Sold the Xbox. That makes 4 consoles in around 2 years that I've bought and sold - Dreamcast, PS2 - twice - and now the Xbox. I just have this "thing" about keeping a console lying around that's not getting enough playtime, I'd rather sell it for a decent price while I can than just have it waste away.
I've had the CG for about a week, and purchased the following games with it:
Metroid Prime (of course)
Rogue Leader
Super Smash Brothers (gf likes fighting games, I'm not too enthused about this one though)
Eternal Darkness
Mario Sunshine
Resident Evil
I also rented Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, which I also played briefly on the Xbox.
Thankfully I found most of these used, so the hit wasn't too big.
Like everyone, I'm just awed at how almost obnoxiously cute this lil' thing is. The discs are incredibly small, pick up a minidisc carrying case and you can fit a large game library in your pocket. Very cool.
I’ve also been very impressed from the load times, which basically appear to be non-existent (with the exception of Turok, which is truly awful in this regard). It’s almost like playing a cartridge system.
While I’m still on the hardware itself, what hasn’t impressed me so far is the controller. I have quite large hands, but the problem really isn’t the size, it’s the button placement. If anything, my large hands would be an asset in this case as I should be able to reach buttons more readily than someone with average-sized appendages, but I find especially when using games that make use of the dual analog sticks, anything outside of the two shoulder buttons will mean your hand comes off one of the controllers. The second “stickâ€, which is basically a nub, doesn’t exactly provide stellar control either. It’s not like you’re going to be confused if the two sticks look the same when you have your right hand on one, but that’s the impression I’m getting from the controller – it’s different to be well…different. Relatively comfortable, but I find the button placement aggravating, the dpad is ridiculously small (and not accurate, I sent my wingman home several times in RL by accident, meant to do a right instead of a down – although that could be due to my quarter-sized thumb area), and the lack of depressible control sticks just further highlights my complaints about button placement. For my needs, Nintendo tried to stand out a little too much with this controller, functionality seemed to take a distant second. For that, I’d rate the Xbox Controller-S as the perfect fit for me.
As for the games; first off was Rogue Leader, and right now it’s the only one I’ve come anywhere close to completion. I was pleasantly surprised by this title, you get into some serious Tie dogfights later on as opposed to the early levels I played in the store. As some have noticed, it’s a stretch to call this a 60fps game – I’d say 60fps maybe half the time. Below 30fps at times even, mainly on the prisoners rescue mission with the water effects. Still, graphically I’d say I’ve been most impressed with this of any next-gen console title, and that includes Halo. I believe Halo is a better game through and through, but the staggering level of detail and cinematic accuracy is incredible in RL. The second last level when you’re approaching the newly-constructed Death Star is amazing, the J Williams score blares through the speakers as what seems to be 50+ ties/interceptors come swarming around you while you weave around huge capital ships. It truly does capture the spirit of the film like no other SW game before it, and I’m not exactly a SW fanatic. Will likely gather dust after I’ve unlocked the secret missions, and I’d give my right arm to see these graphics on the PC with a nice flightstick and the shield controls+mission complexity of Tie Fighter, but alas it’s a fun ride while it lasts.
I’ve briefly played Eternal Darkness, at least until the point where I’m in ancient Cambodia and I’ve just met the pulsating pool of eyes & teeth as the female warrior. This game is definitely spooky. Graphics are very nice if not staggering, but the insanity system is a blast so far. This is one to play at 2am with the lights out. And with some exceptions – SAVE ANYWHERE! Who-hoo! Looks to have an engrossing story as well.
As it was a rental, I tried to play through Turok
H. I played it briefly on the Xbox. The Xbox version is graphically superior, although the Gamecube version does maintain 60fps for much of the game as compared to the Xbox’s locked-at-30, so it’s pretty much a wash. As for the game though – eh. The AI of the enemies is much improved over previous Turok titles, but the graphics and textures are very bland, control is frustrating (I’m fine with dual analogs once I accept I’ll never get anywhere close to the level of control that mouse/keyboard offers, but this game was not forgiving in the slightest), and the levels can be somewhat dull. It’s not awful, but definitely a renter.
