Timesplitter 2 graphics are better then Agent Under Fire. The development team at Free Radical Design is a colorful group. Designers whom worked for big developing studios Nintendo, Sega, Activision and Raven Software. All the models are well rounded and in high resolution. Sometimes there are hints of Quake 3 and Half-Life with a pinch of Goldeneye. But upclose they look empty. But if the team working on the Gamecube version was trying to re-create Goldeneye then it's all good. (graphics 8.5/10)

In first person shooter terms the Gamecube controller sucks. There are no exceptions. The C-stick is too loose to have any kind of head shots. Sometimes it feels that you aren't running -- only walking. The gamecube controller didn't work in 007 - Agent Under Fire and it won't work in this game. (controls 7/10)

The vastness of the Multiplayer Mode is apresheated. Timesplitters 2 comes with Elimination. This mode is where everyone has some lifes and the one who lasts the longest wins the game. Its cool when I have friends over. Some people don't enjoy playing shooting games anymore. However there is a solid one player option. It's pretty basic. If you move around on the level the bots will miss you most of the time. I remember this when I played Half Life on the Internet. There was one classic moment when I got shot in the back of the head in the Nuclear Reactor level. I was gearing up to shot my friend and he saw me. I kept missing him. And he got me with one shot. The game was running 30 frames per second with minor slow downs over a modem.

And I almost forgot. The game comes with a really simple to use Map editor. It allows you to edit makes that the game already has. Or you can make your own. Free Radical Design released that not everyone had the ability to texture their levels because it's too time consuming. So they came up with a good idea that the level texturing is done for you. There's a pointer in the program and all you have to do is press A to choose, lay, pick up, drop or move. It's simple. I like it. And it's fun to have Elimination or Deathmatch on levels that I've created. One positive turnout that Free Radical has put on Gamecube. Gamecube doesn't have a repritation of having exceptional first person shooters like the Nintendo 64 had. We knew that N64 had Goldeneye 007 and that was exceptional game. (Level Editor 9.9/10)

The sound department sounds like a energy mixes. You can hear a difference between futurist and present and pass music. In my opinion the Sibera music played in the opening level sounds the best. Gun shots are most noticable. Since you really can't commit on how a machine gun sounds verus a shotgun. I can't really tell you how great it sounds even though this is a first person shooter. Yeah boys and girls, the sound in this game is rivil'n. (soundtrack 8/10)

In conclusion the replay value when playing with someone near your skill level is brillant. I had as much fun playing this game then Perfect Dark on Nintendo 64. The story level had some good points hear and there but all levels in this game have solid design. It's this not the brillant design you find in Unreal Tourament or Perfect Dark. Because you can play with friends and have the selectable missions. (Wait for Metroid Prime 8/10) (posted November 06, 2002 7:30PM)

Gamecube - Eternal Darkness review

| GAME FEATURES |
A.) Dolby Pro Logic II sound
B.) 30-40 hours of gameplay
C.) hard-to-beat zombies / monsters
D.) 12 playable characters all with different stories and different fighting styles
E.) 1 harsh difficulty
F.) huge amount of detail, not in polygon amount, but objects showing at once.
G.) fully acted story line. And very good acting
H.)Options to have HDTV recognization.

Silicon Knights created Eternal Darkness, the first game since the 2000 release of Inhuman on Playstation. The team had a N64 version of Eternal Darkness going at its full benchmark capacity. Then Nintendo wanted to port it entirely to Gamecube.

I've been wondering about the story. Its not excellent, but not bad compared to the extremely large Final Fantasy and Resident Evil series. The story spans 2000 years. How else would you conquer the world, other then kill nearly all heroes in the game. But this story wasn't snapped together, it must of took a good 6 months with minor improvements along the way. But regardless of the story, every line is spoken out from what I heard -- real movie actors. It think I've heard Matt Damon as one of the characters! (story 9.5/10 )

Gameplay is nothing to complain about. The battle system is right on the money. Select the part of your opponent and he dies. Plenty of spells in this game, none wasted. In the third chapter I've found 1 spell that fixes items and enchants swords. As the game goes on, the ability to shield your character is a life-saver. However in most cases when fighting a boss, you have a lot of melee combat. Sometimes you injure yourself as much as him. So backing up and waiting for after the attack is what keeps you alive.

