Tag Archives: Gamecube

short;Play, Videos

short;Play: TimeSplitters 2

1 Comment

You asked for it, and I… was going to do it anyway, but here it is! TimeSplitters 2, one of the finest console first-person shooters ever created — and indeed one of my favourite games of all time.

TimeSplitters 2Β took everything that was good about the first game and provided more.Β Much, much more. We have a story mode that is much closer to what its spiritual predecessorsΒ GoldenEyeΒ andΒ Perfect DarkΒ provided on the Nintendo 64. We have a more structured single-player experience for the “arcade” mode. We have a wide variety of weird and wonderful challenges. And we have many, many,Β manyΒ characters to collect.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

PS2, Racers

Burnout 2: Point of Impact – They Don’t Make ‘Em Like This Any More

4 Comments

A few days before writing this, I must confess that I hadn’t played Burnout 2: Point of Impact for quite some time. I had fond memories of the series as a whole, but hadn’t revisited any of them — including last installment Paradise — for many years.

Recording an episode of The MoeGamer Podcast on arcade racers (which you can watch and/or listen to right here) inspired me to dig out some old favourites, though — and Burnout 2Β was high up my priority list.

After several hours of utter racing joy flew by without me noticing, it made me realise — or perhaps recall — that Burnout 2: Point of ImpactΒ is one of the finest arcade racers ever created. And even with the recent resurgence of interest in the genre thanks to spunky indies, they really do not make ’em like this any more. Let’s take a closer look.

Continue reading Burnout 2: Point of Impact – They Don’t Make ‘Em Like This Any More →

short;Play, Videos

short;Play: Joust 2 – Survival of the Fittest

1 Comment

We’re going retro for this week’s short;Play, with one of the many games in the first Midway Arcade Treasures compilation for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Gamecube. (There’s also a PSP version, but that’s slightly different.)

Joust 2: Survival of the FittestΒ perhaps hasn’t aged as well as some other arcade classics due to its monstrous level of quarter-munching difficulty, but it’s an interesting game that doesn’t get a lot of acknowledgement, while its predecessor is very fondly regarded. This may partly be due to the fact thatΒ Joust 2Β didn’t get any home ports, while the originalΒ JoustΒ was on pretty muchΒ everything.

Anyway, it’s an interesting curiosity if nothing else, so check it out in the video below to find out more. And don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube when you’re done!

One-Shots

Seasonal Smashing

4 Comments

I like Super Smash Bros. I think. I’m never quite 100% sure.

I do know for a fact I’ve purchased each and every one at launch (with the exception of the N64 original) and, in fact, still own my copies of bothΒ BrawlΒ on Wii andΒ …for Wii UΒ on, uh, Wii U.Β Melee?Β No, unfortunately; while I’m rebuilding my GameCube collection now I’ve got my original (GameCube-compatible) Wii hooked up to my TV once again,Β MeleeΒ is not a title I’ve particularly prioritised re-acquiring.

Anyway, fact is, I’ve always at least made an honest-to-goodnessΒ attemptΒ to likeΒ Super Smash Bros.Β And I’m very much looking forward toΒ Super Smash Bros. UltimateΒ for Switch, which, at the time of writing, is launching in just over a week. And I intend to spend most of the holiday period playing it!

Continue reading Seasonal Smashing →

Essentials, PS2

PS2 Essentials: TimeSplitters 2

6 Comments

Yes, yes, yes, I know it’s also on Xbox and Gamecube, but I’ve always thought of TimeSplitters as a PlayStation thing, so that’s where it’s getting categorised today.

Ahem. Anyway.Β TimeSplitters 2Β is, unsurprisingly, the follow-up to the excellentΒ TimeSplitters, a game developed by ex-Rare folks who previously worked onΒ GoldenEye 007Β andΒ Perfect DarkΒ on the Nintendo 64.

The originalΒ TimeSplittersΒ has aged very well. Its sequel is even better. Let’s take a closer look.

Continue reading PS2 Essentials: TimeSplitters 2 →

Essentials, Namco

Namco Essentials: Pac-Man Vs.

3 Comments

One of the most interesting inclusions in the Nintendo Switch release of Namco Museum is Pac-Man Vs.

Originally released for GameCube in 2003, it’s an unusual title for Namco in that it wasn’t developed in-house as an arcade game; rather, it was designed by the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto and developed by Nintendo specifically for the GameCube, which perhaps explains why we haven’t seen it rereleased for anything other than Nintendo DS (via that platform’s ownΒ Namco MuseumΒ release) and, most recently at the time of writing, Switch.

It’s also noteworthy as one of the first examples of asymmetric multiplayer gameplay, which makes the fact it never got a release on Wii U somewhat baffling. But, well, it’s a bit late for that now!

Continue reading Namco Essentials: Pac-Man Vs. →

From the Archives, Swords and Zippers

From the Archives: Flying High in the Sky

Leave a comment

There was a period in my life where I happily devoured every single JRPG I came across to the exclusion of almost all other types of game.

To be perfectly frank, I’m pretty much back in that situation now after a few years of feeling β€œobliged” to play the big triple-A games that everyone was talking about, but I still primarily associate my early 20s with β€œmy JRPG period” β€” or perhaps more accurately, β€œmy first JRPG period.”

Returning to the fold a number of years after my original JRPG bingeΒ has allowed me to both appreciate how the genre has changed and evolved over the years, and see the older titles I loved so much first time around in a new light. So with that in mind, let’s look back at a classic long overdue an HD remaster.

This article was originally published on Games Are Evil in 2013Β as part of the site’s regular Swords and Zippers column on JRPGs. It has been edited and republished here due to Games Are Evil no longer existing in its original form.

Continue reading From the Archives: Flying High in the Sky →

Essentials, Wii U

Wii U Essentials: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

1 Comment

In contrast to The Wind Waker, which shook things up considerably in terms of both aesthetic and game structure, you’d be forgiven for thinking Twilight Princess was “just another Zelda game”.

It marks a return to the semi-realistic visuals ofΒ Ocarina of TimeΒ andΒ Majora’s Mask, and is set firmly on dry land in theΒ familiar land of Hyrule — albeit another, differently laid-out Hyrule to its predecessors on the grounds that it’s yet another eraΒ in the extremely convolutedΒ ZeldaΒ timelines.

But get into the game a bit and you’ll discover something a little different to what we typically expect from aΒ ZeldaΒ game: childish optimism replaced with melancholy;Β the usual feeling of light inevitably triumphing over darkness replaced by questions over whether everything really will turn out all right this time; and an air of slight cynicism that largely emanates from Link’s perpetual companion Midna, one of the most memorable characters the series has ever seen.

Continue reading Wii U Essentials: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD →

Essentials, Wii U

Wii U Essentials: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD

2 Comments

Any time someone claims that Nintendo’s flagship action-adventure-kinda-sorta-but-not-really RPG series The Legend of Zelda is stagnant and doesn’t try anything new, the perfect rebuttal is The Wind Waker.

Originally released in 2002 to a somewhat surprised Gamecube audience that wasn’t sure what to make of its cel-shaded visuals and seafaring-heavy gameplay,Β The Wind WakerΒ has subsequently proven itself to be a timeless classic in the series as well as one of the most interestingΒ ZeldaΒ titles there has ever been.

And with the HD remaster for Wii U, the definitive version of the game now exists thanks to some much needed tweaks and updates as well as full widescreen support and glorious high-resolution visuals.

Continue reading Wii U Essentials: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD →