DaveF

I'm suffering some gaming malaise, and I'd appreciate some suggestions.

I'm an occaisional gamer and am a few years behind the curvie. But the few games I do play tend to be best-of-class. I'm finding my GameCube to be a letdown right now. The NGC "greats" don't compare well to games from several years ago.

SSX Tricky was a lot of fun, and I play that once in a while, but I miss the story of more linear games. That's probably been the best game overall I've played on my NGC. It's a pretty good followup from my beloved 1080 on the N64. Maybe SSX3 is a worth trying.

I've got Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, and it's enjoyable but never really grabbed me since it was so similar to the fantastic THPS2 on the PC.

Super Mario Sunshine started off strong, but quickly became too difficult. And it's just not as compelling a game as I expected.

Rogue Leader is gorgeous and sounds great, but too hard for my occaisional playing. It's also a let down from Rogue Squadron on the N64. RS seemed to offer more freedoms in playig the levels, and the goals flowed more smoothly. RL is more staccato with much tighter time limits. I feel like I'm being pushed around.

I've borrowed a few games from a friend. Soul Caliber is pretty, but it's basically a juiced up version of my N64 Killer Instinct.

Metroid Prime is well-executed but nowhere near the quality of Half-Life (for the PC). I'm don't understand the rave reviews it received. It also suffers from typical console game weaknesses including limited save points, control issues, and features that remind that I'm playing a game (rather than immersing me in an engaging world). And stylistically, I think Jet Force Gemini (for the N64) exceeds it in every way.

Legend of Zelda: The WindWaker -- it should be called Legend of Zelda: The GrassCutter or perhaps the Legend of Zelda: The BarrelHider. I was immediately turned off by the need to read sub-titles and bleeble-bloobing talk of the characters. For an "A" title released in 2003 I expect voices. And after a few hours, I've found it dull with little action. It just doesn't bode well when the first exciting event of a game is getting to cut grass.

I've not tried Eternal Darkness, Viewtiful Joe, or any of the RE games. F-Zero X sounded interesting, but I'm guessing it's far too hard for my tastes right now.

Are there any games for the Gamecube with the zest and creativity of Jet Force Gemini, Wetrix, or Beetle Adventure Racing?

Are there any console games that approach the near perfection of Half-Life or Starcraft?

Thanks

Cam McFarland

HALO.....BUY IT!!

Tim Markley

If your computer can handle it, pick up Far Cry. It's a great game! I don't own a GC so I can't help you out there.

Jonathan Carter

Since you asked about Gamecube console games specifically, go get Eternal Darkness. Viewtiful Joe is one of the hardest games in the past few yyears so don't even bother with it if you don't want a challenge. As for Metroid Prime, it's not a FPS so comparing it to Half-Life will definantly be a problem.

Also,pick up Mario Kart if you have some buddies to play with.The RE games are ok, but Eternal Darkness surpasses them in every aspect, including the most important one of all, ease of control. Not to mention it has an incredible storyline that spans several centuries.

I sold my Cube a coupel of weeks ago because there wasn't much else coming out for it in the next year that I was interested in but if you haven't explored it's current library (or given it a chance) and you already have the system, pick up Kart and Eternal Darkness.

DaveF

I'll give Eternal Darkness a whirl in the next few weeks. I don't mind really hard games, at least in theory, but I don't have time to play them -- I'm always relearning the challenging techniques and it's just frustrating.

My PC is long in the tooth (P3 450Mhz) so current PC games have to wait until I upgrade. That likely includes Far Cry and Halo.

I'm not sure why Metroid isn't considered an FPS. But as an experience, I find it pales compared to Half-Life.

Jonathan Carter

Well, Metroid is more of a First Person Adventure. The games level design is set up a lot like a 3D adventure/platformer. You can't strafe around corners and drop enemies like you can in a standard FPS. It took me a while to get used to that fact and I never fully embraced it, but comparing it Half-Life is comparing apples and oranges. They are 2 very different games with different play styles. Both are great though.

As for enjoying hard games, I found Viewtiful Joe to be really good but very hard and with the save game setup it had, it became more of a chore to play it than I was willing to put up with. I'm not willing to spend hours on 1 game level, continuously having to restart the thing. It's pretty much like the old NES Mega-Man games if you've ever played those. Lots of pattern memorization and frantic button mashing. Fun, but to me, ultimantly more frustrating than I'd like. You could play on kids mode instead of adults mode, but I couldn't bring myself to do that.

With that PC you have though, it's no wonder you still measure every other game by Half-Life. Whenever you decide to upgrade you are in for a treat with all the games you've missed.

DaveF

Yep. But I expected that the NGC would have some best-of-class games, but I'm finding that's not really the case.

If VJ is that tough, I'll avoid buying it -- maybe rent later on.

I'm holding off on the PC upgrade until HL2. I've still got Deus X, System Shock II, and FreeSpace to play on the PC.

Jonathan Carter

Well, I would consider Mario Kart to best of class for that specific genre, Metroid Prime is best of class also (even though it's a hybrid class) and RE4 looks like it could put the franchise back on course and be best of class also. Zelda is good also but it's it's own style of game so it's hard to find any direct competition for it.

My main problem with the system (and the N64) is that there just aren't enough 3rd party games and the stuff that's multiconsole is starting to drop Gamecube completely and just do the games for PS2 and Xbox. Nintendo has good franchise games but you can only play so many Zelda and Mario games before you get sick of them and want to see something new.

Having only 2-3 great games a year isn't getting the job done (especially when in the case of the Resident Evil series and Metal Gear Solid:TS, the games have been played before on 2 other systems), and it definantly won't be good enough for next generations console war with the PS3 and Xbox 2. They need to innovate, produce, kiss 3rd party ass, and realize online gaming is here to stay, otherwise they will go the way of Sega and only be a software only company for home consoles. They will still be able to make the Gameboys since those are stellar and have an incredible library of games that just gets bigger and better every month.

Dean Martin

DaveF, you have offered some really good one line reviews for all of those games. As a matter of fact I'm wondering why I have a lot of those on my shelf and am not trading them in since I have gotten malaise from those myself.

Recent games that Ihave played and have pulled me into an enjoyable storyline would be the Suffering, although it's a bit short, and Deus Ex. I like games that the story immerses you in the action. I thought Mafia would do that for me but it seems the console version has been botched. I'm still enjoying Call of Duty whihc I play occasionally at the PC. I'm taking my time savoring each level.

With respect to Eternal Darkness, i really enjoyed that game and that style of game really isn't my bag. It isn't too hard but yet it's addictive and the insanity and spell use really plays a good part in the game. It is one of my top picks of the new consoles.

DaveF

I've noticed that lately. Though I don't play a lot of games, I keep tabs. The N64 had some top-flight 3rd party games; I don't find that same spark for the GC. But perhaps I