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)