It so happens that all the dead heroes in Eternal Darkness were either cast away by Pious or doomed to age in a spell like Anthony. Was he right or wrong ? He must have been right if he was included amongst the playable characters. One of the toughest enemies I had to encounter were horrors whom attack the head. If you don't get them off in allotted time, they'll take over and the game ends. They can be damned to hell but not easily. (gameplay 8.5/10)

Sound in Eternal Darkness is mostly creeks, knocks on doors, extranominal sounds coming from places you wouldn't want to be in. Yes it fits well with the scene. Don't get spooked know, it's only a game. The game pumps out dolby pro logic II which makes everything sound more livelier. Much like what Winamp does to MP3s. I give the sound effects in this game a creepy 9 of 10. (sound 9/10 )

Eternal Darkness isn't a platform but if you like platform games, get Eternal Darkness. It's only single player so rent it then play it. You can buy the game but mostly I don't think it's a quick enough. (replay value 7/10) (posted August 29, 2002)

Gamecube - Skies of Arcadia Legends

| GAME FEATURES |	Developer - Overworks
A.) 30 - 40 hours of competitive gameplay	Publisher - Sega
B.) First story driven RPG for Nintendo from SEGA / Overworks.
C.) Near perfect use of the battle system (not as good as some of those Final Fantasy titles but very close. If you haven't played Final Fantasy VII on PS then don't worry about it. The game is still rich in gameplay and really cool in my opinion.	Released on Jan. 29, 2003
D.) Fight the Black Pirates in ship battles. Every time you level up on the ground everything in the skies with reset. Giving you more experience points when you get back aboard.	Type - Role Playing Game

I would only say that Skies of Arcadia Legends is a cool game if you are a RPG fan. I am a mild RPG fan at best. Skies of Arcadia was first released on the Sega Dreamcast in 2000. I beat the game twice. What I'm about to write, is why a gamer should pick up it. I know gamecube rpgs haven't been great, great. This title should change your mind though. It has unique features in it that make it a genuine rpg.

As for the story line, it basically says Vyse and Aika who go out and explore their world. The empire called Valua finds the home of Vyse and Aika and distroys it and captures all the blue rouges. (Later in the game the village is rebuilt) Vyse and Aika are now one their own to go on ship battles and hand to hand combat with Valuan solders and creatures that enhabinate 6 climate zones in the game. Some are hard to get too. That didn't stop me from playing Skies of Arcadia. Vyse eventually get to save the Blue Rouges but since they are out to save the world from Valua, the blue rouges meet alleys on the way including the Prince of the Valuan Empire (which is suppose to be a secret let loose later in SoAL) Together Vyse and Aika with their alleys fight evil. [Story 10/10]

The visuals in this game only come second best to Sega's other RPG Phantasy Star Online Episodes I, II. Much like another ported RPG on gamecube called Baldur's Gate - Dark Alliance, SoAL is basically a straight port of the ground breaking Dreamcast game. Skies of Arcadia was the nicest looking Dreamcast game ever created *It has to be the truth*. Plenty of thought went into Skies of Arcadia Legends.

I also like how Overworks put together the worlds from Summer climates to Winter climates. The water effects were exceptionally good. Most additional art is 3D which tells me that Sega put a lot of time in this game. I can also tell that the game was budgeted and could of been more if Sega fully emulated SoA to Gamecube standards. Imagine Skies of Arcadia look and feel like Final Fantasy Chronicles (a huge release on Gamecube appond release). The technology of character models painted is outdated in 2003 but was state of the art in 2000. The Gamecube release is one of the better looking titles from 2003. [Graphics 8.5/10]

Ship battles are fun and appealing to a notice owner. I happened to get to the end of Skies of Arcadia. The game gets harder as the story gets more complex but that's how all games are these days. Some die hards may want to be replay the game until they perfectly destory Victora battleships. In the game, if Vyse didn't get to Valua's secret weapon first and would say, "Ouch!" However, I purposely went through the different zones to fight pirates again and again. It was so fun. [Ship battles 9/10]

My favorite stage of this game is when Vyse and Akia / Fina get separated and all three go in the minigame not knowing the other one is there. It took me forever to figure out the puzzle. To complete the puzzle the player had to move platforms a certain way to get across. So Overworks comes up with a slit screen showing Vyse and Akia going moving levers on the screen which moved the platforms. I got frustrated a couple times but I eventually made it.

