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"Thinking of getting a gamecube.."

Perhaps this week or in the next month, what are your views on the console itself? bearing in mind i already own a PS2 and an Xbox is it worth it? i loved my N64 and i know nintendo are top notch for multiplayer games, which games do you recommend? i also have a GAD claim to, so i was thinking of claiming a cube game, mario seems the obvious choice, but there are loads to choose from!, i'm open to any suggestions for games, thanks in advance!

[Hello. This topic is designed for those people lingering on the thought of investing in Nintendo's Next Gen Machine - The GameCube. It's got a fair amount of information in, so I hope it will help your decision, whoever you are.]
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[What I’m about to say is my opinion, but mainly fact. What console you buy will be mainly up to what type of gamer you are. Both consoles are great, but seeing as I have the GameCube, I’ll tell you a little about it below.]

Well, if you're getting a console on top of your PS2, then the GameCube will be the best bet. The reason being? Most games coming out on X-Box will be on the PS2 and GameCube anyway, so what you should decide it is the first and second party games. Here, I believe GameCube wins hands down. Think of games like Super Mario Sunshine, Perfect Dark Zero, Resident Evil and Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron 2 and only GameCube owners can play them. There’s many more, so just feast your eyes on this list of games:

Above Average Games Out Already:

ACTION

Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron 2 – 9/10.
Super Smash Bros. Melee – 9/10.
Resident Evil – 9/10.
Bloody Roar Extreme – 8/10.
Cel Damage – 7/10.
Spider-Man – 7/10.
James Bond 007 in Agent Under Fire – 7/10.

ADVENTURE

Super Mario Sunshine –10/10.
Luigi's Mansion – 8/10.

DRIVING

Burnout – 9/10.
Wave Race: Blue Storm – 8/10.
Driven – 8/10.
Extreme-G 3 – 8/10.
Dark Summit – 7/10.
Spy Hunter – 7/10.
SSX Tricky – 7/10.
F1 2002 – 7/10.
MX Superfly – 7/10.
Freekstyle – 7/10.

PUZZLE

Eggo Mania – 8/10.
Worms Blast – 7/10.
ZooCube – 7/10.

ROLE-PLAYING GAME

Lost Kingdoms – 7/10.

SIMULATION

None yet :).

SPORTS

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 – 9/10.
International Superstar Soccer 2 – 8/10.
NBA Street – 8/10.
NBA Courtside 2002 – 8/10.
Red Card 8/10.
Madden NFL 2003 – 8/10.
Beach Spikers – 8/10.
Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer – 8/10.
NHL Hitz 2002 – 7/10.
Aggressive Inline – 7/10.

STRATEGY

Super Monkey Ball – 8/10.
Pikmin – 8/10.

[These are the official scores, I didn’t just make them up. They were taken from Nintendo Official Magazine where 10/10 is Gaming Perfection, 9/10 is Almost Perfect, 8/10 is Highly Recommended, 7/10 is Good and 6/10 is Average. I’ve only listed the above average games.]

And Still To Come:

ACTION

Star Wars Bounty Hunter [GameCube exclusive from LucasArts]
TimeSplitters 2 [A very promising FPS]
Perfect Dark Zero [An FPS to rule all FPS’ – possible online]
Metroid Prime [A class FPS from the Big N]
True Crime: Streets Of LA [GTA beater apparently]
Turok Evolution
Resident Evil 0
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil: Code Veronica
The Matrix
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
RTX Red Rock
James Bond 007: Nightfire
Die Hard Vendetta
Gladius
Largo Winch: Empire Under Threat
Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Project BG&E
Tomb Raider: The Prophecy
Splinter Cell
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Reign Of Fire
Blood Omen 2
Ikaruga
Hunter: The Reckoning
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
Medal Of Honour: Frontline
Project Devil
Bloodrayne

ADVENTURE

The Legend of Zelda GC [Yet another innovative title from Nintendo]
Animal Crossing [HUGE game – possibly online]
The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time [Enhanced version]
Sonic Mega Collection [Huge compilation of Sonic’s best games]
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Starfox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet
Dragon's Lair 3D
Wario World
Vexx
Crash Bandicoot: Wrath Of Cortex
The Hobbit
XIII
Dr. Muto
Haven: Call To The King
Harry Potter and The Chamber Of Secrets
Lupin the 3rd: Lost Treasure from the Sea
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger
Pac-Man World
Galleon
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc
Sonic Adventure 3

