Blogcritics Category: Gaming: GameCube

Child's Play Charity 2008 at $1 Million and Counting

Mark Buckingham — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:09:56 EST

Looks to be another record-setting year for the charity, and there's still time left to get involved.
It started out in part as a reaction to the media decrying gamers as malicious ne'er-do-wells, responsible for everything wrong with society (much the way MTV viewers were maligned in the 1980s). It's grown into a charity that not only benefits countless sick children around the world, but has stuffed a sock in the traps of the same people...

GamezNFlix.com May Be Dead

Mark Buckingham — Thu, 4 Dec 2008 15:38:22 EST

It�s like they�ve dropped off the face of the Earth.
About a month and a half ago, after years of satisfied service, GamezNFlix.com sent me the first damaged disc I’d ever received from them. I e-mailed them promptly, figuring they would call shenanigans and accuse me of some wrongdoing (Gamefly did this to me several times, prompting me to abandon them and use GNF in the first place). To my...

The Skeptic's Guide to Violent Video Game Studies

Nathaniel Edwards — Fri, 7 Nov 2008 15:05:39 EST

Why you should doubt what you read about the effects of violent video games.
A few days ago, The Washington Post published an article entitled "Study Links Violent Video Games, Hostility" that combined some fairly old American research with two new Japanese studies that claimed there is "conclusive evidence" that violent video games are a "public health risk". I propose that researchers who say they have conclusive evidence...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

GameCube Review: Mystic Heroes

Matt Paprocki — Tue, 3 Oct 2006 01:03:37 EDT

An attempt to spin-off the Dynasty Warriors series into a more family friendly nature (despite a harsh Teen rating), Mystic Heroes finds its niche without being particularly well executed. Koei lightens up the characters, ditches the real history based storyline, and puts a focus on magic - it's a mix that comes together nicely, but fails to become entertaining for anyone except fans of the company. Three characters lead the fray into a massive battlefield of enemy soldiers. Compared to the series it's emulating, it's unquestionably less intense. The number of foes on screen drops from hundreds to a few dozen. In place of more soldiers is a higher damage requirement to take them down. It's the sole reason the struggles take as long as they do. You're always partnered with the other playable characters, yet you have no control over them, also, they can't die. They simply retreat from attacking one section of the map and move to one less populated. Eventually, they'll rejoin you. Given the size of the levels, involving strategy before the battle would feel out of place. Combat has been simplified drastically. A single combo can take out even the largest bosses (and there are some epic fights to be had). It's a flaw in the juggle system that indefinitely keeps an enemy airborne by doing nothing more than that pounding on the B button. One button is all you'll need as well. There are no secondary attacks to keep repetition down or create flashy blows. Instead of the Mosuo attacks in Dynasty Warriors, Mystic Heroes takes a different approach. By collecting runes scattered about in the levels, you can equip multiple styles of magic. These are highly varied means of slaughter to a stack of foes. They're activated with the X button, with the heavier blasts requiring a slight charge time. It adds a small layer of strategy to a game that otherwise features none at all; It's possible to turn a battle towards your side with proper usage. At its core, as the story moves along, Heroes still manages to pull off a smaller version of the addictive hook its sister series thrives on - it's the adrenaline rush that's missing because of the downgraded enemy count. Fans of the beat-em-up genre will understand the appeal. Those who purchase Koei's key series for the melee they provide are only headed for disappointment. Mystic Heroes is rated T (Teen) by the ESRB for Violence. This game can also be found on: PS2.

Matt Paprocki is the former reviews editor for Digital Press. The deep game collection, which spans nearly 30 systems and 2,000 games, lines his walls for research purposes. Matt strives to bring credibility to video game journalism, and to aid the industry in becoming respected with all forms of entertainment media. He currently freelances for GameArgus.com and MultiPlayerGames.com.

GameCube Review: Viewtiful Joe - Red Hot Rumble

Matt Paprocki — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 04:09:16 EDT