Super Smash Brothers: Despite the title, this is not the game to play while under the influence. Neither my GF or myself could really get into this, and I’m not one for fighting games regardless. This is obviously quite different from something like DOA3, but I’m not sure I’ll ever give it the time necessary to see how far the depth goes, it just doesn’t grab me.
Metroid Prime. Well, I’ve played this for maybe 3 hours, and…just not into it yet. The graphics are good, but nothing so far has really “wowed†me yet. The textures are decent but not great, aliasing is quite apparent, and the constant tight corridors are getting on my nerves. The visor effects are very nice, but that impression wears off quickly. Yes, I know it’s not an FPS, but I fail to see what the lack of a constant free-look mode adds to the gameplay, if not just to slow it down. I’m perfectly capable of leveling my own view if I have to do some platform jumping, thanks – and in fact, being able to fully control the camera while moving would be a great benefit in those situations. I really do have to give this one more time though.
Mario Sunshine. Again, more time needed, and controlling the water flow with that stub of a joystick is bothersome, but this looks interesting. I’m usually not one for games of this ilk, but the whole point of getting the GC was to experience something that I’d never play on the PC, and this is it. Played it for just an hour, but it’s been fun so far. And like ED – save anywhere! I’ll probably expend a great deal of time on this one.
Resident Evil: Great graphics, duh. We’ll see how I deal with the camera and limited control of your player, but the graphics immersion do help in alleviating that frustration somewhat. Played it for less than 30mins, can’t really give any concrete impressions yet.
It’s probably not fair to directly compare this with my Xbox experience, as I’m picking up the Gamecube only after it’s been on the market for a year with a good selection of titles. But so far, out of the 4 consoles I’ve previously owned, I’m most impressed with this. 3 of the titles I’ve played – Rogue Leader, ED and MS have certainly been worth it, and with more play Metroid Prime may make that list as well. The size and portability of the unit along with the short load times (so far) have me very impressed with the hardware side of things, aside from my controller misgivings. That, and the fact it’s the cheapest of all the three, has me a content PC/console player (for the time being J). If I was an Xbox Live! player I probably would feel differently, but at the moment what I saw coming down the pike didn’t grab me, or had the PC version following soon afterwards which I would probably prefer.
I've had the CG for about a week, and purchased the following games with it:
Metroid Prime (of course)
Rogue Leader
Super Smash Brothers (gf likes fighting games, I'm not too enthused about this one though)
Eternal Darkness
Mario Sunshine
Resident Evil
I also rented Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, which I also played briefly on the Xbox.
Thankfully I found most of these used, so the hit wasn't too big.
Like everyone, I'm just awed at how almost obnoxiously cute this lil' thing is. The discs are incredibly small, pick up a minidisc carrying case and you can fit a large game library in your pocket. Very cool.
I’ve also been very impressed from the load times, which basically appear to be non-existent (with the exception of Turok, which is truly awful in this regard). It’s almost like playing a cartridge system.
While I’m still on the hardware itself, what hasn’t impressed me so far is the controller. I have quite large hands, but the problem really isn’t the size, it’s the button placement. If anything, my large hands would be an asset in this case as I should be able to reach buttons more readily than someone with average-sized appendages, but I find especially when using games that make use of the dual analog sticks, anything outside of the two shoulder buttons will mean your hand comes off one of the controllers. The second “stickâ€, which is basically a nub, doesn’t exactly provide stellar control either. It’s not like you’re going to be confused if the two sticks look the same when you have your right hand on one, but that’s the impression I’m getting from the controller – it’s different to be well…different. Relatively comfortable, but I find the button placement aggravating, the dpad is ridiculously small (and not accurate, I sent my wingman home several times in RL by accident, meant to do a right instead of a down – although that could be due to my quarter-sized thumb area), and the lack of depressible control sticks just further highlights my complaints about button placement. For my needs, Nintendo tried to stand out a little too much with this controller, functionality seemed to take a distant second. For that, I’d rate the Xbox Controller-S as the perfect fit for me.
