Review: GameCube offers great graphics and controlle

By DAVE GUSSOW
© St. Petersburg Times,
published November 19, 2001

Nintendo GameCube Price: $199 Dimensions: 4.3 by 5.9 by 6.3 inches Weight: 3.01 pounds Processor speed: 485 megahertz Number of games to be available at release: Nine, including Luigi’s Mansion, Pikmin, Super Monkey Ball, Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader. Special features: Nintendo plans to offer a broadband adapter in the future. -- New York Times

Mario the plumber has a new home, a tidy blue cube that packs a lot of power inside.

But before fans of the popular Nintendo game character get too excited about moving to the new GameCube system, they should know one important fact: Mario's old games won't work on the new machine.

That means people will not only pay for a new game system, they'll also have to get all new games if they want to use their favorites on the GameCube. It's not a minor point, considering that most games cost about $50.

On the plus side, players will be able to plug in the Game Boy Advance handheld system and use it as a controller, and some games expected next year will have action that takes place on both the big and little screens.

Those are among the considerations for gamers (and parents) thinking about a GameCube for the holidays. Another will be whether you can get your hands on one. And of course there's the biggest question of all: Does it live up to the hype?

We turned that last question over to two boys, my son and one of his friends who are both high school sophomores, and a girl, who is in the sixth grade, all of whom were eager to give it a try. They played two games, Luigi's Mansion and Wave Race Blue Storm.

They gave the highest marks to the graphics and the controller. The graphics eliminate jagged edges in the animation and have detail that they thought rivals the king of game consoles, Sony's PlayStation 2.

They described the controller as comfortable and a perfect size. They differed a bit on how easily players would pick up a feel for the controller, but they didn't seem to have substantial problems. The test unit had only one controller, so they couldn't try out multiple players.

The boys criticized the GameCube for having only two slots for memory cards to store games, particularly since the console can handle up to four players.

But it didn't diminish their enthusiasm. In particular, details in the wave action in Wave Race caught their eye. Maneuvering a jet ski through buoys and fighting wave action kept them riveted.

Battle for No. 2 Newcomers Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube will battle it out for second place behind game console champ Sony PlayStation 2 this holiday season. Review: GameCube offers great graphics and controlle Mario the plumber has a new home, a tidy blue cube that packs a lot of power inside. Review: Xbox provides plenty of eye candy, but will games hold up? The sun reflects off a car window. Squealing tires leave skid marks. A crash sends debris flying, and the damage shows on the car. And it's all in a video game.

Luigi's Mansion is a Ghostbuster-type game, with players searching for ghosts and Mario in a haunted mansion. One boy called it a blast, while the other shrugged because it wasn't the type of game he enjoys.

Our girl tester also loved the realistic waves in Wave Race. She thought Luigi's Mansion had great graphic effects -- with synchronized vibrations in the controller -- but wished there were more of a plot.

Overall, the testers liked the system. The boys seemed to be leaning toward Microsoft's Xbox, while the girl remains a Nintendo loyalist.

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