Reviewed by CL on 9/14/2003
I have some mixed feelings about this console. The Gamecube is basically Nintendo's answer to Sony's Playstation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox. In terms of performance, it sits in between the two, its more powerful than the PS2 but not quite as quick as the Xbox.
The Gamecube is an excellent little package with blazing fast speed and amazing rendering abilities. It makes all the games on it really come to like and most of them are able to run at a nice 60 frames per second.
The mixed feelings that I have about this console basically come from its library of games. There are some absolutely amazing games on this system (Metroid Prime and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker), but that's about it. The system cannot compete with the PS2's extensive library of games. The other thing is that this system also has a kiddie connotation. This stems from the fact that a lot of the games are targeted towards a younger audience. This has always been Nintendo's selling point. They sell a family console that everybody can enjoy. This might turn away some of the more mature gamers and developers. However, it is important to realize that they indeed do have a lot of mature games (Eternal Darkness) that are suitable for an older audience.
The one thing that this system has that no other one has is the cool connectivity and accessory support. There are things like the GBA link cable and Gameboy player that add a lot of variety to the system.
Overall, I think that Nintendo has lost some of its luster from the NES and SNES days. The decline started with the N64 and seems to continue with the Gamecube. Not that it is a bad system, it's just the fact that once you’re done with Metroid Prime and the Wind Waker, I'm not sure how much more this system has to offer.
