"The GameCube is NOT childish, and I am going to show you why..."

In the beginning, Nintendo had made themselves famous with the Super Mario Bros. series, and the Nintendo Famicom. Since then, they have been known as videogame giants, and it's hard to come by somebody who's never heard of the word ''Nintendo'' before.

Almost everybody owns at least one ''Nintendo'' console or portable. In fact, if it weren't for Sony, they would practically be dominating the entire industry with ease! Here, today, they have created a wonderful new machine, a system called the Nintendo GameCube. A work of art, I must say. Although it's only a small box on the outside, it's actually an impressive console on the inside. Don't judge by its looks, because once you get GameCube, you'll be wowed by its incredible graphics, amazing sound, and an outstanding library of videogames on the line. You might think that the GameCube is for ''childish'' people, but believe me...I own a GameCube, and I am certainly not a child.

Now, let us go on...from the vegetables to the meat of this review. I am going to show you what the GameCube really is. I am not a Nintendo fanboy (considering I do actually own a Playstation), but I support Nintendo, and by doing so, I hope that every one of you will understand the true meaning of videogames, and how even ''kiddy'' games can provide good entertainment to gamers of all ages. Enough talk! Let's move on...

GRAPHICS: 10

Yes! Yes! A ten out of ten! The graphics on the GameCube are simply incredible! It's not as good as the ones on Xbox, but it's still pretty good. The GameCube beats the PS2 in this category. I mean, just look at them! In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the characters are well animated and everything is polished with extreme effort. The polygons in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle are also quite good. Another good example is Metroid Prime. Everything is shaded, and the models look like they've been put into work for hours and hours. Water and liquid is animated nicely and it shows that in Super Mario Sunshine, where you can actually see water as if it was in reality.

Next up, is sound capabilities...

SOUND: 10

Beautiful. Just beautiful. The audio is almost perfect. You can hear awesome sound effects and high quality music (usage of a lot of orchestral instruments). Good examples of games with excellent sound are Mega Man: Network Transmission, Metroid Prime, Super Smash Brothers Melee, and Sonic Heroes. In Mega Man: Network Transmission, the music has a lot of variety in it, as well as the many sound effects used for the game. Super Smash Brothers Melee is no different, and in Sonic Heroes some of the tunes even have vocals in it! See? The GameCube has incredible audio capabilities, and I'm sure you'll agree.

CONTROLLER: 10 (Wish I could give that 11...)

Yes! Another score! The GameCube controller is, by far, the best there is. It's not like that uncomfortable ''thing'' the Xbox used. This controller is truely a work of art...a masterpiece! It is perfect, and fits right into your hands! It features a lot of buttons. The A and B button are placed on the right, as well as the X and Y buttons and the C-stick, which your thumb can take care of. The analog control stick is on the left, and your left thumb can handle that. The D-pad is located below the analog control stick, and the start button is placed in the very center. Neat, huh? And if that wasn't enough, there's also the L and R buttons on the top (man, don't they come useful?) as well as the Z button. The controller is way better than the one for the N64, in terms of comfort and layout.

LOADING & SAVING: 10

I can't help but give a 10 in this category. The loading times on the GameCube are way faster than the Xbox or PS2. They take merely a few seconds, and most of the time they don't provide much of a distraction. As for saving, you use memory cards. That's right, memory cards. There are two slots: A and B. More expensive memory cards can hold up to 250 MB!! The Xbox used a hard drive to save games, which really sucks. Saving time on the GameCube doesn't take long, only a few seconds, like loading time.

GAME SELECTION: 8

Ah, this is it. This is where the GameCube does best. Although the library of games isn't as impressive as the PS2 or Xbox (in terms of quantity), there are still a TON of great games to play. You might call the GameCube kiddy, but you're WRONG. The GameCube is not kiddy, mark my words. I'm not just saying this because I support Nintendo, either. Even if some of the games are ''childish'', it doesn't mean that they aren't fun to play! Who cares if your friends laugh at you? It's having fun playing the game that counts. The library of games, as I had mentioned previously, is extremely good. Just take a look if you don't believe me:

ACTION GAMES - Oh no, you might be thinking. Not more kiddy games! Tell you what...the games here are NOT kiddy! Just look at Sonic Adventure 2: Battle or Sonic Heroes! There's also Metroid Prime (man I love that game), StarFox Adventures, Super Monkey Ball, and Super Mario Sunshine to keep you busy. What else can you ask for? Resident Evil is here, as well as Eternal Darkness to back-up the console. There are lots more, but here they are, the action games. Get 'em while they're hot!

FIGHTING GAMES - HAHAHAHAHA!! Here, your best bet is either Super Smash Bros. Melee or Soul Calibur II, best fighting games around. Sure, Soul Calibur II is on the PS2 and Xbox, but you get to play as Link (from the Legend of Zelda) in the Gamecube version! Now that really spices things up!

SPORTS GAMES - There aren't a lot of sports games out right now, but there's still Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Madden NFL 2002, and All-Star Baseball 2004.

RPG GAMES - Oh yeah, baby. In this category, we have Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, and Animal Crossing!

PUZZLE/ARCADE GAMES - You gotta be kidding me. Mario Party 4 and 5 are great mascots in this category. With over 100 mini-games to play, they're bound to entertain even the most stubborn gamer! If that wasn't enough, there's also Tetris Worlds and Sonic Mega Collection to back things up.

That's pretty much it, all I'm going to tell you. Remember, it's not the amount of games they have, it's the quality of the games that matters the most. And no, this is no excuse either. Just play Super Smash Bros. Melee and ask questions later!

APPEARANCE/OTHER FEATURES: 10

The GameCube is the most compact console in this year's competition. It's a small box with four controller ports and two memory card slots. There's also online capabilities, and it's so easy to turn on the system! All you do is push the power button. As for the game discs, they're really small! However, size isn't everything, and so, even judging from how tiny those things are, the discs pack a big punch, and can surprise you with huge games like Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Monkey Ball 2. Aside from that, you can hook up the GameBoy Advance to the Nintendo GameCube! It seems useless at first, but for some games, you can unlock additional features by using that! The E-Reader also plays a part in the Nintendo GameCube, but I don't own one, so I can't tell you how.

CONCLUSION

Overall, the Nintendo GameCube is a great system. Not everyone knows it, and the console is overlooked mostly by supporters of Sony and Microsoft. I own a GameCube, and I'm not disappointed. For Super Smash Bros. Melee, you can invite friends over for hours of fun, and you'll spend loads of time trying to get all the emblems in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. Also, with the GameBoy Advance and everything, there's even more to do. Soon, they'll release even more games for this wonderful console, and then hopefully, people will finally understand why the GameCube is so great. The games aren't ''kiddy''. Nintendo may have made a lot of childish games in the past, but now, it's different. Lots of the games for the PS2 and Xbox are like the ones on the GameCube. And remember, it's not how other people think about the games...it's whether or not you, the gamer, enjoys it.

That's it, not get a GameCube. I guaranteed, 100%, that you won't regret it.

FINAL SCORE: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/29/04