Category: GameCube

Resident Evil 4

Perhaps Resident Evil 4 did not even need to go so far out of its way in order to reinvent the franchise’s gameplay. Maybe the title could have gotten away just fine by neatly replicating, with better visuals, what its predecessors had done. But the bottom line is that the bold decision to throw a considerable dose of action into the series’ well-established survival horror formula paid massive dividends, and thanks to that, the game is a rare case of a property that essentially defined a genre also finding a way to reinvent it significantly. However, ultimately, Resident Evil 4 is not great simply due to how it takes a big leap and lands successfully; it is excellent because whether it is daring players to shoot up the place or challenging them to face the impending horror on screen, it is always coming up with engaging scenarios as well as generating an immeasurable level of tension.

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by Matt

Pikmin 2

Yet, despite the fact Pikmin 2 is a blatant improvement over its prequel in multiple areas, the quality of the experience is ultimately defined by the dungeon-crawling gameplay it brings into the formula, since most of the quest’s running time will be spent in procedurally generated caves. If their premise sounds appealing, then these occasionally brutal challenges that dare players to walk into a sequence of floors with an army of Pikmin and make it to the end without losing too many creatures and being forced to retreat should pave the way for a delightful journey. However, if the exploration of natural outdoor environments and the more organic vibe that prevailed in the original come off as better, then Pikmin 2 could be seen a minor misstep. Still, regardless of one’s stance, the fact of the matter is that there is a lot of enjoyment to be found in the package; the difference only lies in how much frustration one will have to deal with.

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by Matt

Pikmin

Vicious in how it depicts the merciless spirit of nature and charming in how it covers it all up with cute colorful painting, Pikmin is a creative victory. Simply put, there is nothing quite like it, and its mixture of action, exploration, and army-management is so unique that pinning it to a genre is nigh impossible. What is truly important, though, is that it is a thoroughly engaging package which challenges players to multitask, plan, and skillfully use a horde of little creatures to overcome obstacles as well as bring down foes that tend to outsize the heroes by a very comfortable margin. And even if problems do exist in how the Pikmin occasionally act, in how the quest’s time limit may turn some gamers off, and in how the project’s scope verges on being too small, the formula created here is by all means a winner, and in its first outing it already emerged as an incredibly fulfilling experience.

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by Matt

Battalion Wars

Because of the problems it presents, some may look at Battalion Wars as a bit of a misfire. After all, while Advance Wars, the property from which it came, represents one of the peaks of the strategy genre, this console spin-off is good but not spectacular. Yet, the fact it dared to translate that portable experience to a console while greatly altering the gameplay to a point that it lands on a different niche altogether is not just commendable, but also responsible for generating a very interesting product. The mixture between action and strategy it unearths is thoroughly unique, and in a setting where managing platoons of different units and skillfully shooting up the place with the appropriate type of weapon are both key to victory, the game comes across nicely designed scenarios that are worthy of the Advance Wars stamp in how they present challenge, replayability, and the need for careful planning. Therefore, even if the complex nature of what it tries to do contains obstacles the game does not totally overcome, the result is still worth checking out, since the experience that can be found here is not available anywhere else.

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by Matt

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

As a remake of an acclaimed classic, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes has a lot going for it. Its tight level design, particularly prevalent in the mission’s first two acts, generates challenging stealth scenarios. Meanwhile, the tools and techniques available to the protagonist work towards not only enhancing these espionage sections, but also paving the way for engaging exploration. To top it all off, the quest gains dramatic contours via enhanced graphics, marvelous voice acting, a deep plot, a grand soundtrack, and lengthy cutscenes. It is a trusty recipe that would go on to be expanded and tweaked as the saga progressed. But, ultimately, the point that is driven home by this GameCube gem, which is very faithful to the original, is that the tridimensional framework of the series was both mature and confident from the start. And even if some small changes made here were not universally appreciated by fans, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is excellent; perhaps to the point that a few might see it as the definitive version of a game that defined a genre.

