"The GameCube is a console you are going to want to have in your collection. No doubt."

The GameCube has landed. Now out in both Japan and North America (it’s two biggest territories), and due out within the next couple of months in Europe/Australia it has had time to begin to make a name for itself in the gaming market. Read on to hear what I think of the console, as well as it’s pros and cons.

I will be updating this review multiple times as time passes to give a much more up to date and accurate review (especially of the games), but for the moment I’m doing this review at a very early stage in the consoles’ life.

Durability
This is a fairly important area, especially if you hope to be playing your cube in 2, 3, 5, 8 years or more. I will start of by saying that the console itself is very sturdily built, and can take a few minor beatings, but I wouldn’t recommend treating it like an N64, as you’re likely to break it.

Moving parts in consoles always lead to the console being more vulnerable to drops, thumps and so on, so you will have to look after your baby reasonably well if you want it to be running years down the track.

The console is put together well, using A grade materials, and is probably at least as durable any other disc based console to date.


Sound
The GameCube sounds just as good as any other system on the market. A lot of the games are programmed to make use of different types of surround sound, such as dolby digital and dolby pro logic II.

There’s not much more to say here other than that the games feature great music (both “real” songs, and game specific), and sound effects, and the GameCube delivers them with great clarity. If you’re lucky enough to have a surround sound set up at home, then you’ll get some extra value of out your ‘cube.

Graphics
At the moment both the GameCube and Xbox are delivering graphics far superior to anything the PC has to offer. (well at least my PC, which is pretty top of the line… GeForce 3, Athlon 1800Xp, 512Mb ram).

The ‘cube is aeons ahead of the PS2 in terms of all graphical capabilities. The thing can push an insane amount of polygons, output excellent, clear, crisp textures, great special effects and huge environments. Not to mention silky smooth frame rates.

I’m sure a lot of you are wanting to know I the GameCube looks better/worse than the Xbox. At the moment I’d have to say that the consoles are both pretty much on par, but I’m sure in time Xbox games will probably be looking a bit better than anything on the GameCube as the Xbox does have a bit more power under it’s hood. It’s all a matter of how familiar developers become with each of the consoles.

Games
Being this early in the GameCube’s life, there aren’t all that many games out at the present. All of Nintendo’s blockbuster titles (Zelda, Mario Sunshine, Perfect Dark etc) are due out later this year (2002) or sometime in 2003. There are a number of awesome games out right now, including Wave Race: Blue Storm, StarWars: Rogue Leader, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, Smash Bros. Melee and Pikmin. But they are nothing compared to what is to come.

A lot of companies for one reason or another have been making half-arsed ports of games (mainly off the PS2, but some from Xbox). These games are turning out to be less that impressive, not utilizing the full potential of the GameCube, and often turning out to be much worse than their other-console counterparts. This is probably a combination of developers wanting to get familiar with the hardware as well as wanting to make a quick buck out of the newly released console.

At the moment, there are more than enough reasons for a lot of people to justify the purchase of a ‘cube, but a lot of people may just want to wait until some of the more stellar titles are out.


Controller
Without a shadow of doubt, the GameCube controller is the best. controller. ever.. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of holding the controller yet, here’s the quick lowdown.

The physical design of the controller is amazing. It literally melts into your hands, and becomes an extension of your hands, and makes you feel like your hands are inside the game, rather than just controlling it through another device. Everything just fits so well it’s almost too true to believe.

There are four main action buttons, with a large A button in the middle, the B button to the left and down slightly from the A button, and two kidney shaped buttons (Y and X) one above, and one above and to the right of the A button. All four of these buttons are analog (pressure sensitive).

The L and R shoulder buttons are awesome. Fitting in your fingers perfectly. They also have two functions, thanks to a clever design idea of Nintendo’s. After pressing them down all the way (in their analog sensitivity area), press a little harder and they will both click.

Above the R button is the Z trigger, which seems awkwardly placed, as you have to lift your finger up and out of the R button grove to press it. No biggy though as the Z button is meant to be more of a “select button” than an action button.