Being the second attempt from Capcom to branch a key franchise into a melee fighter (the first being Onimusha Blade Warriors), Viewtiful Joe should stay in the platforming realm. Red Hot Rumble is a mess of scattered concepts, ideas, and failed execution. It's completely unplayable with four players, the games key draw, and one-on-one battles are incomprehensible. It's hard to imagine another game this hectic. Things randomly happen, collectible items appear from nowhere, collision detection is spotty, the controls (especially when it comes to double jumping) are touchy, and the fighting engine is an afterthought. Rumble's biggest issue is that it's stuck in an identity crisis war with itself. For only having two attack buttons, it's amazing that the player feels like they have no control over these characters. It's mostly due to this being an ADD nightmare of fighting games. The basics are no different from Joe's other gaming endeavors, including platform hopping, enemy bopping, and items dropping. The problem is, each round of the fight is something different, and the actual brawling takes a backseat to something else.At the start of a round, you're told what the goal is. It could be beating up your opponent, taking out a boss by causing more damage than your foe, knocking out enemies that appear, or rapid collecting. Actually hitting and draining the life bar of your adversary is useless aside from a small points bonus at the end of the match.This only causes problems as you struggle to cope with objects flying everywhere, animated backgrounds obscuring the brawl, and the occasional teleportation to some alternate stage that starts oddball button mashing mini-games. None of this makes sense, and it's impossible to keep track of what's going on. With four players, you're better off ramming on the X button because you'd likely have more success. The collectibles are beyond the point of being out of hand, and trying to find them or get the jump on your opponent for the win is a hopeless dream. The single player story mode is fine, and clips from the TV show add to Viewtiful Joe's established and enjoyable storyline. There's definitely too much text to shift through, but it's the only time during the game where you can follow what's happening on screen. Unlockables include most of the roster, extra videos, and puzzles (which adds yet another item to collect and deal with during the fights). There's a decent game buried here. It's sadly hidden in the mess of ideas that should have been split up into potential (and likely) sequels. With the focus where it should be, Red Hot Rumble may work. As it stands, Capcom has little hope of turning this into a successful spin-off. Viewtiful Joe Red Hot Rumble is rated T (Teen) by the ESRB for Violence. This game can also be found on: PSP.

GameCube Review: Super Monkey Ball Adventure

Aaron Auzins — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 00:24:48 EDT

Monkeys. Balls. Oh, the countless jokes I could make about the game’s title - Super Monkey Ball Adventure. Unfortunately for gamers, the real joke is this game’s tedious, fetch-questing adventure aspect.Super Monkey Ball has always been known for its simple but frantic single player puzzle mode and its addictive and highly competitive multiplayer modes. While both of those elements are still present in Super Monkey Ball Adventure, they are hacked down in number and take a complete backseat to the chore that is the story mode.In order to flesh out the puzzle mode, developer Traveler’s Tale added a full-fledged overworld environment to the game’s story mode. Things begin innocent enough with the Monkey Ball crew barbecuing bananas on the hottest day of the year. But when a mysterious “mechanical bird” flies overhead and crashes into the local lighthouse, the situation turns ugly when the monkey heroes not only have to investigate the crash but also find out why the joy of Monarch is missing.With all of the monkeys’ joy gone, everyone on Jungle Island has a sudden dilemma and players will later discover the same has happened throughout the monkey world. For the most part, it ends up that almost all the monkeys are now missing something and it’s up to you to fetch it for them. While the idea seems good on paper, the big 3-D worlds just add an annoyance factor with extremely frustrating and mundane tasks.The worlds' layouts consist of areas that are either completely flat or inclined and fail to capture the essence of speed or precision that the games before brought to the table. While some areas are easy to access, extremely awkward camera angles, poor collision, and a pretty much useless map will lead to a lot of frustration as players attempt to navigate the remainder of each world.When a player does reach someone in need, missions sometimes just add up to trial and error and require a lot of exploration. While there are some enjoyable missions such as ones that require stealth and running down monkeys, they are mixed in with a huge number of missions that are nothing more than “collect this” and “find this.”Players are also not able to take multiple missions and if you should fall off the map and fail the mission, your monkey comes back in a seemingly random location with the mission deactivated. You then have to track down the monkey in need once again and start the mission completely over. After failing a mission multiple times, the repeated process becomes quite annoying.The frequent disc access will also have players banging their head against the wall. Every world is made of multiple sections, which require loading when going back and forth. Accidentally entering another section during a mission will cancel the mission and players will have to start from scratch no matter how far they are into the task.On a good note, however, the large worlds will keep curious players rolling around for quite a long time. The landscapes are riddled with bananas that, when enough are collected, will help players accomplish a few more missions and -- more importantly -- purchase extras that will increase the number of features in multiplayer.Over the course of play in story mode, some neat power-ups become available to the player. Incorporated into the game as chants players learn to string together, the monkeys can customize their ride with power-ups. While some simply transport players to a different location in the world, others deck your ball out with a spring-loaded boxing glove, suction cups, invisibility, growth, and more. Of course, the power-ups are the key to solving much of the later missions in the game.The puzzle and multiplayer modes still remain in the game with more than 50 new puzzles, which are also encountered periodically throughout story mode to unlock certain doors.Puzzle mode is basically the original single player modes from the first two Monkey Balls in which players make a mad dash for the exit for maximum points. The multiplayer modes are cut in half with three new additions – cannon, bounce and tag. While it brings new games to the table, the only one I personally found any fun was the addicting Monkey Cannon, which has you shooting down other players’ castles by using your monkey ball as a cannon ball. Graphically, Super Monkey Ball Adventure loses its flair over the previous titles through the story mode’s generic looking environments. Instead of the bright, zany graphics of the puzzle mode, players are given areas that seem like they were pulled out of Sonic Adventure with frame rates that sometimes aren’t consistent with the action.All the sound in the game is recycled from previous versions, including the ever-annoying monkey talk. The story mode is filled to the brim with these sound bytes and will drive anyone older than 10 completely insane. Pound for pound, every sound byte in the game is 100 percent from other versions of the game. You get nothing original, but, just as in the previous versions, what you’re given does its job.The game controls just as well as the previous versions, but the game is chock full of horrid camera angles that will cause many bad situations for your monkey. Although there is some questionable physics with the inclines, your ball will do everything you command it to do.Overall, Super Monkey Ball Adventure is an excellent idea that falls victim to poor execution. While the game is very playable, the story mode will try many gamers’ patience and the cutback in everything that made the game a success in the first place is lost among the expansive fetch-driven single player mode. Players will most likely spend most of their time in the puzzle and multiplayer modes for a quick fix of monkey action.Super Monkey Ball Adventure is rated "E" for Everyone by the ESRB. This game can also be found on: PS2 and PSP.

