Gamecube Playage!
Yes, I finally had the opportunity to play the Gamecube this weekend at Toys ‘R Us, and my first impressions on the system were excellent.
The controller was the best part of the Gamecube experience, besides the games. The controller conforms to your hands perfectly, and you instantly know where every button is, except for the X and Y buttons, which take a bit of getting used to. The Z button was not a problem at are, so you can dismiss any second thoughts of the Z button being awkward to reach. Yes, it could have been placed better, but you can still reach it fine and dandy. I’m more used to a higher analog stick, and the Start/Select buttons were really small. Some buttons felt a bit cheap and sticky, but then again, the controller needs to get worked in.
The Gamecube games were good, but not groundbreaking or incredible like Mario 64 was to the Nintendo 64. I felt like I was playing updated games, especially with Wave Race. It felt like I’ve seen it and experienced it before. Luigi’s Mansion didn’t feel like a true plat former, and it didn’t offer much to me in terms of ingenuity and gameplay. Rogue Squadron was completely different, however. This is the game that’s meant for a launch title. I could only play the training level, but from the way my Millennium Falcon controlled to the guns turrets shooting, I know I’ll be in for a blast when I purchase the game. If it wasn’t for RS2, my Gamecube Games score would have been much lower.
The Gamecube design is great. It’s compact and makes no noise at all! The first time you look at it, it seems like it can hardly crank out the frames, but after playing a couple of games, I started to wonder what was actually in the system that made it run so smoothly.
The controller is exceptional, and the Gamecube design is great, but the launch games could have been more intuitive and more groundbreaking, instead of just rehashing classics. I’ll be overjoyed when Metriod, Zelda, and Mario come through, and then I will have a reason for owning a Gamecube.