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by Matt

Super Monkey Ball 2

It is through such means that Super Monkey Ball 2 is able to write the book on how it is possible to successfully transport a simple gameplay format from arcades to homes. The game does not forget its origins; in fact, it thrives so deeply in those roots that it dedicates one of its three main modes to a progression style that is strongly based on an arcade staple: having to clear a long chain of challenges with a limited number of lives. At the same time, however, it executes the necessary transformations to make its experience worthy of a console, constructing a solid solo adventure and one of the system’s best multiplayer offerings, which achieves variety by looking away from the franchise’s traditional spectrum of monkeys in balls rolling through crazy stages. And like that, with its core always firmly centered on gameplay that is so ridiculously simple it shuns the use of buttons, Super Monkey Ball 2 manages to be challenging, flexible, fun, addictive, and packed with fantastic content.

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by Matt

Star Fox: Assault

It is, however, a major shame that all that very well-presented and pleasantly deep content is hampered by numerous technical issues that affect about half of the gameplay presented in Star Fox: Assault. Had the same amount of care and thought that is showcased in its flying portions been employed in the making of the segments that try to push the franchise towards new directions, fans of the saga could have – in their hands – an excellent product of the same caliber as Star Fox 64. Yet, as it stands, Star Fox: Assault has ground missions that are just way too clumsy, and given they share space with flying objectives that are absolutely stellar, rather than coming off as satisfying additions to the formula they appear as blocks in the middle of the way that must be overcome so the game’s truly great moments can be reached. Consequently, instead of being praised for its inventions, Star Fox: Assault is defined by its irregularity, and most of the worthy new steps it tries to implement end up being disappointing.

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by Matt

SSX 3

It is possible to, perhaps, argue that the dedication SSX 3 puts towards the creation of a massive mountain with seamlessly connected courses and areas ends up leading it to have a somewhat small number of tracks, as the game carries slightly less than twenty of those. Nevertheless, such a complaint hardly holds when faced with how big and impressive the title feels. Where most sports games often rest on previously acquired laurels and are satisfied with implementing a few alterations in order to justify a sequel, SSX 3 goes the other way. Sure, at heart, it still presents the mixture of thrilling races and exaggerated arcade features the franchise is known for. Yet, the work it does in terms of world-building is so stunning and pushes so many boundaries that its scope still comes off as utterly flooring.

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by Matt

Star Fox Adventures

Star Fox Adventures is, therefore, irregular. On many fronts, it is a game that boasts visible qualities and a perceivable level of polish; nevertheless, when placed under a scrutinizing light, almost none of them remain unscathed. As such, while in many ways one is able to see that the always gifted hand of Rare was behind the construction of the title, it is not hard to realize the project was not among the smoothest and carefully carried out efforts the company put together during their partnership with Nintendo. Due to that, the last note coming out of that association is somewhat out of tune, signaling that the closing of an era was indeed fast approaching. In the end, Star Fox Adventures fails to fully convince fans and outsiders alike not because it presents Fox and his crew out of their natural habitat, but because it amounts to little more than a good adventure game that stumbles a lot and never truly establishes its own character.

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by Matt

Luigi’s Mansion

The overall feeling emitted by Luigi’s Mansion is, consequently, that of a game that could have been thicker in terms of content if it had expanded upon some of its ideas; more specifically, on the somewhat underdeveloped puzzle-solving element it boasts. As it stands, nonetheless, it is a pleasant launch title that, although undoubtedly not quite on the same level as the games Nintendo usually releases alongside its consoles, does hold up very well. Its ghost-hunting concept is undeniably fun, and it leads to a rather unexpected take on the Super Mario universe; one that merges a dark atmosphere, cartoonish art, humorous animation, and good production values. What comes out of that blend is a game that is simple, entertaining, and charming. And those values, accompanied by gameplay elements that are quite unique in the industry’s canon as a whole, carry the lovable and unlucky Luigi to the rightfully earned starring role in a franchise that fits his quirky personality like a glove.

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by Matt