"I'm sick of reading all these biased reviews..time for a little controversy"

When I think of Nintendo, I think of videogames in general.
If you were to ask me to describe Nintendo's history with a single word, I would most definitely choose ''quality'' Who can forget the first time they ever played a Super Mario Bro's game? the simplicity of the series changed not only the videogame industry, but the videogame players themselves. I have and will always strongly support Nintendo's consoles. However the Gamecube is a different story, and Nintendo has a lot to improve on if they want to have any chance at dominating the console wars.

I'm going to be honest with you. There are things in this review that are going to make biased Gamecube fans real mad, and that's fantastic, so long as they read and understand my point of view before labeling me as a ''fanboy'' for another console. I'm not going to get into system specs here, that's not what this review is about. This review is about why the system is not worthy of a 10 (like some people have given it) and why the system has a chance of utter failure at this point in its life cycle. But before I do that I want to examine the controller itself and the console, before I get into the games and the consoles future.

The controller itself IS (you can quote me here) the best console controller ever made. The controller literally fits like a glove. Each button is placed in such a way that it feels as if your never moving your fingers from button to button at all. The analog stick has now improved over the N-64's in the sense that its a lot more loose and easy to move around. This was definitely a smart move by Nintendo considering one of the major complaints about the 64's controller was that the analog stick was to far too tight. The addition of the C-Stick or ''Camera Stick'' was a brilliant idea as well. Your thumb can reach the C-Stick without any effort whatsoever. Again, this all relates to the comfort of this controller. Miyamoto obviously knows what hes doing. My only complaint with the Cube's controller is that the D-Pad is far too small. Don't even bother trying to play a fighting game with the D-Pad. If your trying to hit left on the D-Pad you'll often hit left + up or left + down since your thumb is about ten times bigger than the D-Pad. Other than that, this is the best controller ever made.

I didn't like the look of the console until it was in my own hands. The system looks incredible. The fact that its so small compared to all the other systems (especially X-Box..wow that's big) makes it appear as if your playing a console way ahead of its time. The entire design and button placement is just as creative as the innovative design of the controller. I would expect nothing less from Nintendo. They have revolutionized the look of controllers and systems for decades now. The console is very powerful and very easy to develop for which means developing a game for the system is much easier than it is for say, the PS2. I hope this will attract many more developers to the system since a game can be made with relative ease (or so I've heard) The system is powerful, even more so than the PS2, and has many beautiful games to show off the consoles capabilities. I can't even imagine how great the graphics will be in a few years.

Now before I begin my arguments I just want to say that this review is based on NOW, not a year from now, but NOW, in the present time. I hate how everyone reviews this consoles future. Were not in Gamecubes future and we won't be for a very long time. Now with that said, here are my arguments. I walked into my local blockbuster the other day. I headed over to the X-box section, noticing how theres already about 30-40 games out for it, which is incredible considering the console hasn't even been out for more than 6 months. After that I strolled on over to the PS2 section. It was of course filled with over a 100 games since it obviously has a headstart over all the other consoles. Then I went over to the Gamecube section and was confused at what I saw. I saw a single shelf, with every Gamecube on it. The fact that every Gamecube game fit on that small, little shelf compared to every X-Box game fitting on about 5-6 shelves, and PS2 on 11-12 shelves, disturbed me. I had paid 400 dollars for this Nintendo console only to find out that almost 6 months after its release, there were only about 10 games for it. After picking up Luigi's Mansion and Pikmin to rent, another thought popped into my mind. Almost half the Gamecube games were direct ports of PS2 games. It's also interesting to note that on the Gamecube release dates, well over half the games scheduled for release from now until June are direct ports from other consoles. To sum things up, there are no games for this system. Now when this argument is raised, the most common rebutle is ''you just wait until Zelda and Metroid come out'' Oh I will wait my friends, in fact that's what I and most gamers will be doing with Nintendo's new system...waiting. I hate when people raise the argument that the system will dominate with Zelda and Mario etc. Yeah well heres what I say to that..where are they? Zelda and Mario are a part of Nintendo's future with Gamecube so stop talking about the future and start talking about the present. At this point in the console's life, there is no reason to buy it. At least when the PS2 launched it had a plethora of games in every genre (even though most of them were awful. Another argument that is often raised by biased Nintendo fanboys is that they'd rather have one quality game a month than 20 decent games. Well Nintendo will be lucky if they push out one game a month let alone one quality game a month. So far only two games have been released each month since its launch (give or take a few) and in all honesty, most of them are awful. I congratulate Nintendo for making Luigi's Mansion. Although it is short and a tad repetitive, the game stays true to the Nintendo motto of ''quality'' Pikmin is another fantastic game that everyone should and must play. It's brilliant. Rogue Leader Two is one of the best games I have ever played and even Sonic Adventure Two was a nice change. Theres every good game out for the Gamecube at this point and that's it. There's nothing else that isn't a port, that's worth noting. Come on, Universal Theme Park? Super Soccer Slam? (or whatever its called) why were these titles ever made?
At this point in the Gamecubes life, the system is headed straight downhill. Even the N-64 had more and better games at this very same time in its life cycle. Another fanboy argument I must address is when it is brought to their attention that the PS2 has MGS2, GTA3 etc. The most common rebutle to that is ''There going to come to Gamecube and other consoles'' Well with all of the ports on Gamecube right now I wouldn't be surprised. But even if these games were to somehow make it to the Gamecube, it would be in the distant future. Again, Everything great about Nintendo's new console relates to the future and not the present.

So what do we have to look forward to? well there's going to be some great games coming out such as Zelda, the new Resident Evil remake, Metroid, Mario etc..but again, all of the quality games will be released in 2003 or 4th quarter 2002 (with the exception of Resident Evil, April 30th, and Mario Sunshine, July 26th) Another game which I was looking forward to was Star Fox adventures which has now been delayed until June, which I knew was going to happen. This system will have great games for it and I urge videogame players to buy the system then, but not now because for the next 5 or 6 months, your not going to see a whole lot of ''quality'' games released or maybe I should have said you won't see a whole lot of games released period. The addition of Sega, Squaresoft and Capcom signing deals with Nintendo is definitely promising, but of course those deals all refer to the distant future of Nintendo and not the present which needs the most help. If Nintendo wants to eliminate the competition, they need the help of 3rd party developers to create new and innovative games. Too bad Nintendo only has a hand full of those.

At this point I'm afraid that if someone asked me to describe Nintendo in a few words, I would describe it with words such as ''delays'' or ''lacking'' It's sad to see this console in the state that it is in. It's losing support and at a rapid rate. If it wasn't for Nintendo's bright and hopefully successful future with the cube, I would have given this console a 6 or even a 5. So should you buy this console? The answer is yes, but not now. Wait until the future arrives when Zelda becomes a million seller and Metroid has hit store shelves. If you buy it now, the only thing it will be good for is a decoration to show off to your friends.

CONTROLLER - 10
The best controller ever made. Buttons are located exactly where they should be, lessening the stress on your hands while playing.

CONSOLE - 9
The console itself looks great especially because of its size and overall design. It's easy to develop for and can
produce incredible graphics.

GAMES/PRESENT - 3
Games like Rogue Leader, Pikmin and Luigi's Mansion lead the way for great games. Lack of games and dozens of ports SERIOUSLY hurt the console.

FUTURE - 9
The system has a bright future but with Nintendo you never know when the future is. The best games for this console could be delayed until 2004 for all we know.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/30/02, Updated 03/30/02