GameCube - Nintendo GameCube - Indigo - Console Only

Nintendo fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief: StarFox Armada is here and the unpleasant memories of the disappointingly bland StarFox Adventures can be forgotten forever. The original StarFox game (called StarWing in the UK) was the first ever 3D console game and Nintendo’s reinterpretation of classic 2D shoot ‘em-ups like R-Type and Gradius. Instead of flying sedately from left to right across the screen though in StarFox you zap through gargantuan space armadas and over bizarre alien worlds in what is undoubtely the best Star Wars game never made. This long awaited sequel, developed by arcade masters Namco (creators of Soulcalibur and Air Combat) features even more of the same, with all the expected improvements in graphics and detail. However the main thrust of the game is the innumerate multiplayer modes with a four player co-operative mode where everyone can pilot their own fighter or simply sit on the wing of someone else’s and take pot-shots with a laser gun. When you’d prefer to hurt your friends rather than help them there’s also a full-featured deathmatch mode, where you get to run around on foot using sniper rifles and rocket launchers or climb aboard one of the various spacecraft and tanks that litter the arenas. This more open style of gameplay adds a whole new to dimension to the game, almost turning it into a kind of mini sci-fi version of Battlefield 1942. So forget about all that tedious object collecting from Rare’s unsung swansong and experience StarFox the way it’s mean to be. --David Jenkins

You never see a Mario Party game mentioned at the end of year award ceremonies. Nor do they ever seem to attain particularly high acclaim. Yet the clue here’s in the title: this is the sixth time Mario and chums have brought their unique blend of party gaming to a Nintendo console, and they just keep getting better and better. It’s best to think of Mario Party 6 as a computer-based board game. You sort-of-roll a dice, you move a number of spaces, and then you land on a square which could trigger an action, give you coins or take some away. Then, at the end of each round, the four players--and you can mix in human and computer-controlled opponents--join up for a mini-game to play for more coins. These mini-games can see everybody playing for themselves, or jumping into even or unevenly matched teams. There are dozens upon dozens to work through, each with simple rules yet they still manage to bring out most people’s competitive edge. A new initiative for this sixth game is a bundled microphone that makes some of the games voice controlled. It’s not a world-altering addition, more a neat evolution of an already enjoyable concept. And that last sentence ably sums up Mario Party 6. It’s great fun, especially with friends around, and there are enough game boards, mini-games and diverse in-game characters to make the game entire last for some time. There is an enjoyable single-player story mode too, which adds to the fun. Thus, whilst Mario Party 6 will, as with its predecessors, escape the fanfare and the awards, it’ll still rightly take its place as one of the most enjoyable, family-friendly games on the Game Cube to date. And given the amount crammed into it, it represents terrific value for money. Roll on number seven…--Simon Brew

If the world was a fair place then the name of SoulCalibur--peculiar spelling mistake and all--would be the most famous in beat-'em-up history. Unfortunately, though, the original arcade game was only converted to the Dreamcast (despite the prequel, Soul Blade, being on the PSone), thus dooming it to relative obscurity. SoulCalibur's brilliance is not due to any particularly innovative features--it could legitimately be described as simply Tekken with weapons. It's just that it does everything with more panache and imagination than the rest. Instead of awkward, staccato moves, SoulCalibur offers gloriously flowing, instinctive combos that often leaves you gasping at your own character's athleticism. Of course beat-'em-ups aren't known for their innovation and SoulCalibur II doesn't really deviate too far from its original premise of 16th century men and women hitting each other with a variety of swords, sticks and other meleé weapons. The whole tactical nature of the battles has been altered, though, to create a deeper game with blocks and counters now far more important and the glorious new animation system able to adapt each move depending on the direction and speed you're moving in. One point of true innovation in the original game was its unusually complex and rewarding single-player mode and this has been expanded for the sequel as you compete under a variety of different conditions to earn money and buy new weapons, costumes and extras. As an extra bonus to GameCube owners (the original arcade hardware uses Nintendo technology), Link from The Legend of Zelda is a playable character in this GameCube version. --David Jenkins