The thumbstick is much like a combination of the N64 and PSOne/PS2s’. It is made out of a rubbery substance (could it be…….rubber?!?!), which helps your finger grip onto it nicely.

The Camera stick is placed below the main four action buttons, and is a very nifty idea indeed. It is much like the N64s’ four c buttons, but if a thumbstick, so there are infinite levels of movement.

I must say the D-pad on the controller sucks. It’s the same size as the one on the GameBoy Advance, and is positioned in such a place that is really causes some serious pain to your left thumb after extended use in games such as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3.

Overall, the controller is the best yet, but still suffers from one main flaw. If Nintendo would just steal the Playstation D-pad then we’d be set.

Multiplayer
Microsoft also have the idea, but Sony, HELLO! 2 controller ports is not enough.

The GameCube comes packing 4 of those lovely holes of fun…. Multiplayer fun that is. At the moment, Smash Bros. Melee is the best example of a multiplayer GC game. Nothing is more fun than an all nighter with 3 other friends playing some of your fav multiplayer games…though there aren’t too many games that are likely to be your favourites on the GC just yet.

There is loads of potential to be had here, and within the next year we’ll surely see some of the very best multiplayer games to grace any console land right on the ‘cube.

Nintendo also plans to get the GameCube on the internet (both 56k and broadband) sometime in the future as well…and when they do I’ll surely let you know how it is.

Game media
Most people will refer to the GameCube game discs as “mini-dvds” and to some extent they are correct. The discs, known as “GODs” (GameCube Optical Discs) hold 1.5Gigabytes of data, and measure exactly 8cms across…and for those of you who don’t measure in metric units, that means they are very small.

PS2 DVDs can hold around 4.7GB of data, and Xbox DVDs, 8Gb. 1.5Gb seems to be enough at the moment though, and for games riddled with FMV there’s always the option of multi-disc games.

The discs are tough, and much more resistant to snapping than a standard sized DVD or CD…not that I’ve tried to snap one of the discs at all….. *cough*

Nintendo made a point of mentioning one of the main reasons they stuck with cartridges over CDs with the N64 was the fact of load times. Thankfully, with the GameCube they have managed to literally get almost cartridge perfect load times. We’re talking between 1 and 5 seconds almost all of the time.

The only downside of having discs is the fact that they can be scratched reasonably easily, but Nintendo did the right thing moving on to optical discs for the GameCube.

System Design
4 controller ports, 2 memory card slots, 3 expansion ports. What more could you want? Well a power, reset and open button would be nice, but don’t fret, as they are all here as well.

I must say the GameCube is rather small as well. When you see it in person yourself you’ll see what I mean.

No complaints here, just one very funkily designed system.

Accessories
So far there aren’t all that many of these out. You’ve just got the standard controllers, memory cards and GameBoy Advance to GameCube link cables. Yes, you can trade/share date from GBA to GC games (Such as Sonic and Animal Forest). Pretty cool, and hopefully we’ll see it used much more in the near future.

Prices (Hardware/Games/Accessories)
Cheap, cheap cheap. You can pick up a GameCube in the us for a mere $200Us. That’s $100Us less than both the PS2 and Xbox at the moment. Great value. The games and accessories are also priced well.

Of course if you have to pay for an imported ‘cube because it’s not out where you live yet *cough* me *cough* then you’ll probably end up paying through the arse….or was it nose? Ah whatever, it will cost a **** load to import.

Pros
* Great value.
* Best controller of any console.
* Load times are almost exactly the same as those on the N64. Amazing.
* The discs are so small….beware…a typo there could be incriminating.

Cons
* Initially the GC has received many sub-par ports from companies looking to make a quick buck..(and possibly get more familiar with the GC’s hardware).
* All of the AAA titles are due out later this year, or even next year.


Overall

The GameCube is showing huge potential. I highly recommend picking one up. Whether it be now, in a few months, or when some of the more high profile games like Zelda and Mario are out. At $200Us, it is excellent value (for those of you living in the US that is).

9.1/10 (rounded to 9/10 for GameFAQs)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/12/02, Updated 01/12/02