Aaron Auzins, better known as "nestlekwik," is an avid gamer and collector who resides in Ohio. He has written video gaming reviews for The Northwest Signal, The Disclaimer, personal Web sites, GameFAQs, BitSmack and on Sony's invitation-only Web log - The Gamer Advisory Panel.

Nintendo Boasting Strong DS Lineup For Fall

Aaron Auzins — Tue, 1 Aug 2006 22:11:57 EDT

The Nintendo DS, having passed a sales milestone, is looking to carry its momentum into the fall season with a number of recently released titles. Nintendo recently commented on the success of the system worldwide, moving millions of units in less than two years.The DS launched on November 21, 2004, and has since sold 21 million units worldwide -- a rate Nintendo equates to nearly one system sold every two seconds. Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications George Harrison further added the Nintendo DS was “North America’s top-selling video game system of any type in June.”With the DS approaching its third year on the market and with the launch of the re-designed Nintendo DS Lite, a number of first-party titles are still on the menu, including a mix of old and new franchises.Star Fox Command is slated to launch on August 28, according to Nintendo's website, and will support eight-player dogfighting locally with four-player support over Wi-Fi. In this adventure, the touch screen will allow players to draw their own routes for the mission as they take over bases and advance through the stages. As always, the branching storyline of missions is still intact in the franchise.Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis has a tenative date of September 25 and looks to take a new spin on the original format. Players will take control of the robotic Mario minis and try to guide them toward an exit -- Lemmings anyone? A custom level creation will allow players to trade and even post on Wi-Fi.Touch Generations, the developer behind the likes of Brain Age and Nintendogs, will lead the fall lineup with Clubhouse Games to be launched on October 9. The family-friendly cart will feature more than 20 classic board, card, and party games and will feature multiplayer and Wi-Fi connectivity. Checkers, darts, billiards, and card games are among the number of activities included in Clubhouse Games.Nintendogs will hit the system once again on October 16 with its newest iteration, Nintendogs: Dalmatian. The new version will allow players to select the previously-hidden dalmatian straight from the start and will eventually allow about 20 breeds to be selected after unlocks.On October 23, Magical Starsign will hit the dual-screened system. Originally titled Magical Vacation, the game will host up to six players in a science-fantasy adventure based on the power of magic. A player will be able to link with five other players to explore dungeons together in RPG format.October 30 will launch two new spin-offs of existing franchises. The Pokemon universe expands with the release of Pokemon Ranger. In this adventure, Pokemon trainers are substituted with ranchers -- lassos are thrown at wild Pokemon and by encircling them with the touch-screen, they become tamed and aid you in battle.Also on October 30, the story of Mana will unfold even more in Children of Mana for the DS. The Mana Tree needs help once again in this action-RPG. Children not only features the standard single-player quest but also cooperative or competitive gameplay for up to four players.The offbeat Japanese release Osu! Tatakae! Ouenden! will finally find a home in the U.S. under the name Elite Beat Agents on November 6. The rhythm game features secret agents who assist people in need through song, whether it be helping a student with homework or guiding a lost dog home.Following the success of New Super Mario Bros., Yoshi will get his turn in the spotlight once again with Yoshi’s Island 2 on November 13. Based off the crayon, paper format of the SNES title, part two adds Baby Peach and Baby Donkey Kong into the 2-D platforming mix. By switching between the infant characters, new abilities are bestowed upon the player. As of the time this article was written, there was no indication of whether multiplayer will be added or not.The DS will become a rock ‘em, sock ‘em arena on December 4 with the release of Custom Robo Arena. The portable version of Robo allows players to customize their own robot to do battle in “the sport of tomorrow.” Multiplayer and Wi-Fi connection will allow players to match up their custom creations against a friend or online.December 4 will also launch another Nintendo mascot, as the puffy, pink hero Kirby will star in Kirby Squeak Squad. Straying from the Canvas Curse format, Kirby returns to the traditional directional pad gameplay in this 2-D platformer. The touch screen acts as Kirby’s stomach in this new adventure, allowing players to drag eaten enemies and items together and mix up all new powers. The game will also feature multiplayer for up to four people locally for the sub-game modes. Gamers with a Nintendo DS will also be pleased to know Final Fantasy will be hitting the Game Boy Advance yet again on November 6. Through the DS’s backwards compatibility, those with the system will be able to pick up and play Final Fantasy V Advance. Nintendo is promising new job classes, new dungeons and new enhanced features in the portable re-release.