In the sound department, Skies of Arcadia has a orginal soundtrack. Not as good as Grandia or Final Fantasy tunes. But the music is well orchestrated. Characters in the game don't speak every word. But their is a convensing story line bar on the botom of the screen. [Sound 8/10]

You have every reason in the world to buy Skies of Arcadia if you like playing role playing games. For people who don't have 30 hours to spare shouldn't get it. For those of you who can't wait until Legend of Zelda comes out on gamecube buy this game. It will more then satisfy your needs. It is very well designed. If you like Diablo Style level up in your skills, Baldur's Gate Deadly Alliance may be another choice. I am looking into it myself. (Review Posted February 01, 2003 9:20 AM)

Gamecube - Metroid Prime review

| GAME FEATURES |
A.) Nintendo's highest priority game since Super Mario 64
B.) stunning detail we haven't seen since Resident Evil
C.) Classic Metroid game hidden on disc

The prequel to the orginal Metroid game on Gamecube. This game preceeds the distruction of Talius IV. Metroid Prime is how should I say a kick ass game -- because it is. So the game has plenty to look at -- yeah many Gamecube fantanics exspecially the editors at IGN and Videogames.com can come up with plenty to say about Samus's mission and the combat system in this game. The game is slightly different from other Gamecube shooters. Much different. It's a cool game. The automatic lock on system makes sense.

Combat System in detail. I like the weapon system on MP. First you get with it and lock on with the L-trigger then press A repeatly. That's cool because there's more. The C-PAD is never used in Metroid Prime other then selecting rooms on the three dimincional map. (Combat System 10/10)

Navagating huge complex worlds in Metroid Prime isn't as easy as shooting. You must be equipped with the right tools so that you'll eventually survive upcoming matches. I like this but you will spend a hours between each checkpoint. This is probably the single most important idea Retro Studios put in their first person shooter. If you can't save during the game the checkpoints must be close together, and for once, they are. (Layout- 09/10)

If I had one topic that made Metroid Prime a good game, that topic would be the lock-on system. Because of it I can easily point and shoot at the enemy. Why have difficulty trying to line the "crossfire" to the enemy's head. By that time he would have gotten 3 shoots off me. I love you Retro Studios for this lock-on system. It makes the game simple, I can concentrate on knowing where I'm going!

I have only started this title and one things for sure I'm not going to finish it today or this week. Its one of those titles where I'm going to have to spend 3 weeks to finish. I'm not pushing this time. I have a good feeling that I'm going to miss something. I don't know if that is the designers fault or my fault but I'm not afraid to die and try again. Quitting will only leave me wondering if I will finish this title and for other games I left unfinished -- fine. It's not going to happen this time around!

(posted November 22, 2002 10:38 PM)

Gamecube - Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 review

| GAME FEATURES |	Developer - Electronic Arts
A.) Get Chased down by cop cars	Developer - Electronic Arts Canada
B.) Play 25 tracks including all the cop cars you love to hate.	Released on October 01, 2002
C.) Earn money by placing 1st and buy faster cars	Type - One on One Racing

This game was developed for consoles because it officially would be the sequel to the greatest Need for Speed game of all time, Need for Speed III. The design couldn't match the design that of NFS III. I don't know, it was just better. Only released on the PC, NFS3 offered many tracks to race on. The controls were well executed and the Internet provided 3 dozen fast cars. I never got into the racing genre on the pc. You had a option of using the keyboard, but the prefered way was to use a 6 button joystick. Now 3 years after NFS3 was released, Hot Persuit 2 brings updates from the prequel. The consoles have pre-set controls. I played the rental and the Gamecube version sucks. Unfortunely, EA didn't have a separate developer handy to do the improvements. Here's why : The control is loose and it is very easy to do a 360 on the ground. Which in a car chaise is exactly what's not needed. Yep, EA Games is definably exaggerating when they put you up against 3 cop cars after the 2nd lap of your race.