The promise of mature gaming on the GameCube finally comes from a top quality release courtesy of Nintendo itself. Get ready to shoot, jump and puzzle your way through Metroid Prime, the creepiest, coolest GameCube game yet. As difficult to pigeonhole as its predecessors, Metroid Prime is not, despite what the first person viewpoint might suggest, just a shoot-'em-up. Containing as much platform jumping and puzzle solving as shooting, the game is more like an action-based version of Zelda than any one-note Doom clone. As usual the game stars bounty hunter Samus Aran (perhaps gaming's only female character that isn't scantily clad) in her ongoing battle to contain the freaky jellyfish-like metroids. To do this she must explore and search every nook and cranny of the game world, not just for ways to uncover the plot but for upgrades to her super-cool armoured battle suit. These range from obvious things such as new weapons and gadgets like an infra-red visor to a grappling hook and the hugely satisfying morph ball, which allows you to turn into a giant metal ball bearing and explore previously inaccessible areas. Apart from its uniquely involving gameplay Metroid Prime also features some of the best graphics ever seen on a home console. What's more, they aren't just used in a soulless technical demo; they're used to create a creepy and totally immersive atmosphere unrivalled by any other title. As an added bonus, Metroid Prime connects to the Game Boy Advance title Metroid Fusion to unlock a hidden costume and the complete version of the original Metroid game for the NES. All in all, this is likely to be one of the best games you'll find for some time. -- David Jenkins

As Pikmin's stranded, miniature spaceperson Olimar, you must find the missing 30 parts your spaceship needs to get you back home; these parts are scattered across a forested area that is crowded with giant (when compared to our hero's size) animals and other hazards. Olimar stumbles across the part animal, part plant, all bizarre creatures he names Pikmin, and will have to learn how to lead the Pikmin around the forest as he uses the abilities of the different coloured creatures to overcome the many obstacles in his path. Learning when and how to make the best use of your Pikmin's skills and traits is the essence of the game. You can control up to 100 Pikmin at a time while figuring out which are best suited for a particular task. Some are better fighters, while others can survive in water or handle explosive bomb rocks. However, even the best Pikmin herder will have to sacrifice a few of the plant-headed beasts for the greater good. It's this constant need to refine and create strategies to minimise losses that makes Pikmin challenging and always fun. For a first generation GameCube title, the graphics, sounds, and music are fantastic and show an awesome amount of detail. Though it's no Pokémon, this game should an appeal to wide-eyed younger gamers as well as seasoned veterans. The controls are intuitive and feel perfect for the standard GameCube controller; however, learning to position the camera can be a tad frustrating during some of the more tense moments, as it has only a few magnification levels and needs constant adjustment. The biggest obstacle you face is time; you have only 30 days (each day is about 15 minutes in real time) in which to find the necessary parts. While this keeps the pace of the game up, some may find such limits to be somewhat frustrating, as it means there will be a lot of repetition and rethinking of strategy. It also means that diligent gamers may find Pikmin to be rather a short game. At the end of your gaming day, though, Pikmin is one of the best games the GameCube will have for quite some time. --Mark Brooks

Platforms: GameCube, ESRB Rating: Mature

It's often argued that they make the best video games in the world, but one thing Nintendo aren't renowned for is scary games. If you thought Luigi's Mansion was frightening then quite frankly you've led a sheltered life, because Eternal Darkness is the real deal: it's scary, it's gory and it's really not anything like Resident Evil at all. As the game starts you awake from a rather cool dream sequence to discover that your grandfather's had his clogs popped by some unspeakable monster of the night. While rummaging through his stuff (alone, at night, in his huge mansion, natch) you come across a jolly little hardback called the Tome of Eternal Darkness, and upon reading it you suddenly find yourself controlling a Roman centurion in Persia circa 26 BC. And this is how the game continues, with you finding and reading a passage of the book in the mansion and then controlling a series of 11 completely different characters over the course of two millennia. Apart from the innovative structure of the game, Eternal Darkness' other big selling point is the sanity effects--every time you see a monster and fail to kill it your sanity will drop. If it drops too far you start seeing things: flies walking along the inside of your telly, messages telling you your controller is unplugged when it clearly isn't and all sorts of other clever freakery. The game's not perfect, though; the combat is a little too fiddly and it's still not quite as scary as Silent Hill, but Eternal Darkness is an unusual and rewarding title that should finally shut up those annoying twerps that insist Nintendo only do games for kids.--David Jenkins