Gamecube Review: Cars

Matt Paprocki — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 14:41:23 EDT

It could be the shock that the developer took the time to create something other than a generic racer, but Cars is a fantastic video game. It's a rare feat that this is not only a successful movie-based game, but also a game that appeals to gaming's main 18-34 consumer market all the way down to those who are picking up a controller for the first time. It's a strong, surprising, and flat out fun effort.Taking place is a slightly confined but open-ended world, the player takes on various challenges around town while preparing for the upcoming races. Some of the tasks, like finding X amount of objects within a time limit do occasionally strain the nerves, while others use the game's surprisingly strong racing engine to its fullest. A map provides the necessary information and key story points.Impressive lip synch somehow manages to equal that of the feature film and makes the story far more immersive than it would have been. The characters keep their personalities flawlessly (in addition to the full support of the voice actors). As the player travels around town accepting various challenges, they earn trophies. More trophies means quicker access to the key races and plot points.This causes two problems. One is that it takes away from the open ended-ness. You'll need to complete all the challenges to make any real advancement in the trophy count, so the town ends up as nothing more than a fancy menu with some hidden secrets. Secondly, the challenges usually have multiple levels to complete. Be prepared to replay some irritating missions often.It's saved by a fantastic racing system that maintains the exact pace it needs. It's enough to gain a smooth and steady sense of speed while not being overbearing on the younger set. The addition of a jump mechanic, turbo boosts, and easy to maintain powersliding makes sure the player is always paying attention. The difficulty of the races is definitely on the low side, so a challenge should not be expected. In some cases, going off course and having the computer put you back on track will actually result in a first place position. There's a wealth of extras to unlock including clips from the film, new cars, and even some interesting unfinished deleted scenes from the game. Points used to earn these extras are easy to come by so you're always feeling as if you're making progress. The ability to control other characters is wonderful for fans of the film.Aside from the lip synch excellence, there's a fantastic graphics engine at work. The world is fully realized, and the tracks provide some great thrills. Big jumps, drift possibilities, road hazards, and a few different street types keep this from becoming repetitive. Pop-up (and some small graphical glitches like disappearing textures) is a little too apparent at times, though it doesn't affect the gameplay. Cars is a game that's not only fun for players, it's beneficial to the industry. It's easy to understand mechanics, inviting world, and friendly demeanor makes this a shining example of everything the industry can do right. It's almost a shame the younger set will be the majority playing this one. Cars is rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB for Comic Mischief. This game can also be found on: GBA, GameCube, Nintendo DS, PC, PS2, PSP, and Xbox.