So what NFS : HP2 is left with is a straight port of the Playstation 2 version. The game is clearly not cleaned up. A game running in medium resolution with some trees, a tunnel here and there, but mostly road and flat backgrounds. It's not exceptable in today's games. Reminds me of Crusin USA for Nintendo 64. They are pretty much the same. Need for Speed VII has average control at best. Cop cars can swap you around like flies. If you are looking at the best version of this game, look for the PC version. With the right equipment, the game should look better and play much better. Some recommendations would be Extreme G III. XGIII has better control then other racing titles. This game would make a good rental. If graphics are what your looking for, XGIII looks better then Need for Speed VII. I give this game (overall 6.0/10) Now that I know NFS on Gamecube isn't very good, I would like to try NASCAR THUNDER 2003. In times like this, I really thought Uri Soft should ported Speed Devils to Gamecube. In fact I'm interested in what this Racer game is for Gamecube. Perhaps another Speed Devils. If it were, I'm going to get it. (posted February 24, 2003 6:45PM)

Gamecube - Sonic Mega Collection review

| GAME FEATURES |	Developer : Sonic Team
A.) 12 Sonic games from Genesis including minigames	Publisher: Sega
B.) hours of classic sonic	Released on Nov. 13, 2002
B.) Movies of Sonic CD	Type - 2D Platform

This collection is released by Sega / Sonic Team. I admit, I have never seen Sonic on another console besides a Sega product. You can tell that this game was a merchandize gimmic. People who love classic Sonic the Hedgehog games will buy it. I bought it, that says a lot about me. My favorite game in this package is Sonic the Hedgehog 2. This game was the fastest Sonic game. People know it as the most detailed Sonic game of the trilogy plus Sonic & Knuckles. I played this game on Gens, the Sega Genesis emulator for Windows. It is the most straight forward, action packed of all those sonic games on Genesis.

Sonic 3D Blast makes me dizzy. But unlike Genesis / Saturn, you have a joystick to make the correct turn. It is in 3D, but not in real 3D. I honestly thought I would never see Sonic 3D Blast ever again after it was vanished from stores after Sega Saturn got sacked by Playstation. As for the game you get 11 complex levels. Sonic Blast 3D is about Sonic going to from A to B without bumping the sides. Side bumping will meant death to Sonic. Sonic 3D Blast was horribly unplayable. On the technical side, it featured Sonic the Hedgehog it the most graphical Sega Genesis game ever produced. To it's credit, it was not the worst Sonic game to date. Partly because Genesis had no joystick attached to the system. Most people thought Sonic 3D Blast as a runner up to Super Mario 64. The 32 bit Saturn version was a little more polished. Now that I can play it with a joystick with out worrying about that blasted D-pad on the Saturn controller.

Summing up Sonic Mega Collection
Graphics	2.0	Simple Sega Genesis layout. Your in old school games now.
Control	8.0	This game takes full control of D-pad.
Orginalism	10.0	Sonic the Hedgehog as he was before the Sega retro-fitted him into what he is today -- a disc jockie. It's a inside joke for us mature gamers. You won't see these games again except on Gameboy Advance and "Sega Classics" on pc.
Story	9.0	Sonic's arch enemy, and the man behind the mask, Dr. Robotnik stars in all Sonic's games.
Replayibly	9.0	I like the orginal Sonic games for now because I've grown up pass the Sonic Adventure mumbo jumbo. It's good and I like the 2D graphics.

Over all, I think this game is a step in the right direction as Sonic games go. They brought back Sonic the Hedgehog 2. It has the best Midi I seen in Sonic the Hedgehog games. So with a "ultrasonic" techno track, you can enjoy this game too. I won't recommend this game to any user. But if you use to play Sonic the Hedgehog, this isn't a bad deal. Depending how you look at a 10 year old game, of course. And this may be the best game featuring Sonic ever released in the last 6 years. (posted April 15, 2003)