Fox McCloud is back, but he's left the on-the-rails shoot-'em-up larks of his previous two games behind--this all-new Star Fox adventure sees the super furry animal in a very Zelda-esque bid to save Dinosaur Planet. Star Fox Adventures is the first, and sadly last, GameCube game from Nintendo stalwarts Rare, who previously created such N64 classics as GoldenEye 007 and Conker's Bad Fur Day. It's their last game for the GameCube because Nintendo have recently sold their shares in the company to Microsoft, which has caused an unholy stink from fans around the world and created even more anticipation for this game. Although the control system is very similar to The Legend of Zelda's, Star Fox Adventures is no simple clone. It's your job as the mercenary mammal to find all the spellstones that will rejoin the splintered planet and defeat the evil General Scales. This entails much exploring of ancient temples and completing of sub-quests to help everything from Yorkshire-accented woolly mammoths to pterodactyls who've lost their babies. The game may lack the epic scale and endless invention of Zelda but it has plenty of new ideas of its own, including a fully interactive dinosaur sidekick, some cool shoot-'em-up sections in Fox's spaceship, and lots of ways to upgrade your magical staff. To add some icing to the cake the graphics are absolutely amazing, particularly the super-realistic fur effects. So don't feel down that Rare are leaving, just enjoy their parting shot and let it whet your appetite for the new Zelda game coming from Nintendo in 2003. --David Jenkins

It may have less cool than Fonzie after he jumped the shark, but Paper Mario is set to be remembered as one of the best GameCube games ever. Its immediate predecessor on the N64 suffered from a similar lack of street credibility but won people over with its gentle charm and unusual RPG style gameplay. The story in this new game involves Mario touring the whole of the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond to once again rescue Princess Peach. Little explanation is given for why all the characters in the game appear to be made of paper (it just looks cool!) but more is at least made of it in the gameplay this time, as Mario is able to fold himself up, origami style, to become a paper dart and other useful shapes. The combat sees Mario teaming up with a group of wild and wacky partners in a turn-based system that subverts the usual staid conventions of the genre by allowing you to inflict more damage, or defend against it, by timing a button press with the movement of the characters. However much fun this and the other sub-games are though the greatest joy with Paper Mario remains the witty dialogue and the fantastic graphics. In a world of under-designed blandness Mario’s unending series of bizarre characters – from a room full of hundreds of dry bones (skeletal koopa turtles) to a hilarious pastiche of Super Mario Bros. where you get to control Bowser this is pure Nintendo magic from beginning to end. --David Jenkins

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! has got to a lot to prove. The original Super Mario Kart on the SNES is still lauded by many as one of the best driving games--and one of the best multi-player games--ever made, but Mario Kart 64 had a less unanimous welcome. Thankfully, Double Dash!! has got everything right--indeed this is probably the best first-party sequel so far for the GameCube: the graphics are excellent, the power-ups are more insane than ever and most importantly the handling of the karts is excellent, with the powerslide of the SNES original all-important once more. The big new gimmick for Double Dash!! is the fact that there are customised karts for you to drive, all of which can seat two characters. This ensures a surprising amount of tactical depth as you can switch the characters around mid-race in order to access each one's unique special weapons. As ever with Nintendo games, the gameplay is perfectly balanced so that the use of power-ups never overshadows the need to be a skilful driver. Indeed, the improved AI of the computer players is immediately noticeable as they move around the tracks in a highly intelligent manner, moving out of your way and blocking you off when necessary. Of course the real draw with any Mario Kart game is the multi-player mode and this is as insanely enjoyable as ever in either race or battle mode. Indeed it's better than ever as you can now have up to 16 people playing at one time if you link up your GameCubes using broadband adapters. --David Jenkins