Gamecube Review: Swingerz Golf

Matt Paprocki — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 11:40:33 EDT

Swingerz Golf looks like Sony's Hot Shots Golf. Its interface, putting, characters, and unlockables are completely stripped from that Greatest Hits franchise. What's different is the far more difficult and unforgiving gameplay. To play Swingerz, you need to know how to play golf.While that may immediately turn people off who are unfamiliar with the sport's finer aspects, Swingerz's incredible set of options once on the course makes sure any mistakes are your own. Swinging is a matter of using the swing stick, and like EA's Tiger Woods franchise, pushing straight forward for an accurate shot. The on-screen indicator lets you know exactly what went wrong/right so you can adjust for the next shot. The number of camera angles easily surpasses any other golf game available. Though buried in a sub-menu, overhead and angled shots (and still customizable from there) let you see every hazard that the standard side view may not be showing you. This is especially helpful for a crowded fairway filled with trees, or a tricky putt for when the grid isn't in plain site. Even then, you can quickly change the color of the grid with a tap of the d-pad to make it more noticeable. Developer Telenet truly thought of everything.While any golf game is measured by its multi-player, it's the engrossing single player that keeps you coming back. Tournaments unlock new items like clubs, balls, shoes, or charms. Each, as you should expect, has their own advantages. Unlike other golf games, you're limited here. Every accessory has a point value assigned to it and you can't start playing if your character is over that limit. It's an extra layer of deep strategy you'll need to focus on before heading into play. That continues on the eight courses. The designs allow for little error, but great rewards if you can pull off some miraculous shots. Some of the courses need to be thought out shot by shot, weighing the advantages of your character against the hazards. The goofy exterior looks like Hot Shots, but in the end, Swingerz is more complex than even the PGA-licensed Tiger Woods games. Swingerz finally fails in the audio department. If the grating, repetitive, and high-pitched voice work doesn't push you to insanity, the music will. This barely qualifies as music, and resets itself after every hole. Given that you can breeze through a quick 18 holes by skipping shots with the B button, it doesn't take long before you're digging into another sub-menu to turn off everything related to the audio.While overlooked by just about everyone, Swingerz is easily judged by its cover. It's not a game to be underestimated, and there's enough gameplay time to justify a purchase regardless of price. Swingerz Golf is completely worthwhile for a golf fan, and makes for an easy replacement for a year of Tiger Woods. Swingerz Golf is rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB.

Gamecube Review: Naruto - Clash of Ninja

Matt Paprocki — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:12:28 EDT

Naruto is the latest in an ever-growing line of anime properties being shoved at kids today. It has caught on quick, and with a gold mine of Naruto games sitting over in Japan, it's no surprise they're being translated. The problem is this is not a great game, and in a market with countless other anime one-on-one fighters, Naruto does nothing new.Everything about Naruto is generic. The cel-shaded graphics are gorgeous, but we've seen them before. The same goes for the fighting engine, which has so much in common with the Dragon Ball Z fighters, that it's utterly amazing there's a different development team at work. What this all means is Naruto has been adapted to be as accessible as possible. Combos are rarely more complex than hitting a bunch of buttons in the proper sequence. The easy access to projectiles takes away a lot of strategy, and the absurdity of being able to launch a special attack with the press of the R trigger is impossible to comprehend. There's accessible and then there's dumb. The latter is Naruto.Button mashing is welcome too. That's not to say there isn't some strategy. Movement in 3-D is necessary, counter-attacks need to be timed, and risking it all with a charged super may not be worth the payoff if you miss. At its core however, the original Street Fighter II had far more depth than this.Like the fighting engine itself, the options are barely even noticeable. With a "massive" roster of eight characters, three useful gameplay modes, and few reasons to come back, there's nothing worth recommending here. Fans of the franchise will find controlling their favorite characters enjoyable, while everyone else will continue wishing for more characters in general.The story is told through still shots and voice-acting from the dubbing cast. There's very little footage of the show aside from the intro cinematic. It cheapens the game, and again, makes it feel almost exactly like the Dragon Ball Z Budokai series. Tomy should apologize to the fans of the series too. Importers have been raving about Naruto 4, its wealth of features, characters, and moves. Instead, Tomy is going to milk the target audience with a "new" game every few months until they catch up. It's inexcusable and fans have every right to be aggravated. For fans of the anime series itself, Clash of Ninja (shouldn't it be Clash of THE Ninja?) provides the action they should expect. They're the target audience and the only ones who will find this lackluster attempt exciting. Fighting games fans will know better, bad review or not.Naruto - Clash of Ninja is rated T (Teen) by the ESRB for cartoon violence.