• Tag Archives Gamecube

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly (July 2001)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

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    Source: Electronic Gaming Monthly – Issue Number 144 – July 2001

    For a long time, Electronic Gaming Monthly was the most popular video games magazine around. It was one of the better ones too. By 2001 they were probably already past their peak (at least in terms of page count) but there were a ton of systems to cover. The July 2001 issue includes:

    Features

      • Game Boy Advances – Here it is: The ultimate guide to Nintendo’s ultimate handheld. We do the usual stuff, such as review the launch games and preview everything else. But, whazzat? You say you wanna know which battery brand lasts longest? How much abuse the system can take? Which multiplayer games are worth getting? We answer all that and more…
      • EGM’s Summer Double-Feature Feature – The billion-buck movie and games bizes are colliding in a big way this summer, so we trekked to the sets of Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy to see if game flicks will finally be any good.
      • Driving Gran Turismo 3 – It seems like years since we first saw the early GT3 demos running, but now we’re ready to kick the tires and light the fires with the Japanese release. Wana know what’s new? Wondering what other card Polyphony shoehorned into the game at the last minute? We tell all this issue.
      • Crazy Taxi 2 – Ever get the urge to haul a carload of mimes across town? Then don’t bathe for a week, don your cabby cap, and take a look at this super Dreamcast sequel.
      • Twisted Metal: Black – The original creators of the franchise were tired of watching their brainchild go down the tubes, so they got the gang back together to right what was wrong. The end result? The sickest, most demented edition to the franchise ever.

    Departments

      • Editorial
      • Letters
      • Press Start / News – Sure, we have new shots of Rogue Squadron II for GameCube, but more importantly, we answer: Where’d Pac-Man come from? What’s with Harry Potter games? And, why in the heck is Syphon Filter 3 on PS1?
      • Gossip
      • Previews – It’s summer, so get ready for the deluge of blockbusters. Read all about Phantasy Star Online Ver.2, Twisted Metal: Black, Gran Turismo 3, Crazy Taxi 2, Shrek and Final Fantasy Chronicles. Also: old games made new: Crazy Taxi and Half-Life for PS2. And, oh yeah, Animal Forest for N64.
      • Review Crew – The world of PS2 is looking up with titles like Dark Cloud and Red Faction. Check out our reviews, as well as those of DC’s Pro Trucker, Confidential Mission and N64’s Dr. Mario 64, Mario Party 3.
      • Tricks
    • The Final Word – You’ve read the Advance feature, saw the previews and reviews. But what do we really think? Read our enlightening jibber-jabber to find out whether we think the Game Boy advanced enough.

    …and more!


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  • Vanessa Z. Schneider (P.N.03)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

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    Source: Girls of Gaming – Volume 1 – – Vanessa Z. Schneider (P.N.03)

    P.N.03 is perhaps one of Capcom’s more obscure games. However, that obscurity comes from the fact that this title was released exclusively on the GameCube and was not one of Capcom’s better games. P.N.03 was released in 2003 and is short for Product Number Zero Three. It is more or less a fairly generic third person shooter and the plot bears at least a passing resemblance to I Robot (the Will Smith movie) with a little bit of Orphan Black thrown in. Though to be fair, this game preceded both.

    In P.N.03 you take the role of Vanessa Z. Schneider (pictured above from Girls of Gaming) who is hired by an unknown client to destroy the robots of Computerized Armament Management System that have run amok. Along the way Vanessa discovers a clone of herself and receives a message from her client who also appears to be a clone and the plot thickens. However, it doesn’t really go anywhere because that’s the end.

    Because of financial problems Capcom was having at the time, development for this game was rushed. The rather shallow plot is one of several problems with the game. Despite the intriguing sounding twists described above, the game is really just about blowing up robots, not that there is anything wrong with that. P.N.03 also had some odd gameplay mechanics like not being able to shoot while moving. There was also an emphasis on defensive action which seems a little odd when you are supposed to be destroying robots. At the end of the day, there was just too little variety and too much repetition. However, the gameplay may remind you of more classic arcade play, just with updated graphics.

    P.N.03 has never been re-released as far as I know. It was the first game of the “Capcom Five” which were five games that were originally supposed to be exclusive to the GameCube and introduce new intellectual property. Of those five games, one was cancelled and only P.N.03 remained exclusive to the GameCube. P.N.03 can still be had pretty cheaply. It may be one of those games destined to rise in price though as it never sold particularly well and despite its flaws, it really isn’t a bad game.





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  • Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (GameCube)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Eternal Darkness broadly speaking fits into the survival horror genre but is more of a psychological thriller than a b-movie style survival horror game. The game plays very much like the Resident Evil series but features a unique sanity meter. As the player is spotted by enemies, the meter increases. If it increases too far, changes occur in the game that reflect the player losing their grip on reality.

    The story centers on a young university student who returns to her family’s estate after her grandfather is murdered. With the police having no leads, she decides to investigate herself. Among other discoveries, she finds a secret room with strange artifacts including a book entitled ‘Tome of Eternal Darkness’. Then of course she reads it. The book reveals a long and rich history about an Eternal Darkness that threatens humanity. If she hadn’t decided to continue the fight, the game would have been a short one.

    Eternal Darkness was originally slated for the Nintendo 64 but was moved to the GameCube with the intent of it being a release title. It was released in June 2002. Despite the quality of the game and glowing reviews, the game sold relatively poorly. I don’t know the reason except that maybe a Nintendo system didn’t have the largest fan base of this genre of game. Eternal Darkness is still recognized as one of the best games on the GameCube or anywhere and any fan of the Resident Evil Series or of survival horror games in general should definitely check it out.

    Unfortunately, there has been no re-release of this game and while abortive attempts have been made at a couple of sequels they have all ended in failure. There is still some hope that a previously announced follow-up titled Shadow of the Eternals will eventually see the light of day. In the meantime, get your hands on a GameCube and Eternal Darkness and give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.

    Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (GameCube)

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/166590280168/teamlittleangels-ulyaoth-and-aligned-horrors-from





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