"Quick, get the anti-fanboy gun!"

It's Mario time! Oh, don't like the jolly, Italian plumber? Then things are looking grim for you if you bought the Gamecube. Nintendo's latest entry in the home console genre is glaringly lacking by comparison with their handhelds. Without the support of 3rd parties, simple-minded game designers and a lack of true evolution in game design, the Gamecube stands as one of the most one sided consoles ever made.

Hardware: 8/10

In the hardware domain the Gamecube is marginally better then the PS2 thanks to a better processor, a superior video card and marginally better memory. Here are the specs of the console:

485 Megahertz Processor – Dual cores running with “64-bit” technology (NOTE: Console 64-bit technology, not the PC architecture)
40 MB System Memory – None of it shared with other components
16 MB Video Memory – Stand alone video RAM.

The Gamecube also supports progressive scan, 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound and Antialiasing (AA).

Unfortunately, little does this make a difference between the Gamecube's main hardware competitor, the PS2. The lack of true HDTV support on the Cube and recent examples, such as Resident Evil 4 and Tales of Symphonia prove that, due to Nintendo's own limitations, the Cube is not very far on the scale of great graphics.

However, that's not to say that PS2 games or ports of GC games to the PS2 are equal. Obviously games that are made for the GC and PS2 generally tend to be better on the GC then their PS2 counter parts. The Gamecube versions of games tend to have clearer textures, more vibrant colors and much better use of AA as well as superior load times.

In the sound category, the Gamecube is at the same level as the Xbox, featuring full surround sound support as well as crystal clear quality. However, the Gamecube features no playback devices, such as CD-Players or DVD-Players, restricting the sound chip to gaming alone.

Storage is a serious problem on the Gamecube. The Gamecube was the Nintendo's first true foray into memory card territory, and it didn't turn out to be so good. The first memory cards released were pathetically small and hardly allowed for more than 9-10 game saves under the best of conditions. Nintendo corrected their mistake by releasing the infamous “4x” card, which runs $20 at most retail outlets. The problems with storage aren't only limited to memory cards however as the Gamecube faces serious problems due to the lack of a universally accepted media format, such as the DVD. The Gamecube's GD-disks are small, at a little above a gigabit of data and they are limited only to the Gamecube's proprietary disk drive.

Thusly, the Gamecube remains solely a gaming machine with no other uses. This is displayed through a barren system interface that only features a few options, such as screen adjustments and some other barebones features. Luckily however, the Gamecube doesn't suffer from long load times due to the speed of the disk-drive and the size of the disks. Finally, the Gamecube does not come with a modem, it must be bought separately, granted it's not an easy find.

Controls: 9/10

The Gamecube features a great controller. It supports force feedback and has an excellent button layout for most games. I've had minor problems playing Vs. fighters with it due to the clutter of some of the keys and the fact that the D-Pad is absurdly small, but other then that, the controller pretty much rocks.

Games: 5/10

For a console this pure, and without any extra features, the Gamecube ironically really lacks in the only thing do: Games. A few things must be set straight before I start weaving the tale of the Gamecube's software selection: I did not start gaming by playing with my NES. Hell no! The first and fondest gaming memories I have are of me playing Doom in a 3-4 PC LAN party. My tastes are skewed towards more PC-like games and my tendencies are towards games that are complex and require thinking and logic. Needless to say, that, sans a few examples the Gamecube is totally lacking in said department of games.

Generally speaking however, Nintendo games tend to be highly overrated and most gamers put the emphasis on the characters of the games, rather than the gameplay: This is a complete and utter mistake as, despite their popularity, Nintendo's characters do not make the game. Thusly I come to one dreadful conclusion: Out of my whole GC experience I enjoyed 2 Nintendo made games: Pikmin and Metroid Prime.

Both the Pikmin and the Metroid Prime series represent Nintendo games on a higher level. The classical Nintendo ''push forward, stop when you find monster, attack''-routine is almost absent here and the atmosphere and “feeling” that these games emanate are astounding. Having war tropical ooze blown onto Samus' visor during a heated exploratory sequence in Metroid Prime or enjoying the softer touches of controlling a bunch of plant-like-things through the body of an astronaut during one of Pikmin's original missions make for some of the best adventures in this generation of consoles. It comes as to no surprise that these four pieces du resistance make great additions to the console's library. Once these four games are consumed, the Gamecube comes back to a seriously unfortunate reality: Every other Nintendo game has one or more fatal flaws.

