Let’s Play
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Let’s Play Every GameCube Game, Part 33
Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Team/Sega, 2005) I don’t think there was ever any doubt that I’d hate this game. It’s about a long-legged monster who speaks only in questions and burns the world before the first cutscene is even over. The camera is never pointing at what I want to see, the speed sections play…
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Let’s Play Every GameCube Game, Part 32
Rocket Power: Beach Bandits (Evolution Games/THQ, 2002) As you might imagine, it’s an attempt to cash in on the popularity of Tony Hawk games. The environments are mostly empty space and solid color textures, but I do appreciate the self-deprecating remarks your character says after failing a trick. This isn’t as bad as Disney Sports…
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Let’s Play Every GameCube Game, Part 31
RedCard 20-03 (Point of View/Midway, 2002) Midway’s take on soccer isn’t edgy at all except for not bothering to call fouls, and the announcers even take it mostly seriously. That said, “not bothering to call fouls” does not improve the sport, especially when the exception to that rule is that they do still call penalty…
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Let’s Play Every GameCube Game, Part 30
Power Rangers Dino Thunder (Pacific Coast Power & Light/THQ, 2004) This generic action game was developed by a studio that sounds like a utility company in disguise. It’s extremely boring, and letting me play as a giant dinosaur while also yelling at me if I step on cars is a strange combination for a children’s…
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Let’s Play Every GameCube Game, Part 29
Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II (Sonic Team/Sega, 2002) PSO is pretty famous as the first big console MMO, but it’s predictably not playable in 2021 when the servers are down and I don’t have a way of connecting it to the internet. There are private servers if you can solve the second problem,…
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Let’s Play Every GameCube Game, Part 28
One Piece: Grand Adventure (Ganbarion/Namco Bandai, 2006) I thought this was going to be a sort of open world game, but it’s anime, so it legally has to be a 1v1 fighter. This one is at least a little different by having 3D arenas a la Soul Calibur. Interestingly, it did not release in Japan,…
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Let’s Play Every GameCube Game, Part 27
NFL Street 2 (EA Tiburon/EA Sports BIG, 2004) There are a bunch of extra modes and the UI is pretty radically different, but the game underneath it all seems pretty close to the same. They keep the menu music going into the game now, so you better like Sum 41. There’s no escaping them. NHL…
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Let’s Play Every GameCube Game, Part 26
NCAA Football 2003 (EA Sports, 2002) It’s Madden but in college now. I’m really not sure what the point of this game is if it doesn’t even have player names in it. Was anyone desperate enough to play football as the 2003 Fresno State Football Men (probably their team name, I don’t know) that they…
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Let’s Play Every GameCube Game, Part 25
NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup (EA Tiburon/EA Sports, 2004) You might notice that this screenshot is not a NASCAR race, and that’s because this game opens with a regular street race. That’s a strange choice since NASCAR famously takes place on incredibly boring oval tracks, meaning that the game opens with a tutorial with…
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Let’s Play Every GameCube Game, Part 24
Mortal Kombat: Deception (Midway, 2005) I still don’t want to play the proper game, but chess seemed different enough, so here’s that. It sure is chess. Mr. Driller Drill Land (Project Driller/Namco, 2002) A puzzle game where you drill colored blocks and try to reach treasure/the bottom without getting crushed by the cave-ins you cause.…