DRIVING

F-Zero GC
1080: White Storm
Smuggler's Run Warzones
Burnout 2: Point Of Impact
Pro Rally
Rally Championship
Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions
Shaun Murray’s Pro Wakeboarder
Driver 3
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
Rally Fusion: Race of Champions
Colin McRae Rally 3
Big Air Freestyle
Micro Machines

PUZZLE

Mario Party 4 [Update of a great game – possibly online]
Disney Party [Like Mario Party, but with Disney characters]
Mr Driller: Drill Land

ROLE PLAYING GAME

Final Fantasy [All the ones Sony are getting]
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicle [GC Exclusive, plus GBA link-up.]
Phantasy Star Online [GameCube online remake]
Skies Of Arcadia [GameCube remake – possibly online]
Falsebound Kingdom [Based on Yu-Gi-Oh! Japanese TV Series]
Eternal Arcadia Legend
Lost Kingdoms 2

SIMULATION

StarFox [NAMCO/Nintendo flying game]
Doshin The Giant
Cubivore
BattleBots

SPORTS

Mario Golf [Update of a great game – possibly online]
Mario Tennis [Update of a great game – possibly online]
Mario Kart [Update of a great game – possibly online]
WWE Wrestlemania X8 [Exclusive to GC]
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
Pro Evolution Soccer 2
Disney Soccer
Captain Tsubusa: Golden Generation Challenge
Knockout Kings 2003
Black and Bruised
NHL Hitz 2003

STRATEGY

Super Monkey Ball 2
Risk

All of the above will be out by the end of the year (with the exception of ten or so) and are tipped to be very good. Combine that with the fairly large amount I’ve missed and the list that hasn’t been featured in magazines yet and you’ve got a huge variety of games on your hands by Christmas.

Also, the GameCube has been proven to match and better the X-Box in some areas and vice versa. This leaves the two fairly even when it comes to graphics and power. For example, the GameCube is capable of certain special effects the X-Box cannot achieve. Also, when it comes to polygon count, the two are more or less even. Aswell as this, the GameCube uses a different kind of processor than the X-Box, but is the equivalent of an 800Mhz one when dealing with the X-Box’s kind. This is more than the X-Box’s 733Mhz, so you see the GameCube is just as good as the X-Box technically. For a more in depth description of the consoles, I find that the following site is the best:

http://cube.totalgames.net/features/featuresfull2.epml? (space) features2.REF=15&newsFormat.REF=9&featureType.REF=1

Also, online gaming’s looking promising for Nintendo, and it’s out already in Japan [America to follow suit very soon] with it’s first release [Phantasy Star Online] and the promise of more soon. If you’re wanting to get hooked up to the internet, Nintendo have designed the GameCube so that people who can’t get broadband can buy a 56K modem for the same price or less. You’re looking at about a £20.00 modem [broadband or 56K] with no hard drive or installation necessary. Monthly and yearly fees are sketchy for over here, but it’s going to be either free, £6.00 a month or £100.00 a year if what rumours suggest is correct. GameCube online will reach Europe early next year, at about the same time as X-Box LIVE.

The controller’s the best ever designed in my opinion and will fit into your hand snugly. It caters for all sizes of hands, no matter what some people will say, and features superb left and right analogue shoulder buttons. Though the D-Pad’s a little small, most games are programmed to overcome this minor problem, and you’ll soon get used to it. All the buttons are the right sizes and in the correct, easy to reach positions, making it the perfect controller for almost anything. The analogue sticks are offset, which is best for first person shooters and each one has precise accuracy. It really is a great controller.

