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)