As for the games; first off was Rogue Leader, and right now it’s the only one I’ve come anywhere close to completion. I was pleasantly surprised by this title, you get into some serious Tie dogfights later on as opposed to the early levels I played in the store. As some have noticed, it’s a stretch to call this a 60fps game – I’d say 60fps maybe half the time. Below 30fps at times even, mainly on the prisoners rescue mission with the water effects. Still, graphically I’d say I’ve been most impressed with this of any next-gen console title, and that includes Halo. I believe Halo is a better game through and through, but the staggering level of detail and cinematic accuracy is incredible in RL. The second last level when you’re approaching the newly-constructed Death Star is amazing, the J Williams score blares through the speakers as what seems to be 50+ ties/interceptors come swarming around you while you weave around huge capital ships. It truly does capture the spirit of the film like no other SW game before it, and I’m not exactly a SW fanatic. Will likely gather dust after I’ve unlocked the secret missions, and I’d give my right arm to see these graphics on the PC with a nice flightstick and the shield controls+mission complexity of Tie Fighter, but alas it’s a fun ride while it lasts.
I’ve briefly played Eternal Darkness, at least until the point where I’m in ancient Cambodia and I’ve just met the pulsating pool of eyes & teeth as the female warrior. This game is definitely spooky. Graphics are very nice if not staggering, but the insanity system is a blast so far. This is one to play at 2am with the lights out. And with some exceptions – SAVE ANYWHERE! Who-hoo! Looks to have an engrossing story as well.
As it was a rental, I tried to play through Turok
H. I played it briefly on the Xbox. The Xbox version is graphically superior, although the Gamecube version does maintain 60fps for much of the game as compared to the Xbox’s locked-at-30, so it’s pretty much a wash. As for the game though – eh. The AI of the enemies is much improved over previous Turok titles, but the graphics and textures are very bland, control is frustrating (I’m fine with dual analogs once I accept I’ll never get anywhere close to the level of control that mouse/keyboard offers, but this game was not forgiving in the slightest), and the levels can be somewhat dull. It’s not awful, but definitely a renter.Super Smash Brothers: Despite the title, this is not the game to play while under the influence. Neither my GF or myself could really get into this, and I’m not one for fighting games regardless. This is obviously quite different from something like DOA3, but I’m not sure I’ll ever give it the time necessary to see how far the depth goes, it just doesn’t grab me.
Metroid Prime. Well, I’ve played this for maybe 3 hours, and…just not into it yet. The graphics are good, but nothing so far has really “wowed†me yet. The textures are decent but not great, aliasing is quite apparent, and the constant tight corridors are getting on my nerves. The visor effects are very nice, but that impression wears off quickly. Yes, I know it’s not an FPS, but I fail to see what the lack of a constant free-look mode adds to the gameplay, if not just to slow it down. I’m perfectly capable of leveling my own view if I have to do some platform jumping, thanks – and in fact, being able to fully control the camera while moving would be a great benefit in those situations. I really do have to give this one more time though.
Mario Sunshine. Again, more time needed, and controlling the water flow with that stub of a joystick is bothersome, but this looks interesting. I’m usually not one for games of this ilk, but the whole point of getting the GC was to experience something that I’d never play on the PC, and this is it. Played it for just an hour, but it’s been fun so far. And like ED – save anywhere! I’ll probably expend a great deal of time on this one.
Resident Evil: Great graphics, duh. We’ll see how I deal with the camera and limited control of your player, but the graphics immersion do help in alleviating that frustration somewhat. Played it for less than 30mins, can’t really give any concrete impressions yet.
It’s probably not fair to directly compare this with my Xbox experience, as I’m picking up the Gamecube only after it’s been on the market for a year with a good selection of titles. But so far, out of the 4 consoles I’ve previously owned, I’m most impressed with this. 3 of the titles I’ve played – Rogue Leader, ED and MS have certainly been worth it, and with more play Metroid Prime may make that list as well. The size and portability of the unit along with the short load times (so far) have me very impressed with the hardware side of things, aside from my controller misgivings. That, and the fact it’s the cheapest of all the three, has me a content PC/console player (for the time being J). If I was an Xbox Live! player I probably would feel differently, but at the moment what I saw coming down the pike didn’t grab me, or had the PC version following soon afterwards which I would probably prefer.