Also, the price is significantly less, and won’t eat such a large hole in your pocket. Sure the X-Box has a DVD, but you have to pay an extra £20.00 to get it working, and with a PS2 already, you don’t really need that feature. The GameCube makes up for the lack of hard drive by producing a superb memory card that will easily store save files for about 15 – 20 games. This is just £14.99, last time I checked, so it’s great value too. It’s also worth noting that the games are about £5.00 less than X-Box ones, with peripherals being a couple of quid less too. And with four controller ports, no multi-tap is necessary. Nintendo really have the budget gamer in mind.

Plus critics have tipped the X-Box to fail, and the GameCube to catch up with the PS2, so you won’t feel short-changed. Also, with something like one hundred exclusives by May next year and Nintendo on a roll of original, quality and innovative titles, there’s a lot of life and potential left in that box of wonders.
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[NOTE: I've compared it to the X-Box because I originally wrote it for a PS2 owner wanting to buy an X-Box or GameCube. Still the information's there, and as most people own a PS2 anyway, it should apply to the majority.]

Id' say a getting a Cube would be a great choice, specially in th run up to Xmas as the big games are released. As people have said the Xbox and PS2 are going for the same kind of audience, Cube has got mucho variety and a lot of originality. Games already out that are worth getting I would say are

Mario Sunshine (best game on Cube)
Resident Evil
Super Smash Bros Melee (best multiplayer game so far)
Pikmin
Star Wars: Rogue Leader
Super Monkey Ball
Wave race: Blue Storm
Beach spikers (superb multiplayer)

They're just the exclusives that I think are must buys. There's tons of games coming out in the next few months as well. For example

Starfox Adventures
Mario Party 4 (Best multiplayer series ever IMO)
Eternal Darkness
Super Monkey Ball 2
Wario World
Metroid Prime

These are just the exclusives that to me stand out and with games such as Zelda, F Zero, 1080 snowboarding, Donkey Kong, Resident Evil Zero amongst others all being planned for early next year i'd say the Cube has a great future. Of course you have tons of multi format releases such as Timesplitters 2 (said to be the best version) Star Wars Bounty Hunter (will be better than the Ps2 version) Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (far superior to the PS2 version) and many others, it's gonna be one hell of a time for Cube owners.

Yeah, go on, get a GC. You won't regret it!

I think really the question should be which one should i get PS2 or XBOX.

Becuase really they have the same type of games, with a few exclusives like GTA3 and halo. While nintendo has nintendo working for them, strange but true, and also a few more games.

So the combo would be GC and ps2/xbox.

This is becuase ps2 and xbox aim for the same age group, or really same type of people. Age has nothing to do with it as people of all ages have diffrent consoles so its the type of person you are.

If you like blood guts mayhem get ps2 or xbox....if you are up for unrealistic and strange games get GC.

just dont think that GC sounds weird becuase games are about forgeting what is real and doing stuff you cant do in real life... well i have never commanded a group of plants, have you?

so really id sell your PS2/Xbox and get a GC...OR you could really take a long shot and hope that GC2, or what ever, will have playback ability like i am for XBOX2.

what did i just write? :( am i loosing my grammar skills so early in life?

thats funny, its kinda like the idea that nintendo is kiddy, which isa stuck even in MY head, i think thatn all the PC-PS-XB games arr prettymutch either crash based, shootemups in wone way or another, or racing. thre's probably a load of great games for PS i am forgetting.

its sad. even when I remind myself of timesplitters or RESI i am still reminded moreso of the sickly cute games like doshin or kirby 64!

Definately :)

PC, PS2 and X-box games are all rather similar, but the Gamecube has plenty of games of the like that you'd never see on a different format.

A few games to start you off:

Mario Sunshine
Smash Bros Melee
Resident Evil
Rogue Leader
Super Monkey Ball

And if you want something a bit different (but great) get Pikmin, or Doshin.

:D

Yeah get Mario, you can't go far wrong with it. Well done on getting yourself a Cube.

One of us
One of us
One of us

;)

Perhaps this week or in the next month, what are your views on the console itself? bearing in mind i already own a PS2 and an Xbox is it worth it? i loved my N64 and i know nintendo are top notch for multiplayer games, which games do you recommend? i also have a GAD claim to, so i was thinking of claiming a cube game, mario seems the obvious choice, but there are loads to choose from!, i'm open to any suggestions for games, thanks in advance!