Nintendo's other revered series, such as the Zelda games, including the famous Zelda: OOT have serious problems and lack any defining complexity making them into nothing more than simple platformers with light adventure elements. The graphics in both Windwaker, and the upcoming Zelda game are truly spectacular, but they cannot compensate for the lack of such basics as voice acting and level diversity. Kirby and Mario have fallen like a nuclear bomb since their last entries on the SNES. Mario Sunshine turns out to be a platformer that is lost in time featuring hardly any serious attempts at doing anything new for the genre. Kirby's Air Ride is a complete disaster from so many points that, it comes to no surprise, that it is the only console-entry of the pink mascot.

Nintendo's other new and resurrected games don't stand out as negatively, but just simply fall short of what is expected from the amount of hype and praise that they are give: Animal Crossing is just an updated take on The Sims, but with a little bit more humor and weird animal-like-things. Star Fox Adventures was nice, and so was Eternal Darkness but neither of those was exactly awe inspiring in the Half-Life or Age of Empires way and both featured show-stopping bugs or game wrecking problems.

The Gamecube's 3rd party support can really be summed up in only one word: Capcom. The Japanese gaming giant gave Nintendo some of the best games this generation, including Viewtiful Joe, Resident Evil: REmake, and Resident Evil 4. Aside from those few titles the Gamecube enjoys only paltry support from Konami, with their Metal Gear Solid remake and Namco with their Baten Kaitos RPG-series. Otherwise, the 3rd party situation on the Gamecube is appalling: The only sports games are EA's, 3rd party exclusives for the console are a forgotten dream and the Gamecube STILL doesn't have any decent racing games or FPSes.

Speaking of genre-discrepancies, the Gamecube has serious lacks in the racing, FPS and sports genres, among many others. The lack of 3rd party support, and Nintendo's inability to create games the can cater for those genres means that the Cube has NO decent realistic racers after 5 years on the market! These flaws put gigantic dents in the Gamecube's software line-up and make it the weakest line-up this generation.

However the Gamecube is saved by what is perhaps the most unlikely savior: The RE games which are masterfully made and they pretty much justify the purchase of a Gamecube. Despite the fact that one of these games is a rehash with little insight in the story, the other two games, Resident Evil: Zero and Resident Evil 4, make for pure gaming bliss. The mastery of Resident Evil 4 and the innovative co-op techniques used in Resident Evil: Zero are worth the price of admissions, let alone the fact that both of these games have some of the best stories in gaming history.

The GC's offerings are by large disappointing however: All these games are not ''too childish'' because of their cute animated characters and jolly fat plumbers but because they're so simple that an adult PC gamer or a modern console gamer, won't enjoy more the 5-6 games of the whole repertoire.

Multiplayer: 2/10

The GC really takes one in the shin in this category. The online multiplayer is disastrous. The only available games (officially) are the Phantasy Star Onlines, which are games that came out, and were played to death, on the Dreamcast until early 2004. PSO is also a game available on better platforms, with better graphics, load times, and better online interfaces.

The chance to see the GC's multiplayer improving too much over the following years is completely unlikely, not only since the CEO of Nintendo seems to think that the future of gaming relies on hitting the X button a billion times against some randomly generated AI monster, but because the console is heading towards the last stretch of its life.

The GC could be considered a great party console since many of its games offer 4-screen multiplayer. The console also comes with 4 controller ports so a Multi-Tap is not needed. The only problem is finding 3 other people willing to play Mario Kart: Double Dash with you. Mind you, if you're in the typical console-gaming age group, this is no easy task.

Value: 6/10

The Gamecube is the cheapest console, but it also comes with the least functionality.

Neither DVD-Player, nor any types of music playing capabilities are offered. You won't be adding DVD-Play or MP3 play with a modchip any time soon since the patented Mini-Discs are used only on the Cube.

The fact that you may need more then 1 memory card also doesn't help then deal in any way. Cards range from 10-20 dollars, with the 20 dollar ones being the good kind (they have about 259 blocks, 5 times more then the standard ones).

To top it all off, Nintendo: Player Choice games (the GH version of GC games) are $30. Both ''GH'' games on the Xbox and PS2 are $20.

Overall: 6/10

The last Nintendo console I bought was the NES back in 1995: It was a great little thing, mind you. It never, ever replaced my PC but it was fun; the games were great and it had just about everything a console should have. Sadly the same joy was nowhere to be seen when playing the Gamecube. After spending somewhere in the $400 area on the GC it's now gathering dust in a damp corner of my room, awaiting a monumental change from the system's last great game: Zelda: The Twilight Princess.

The GC may be a good choice for those who love Nintendo, are young, or have money to spare, other wise, buy a PS2 or Xbox. There's simply a much better chance that you'll find something to satisfy your gaming tastes.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/26/04, Updated 11/28/05