MSR
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/MetropolisStreetRacerBox.jpg/250px-MetropolisStreetRacerBox.jpg&hash=da0b3eb6f4f56111a3c8543f966614c9
/proxy.php?image=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8XqkKZl0UEk/hqdefault.jpg&hash=4112cfad77f19bd6a4f29ce65d87e73d
Wow racing games had come a long way since the likes of Out Run and Chase HQ on my Mega Drive!!!! This was my first taste of real car sims. I had missed Gran Turismo on the Playstation as I was never really a fan of having loads of different cars and doing loads of things to level up the game. I wanted to get in the car and race other cars. This game did that. You had 3 great locations which changed with each race. You got in and drove the car, earned Kudos for wins and style and levelled up to get better cars to handle the increasing difficulty of the tracks. At the time and even now it looks very good, the detail that went into the locations is amazing and it was the first time that i had played a game that showed off a real world environment that actually looked real, and the added touch of the time linking to the inbuild clock on your Dreamcast added more fun. A great game that didn't sell that well but should have been seen and played by more people.
Crazy Taxi
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/75/CrazyTaxi_cover.png/256px-CrazyTaxi_cover.png&hash=b7b41525dd63b014197c406868220665
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/35/CrazyTaxi_gameplay.jpg/220px-CrazyTaxi_gameplay.jpg&hash=94aebff4309d7f1d914f9615f21ec2c5
Over the years I have loved a bit of time wasted at the local bowling alley arcade which usually had all the latest and greatest games. Sega were always coming up with great arcade games, after Sonic it was what they did best. The Dreamcast was a system that had been designed to port these arcade games to the home console and look as close as possible to the arcade game. In years gone by arcade games had always looked better, this changed with the Dreamcast. One of the most fun games around this time was Crazy Taxi, when it was release on the Dreamcast I picked it up straight away. What is more fun that rampaging around a city as a Taxi driver, picking people up and then having a time limit to drop them off. The idea is so simple that it amazes me no one had though of it before for a game. And the game had added fun because it wasn't totally realistic but played on a cartoon style to increase the fun, the soundtrack was great too. You don't see many games these days that are fun games, which are colourful, such a shame this was Sega at its best but it wouldn't last!!!!
Retro
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/32/Super_Mario_World_Coverart.png/250px-Super_Mario_World_Coverart.png&hash=4f87b5954d36238cac619396900f2729
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/21/The_Legend_of_Zelda_A_Link_to_the_Past_SNES_Game_Cover.jpg/250px-The_Legend_of_Zelda_A_Link_to_the_Past_SNES_Game_Cover.jpg&hash=152cd8439781f1ff53fcab05b7edf8ef
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/ca/Virtuacop.jpg/256px-Virtuacop.jpg&hash=fdf7f9bdf6a667363b7a8b9163d9f03d
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b9/Micro_Machines_logo.png/250px-Micro_Machines_logo.png&hash=331449f245020ad10a3673d27cc6a654
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cc/Desert_Strike_-_Return_to_the_Gulf_Coverart.png&hash=513dd7166114cf4fd68a5fa7661c41f1
At this point I had left uni and returned home for a short time and got a temp job(bad times). Money was short and the current gen of consoles didn't really excite me. At this point I think it was PS2, Dreamcast, XBOX and maybe just released GameCube. All these consoles at that time were just a little to expensive and all were new so had poor software libraries. So I started hunting on ebay for second hand games consoles. First up was my very loved SNES that I really missed, think i picked one up for about £25 and then got loads of the games I had before for about £5 each. Blasting through Super Mario World and Zelda again was great and I got a real love for 2D games at that time which has never left me. Next up I picked up a SEGA Saturn again for about £30 with some games and two light guns. Having never owned the console I found it very interesting and spent a lot of time playing Virtual Cop 1 and 2 and Virtual Fighter. Next up was a Mega Drive, £30 with a couple of games it was bargain central and gave me some great times playing Micro Machines and Desert Strike. A few years later I also got an N64 again just to replay some games.This was all before retro gaming became cool and prices of some items have got way out of control!!!!!!!!!!
Star Wars - Rogue Squadron 2 - Rogue Leader
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/26/Rogue_squadron_2_Box.jpg/250px-Rogue_squadron_2_Box.jpg&hash=78967276f53209227a08a2488dd93bf7
/proxy.php?image=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Dqd3XJakRaE/maxresdefault.jpg&hash=f2ac81e1d45e1fc73fb0691a7e37b10d
Wow, come on this game still looks amazing even now some 15 years after it was released (although it looks like it might be surpassed by Star Wars Battlefront II). So xmas 2002 rolled around and I asked my other half if she would be so kind as to buy me a shiny new Gamecube. At the time the Gamecube had been out since May and had a price cut ready for xmas. I think it was about £150, much lower than the PS2 or XBOX and it had this game. Been a huge Star Wars fan this game sold me on buying a Gamecube, I didn't care if any other games ever came out that I wanted this was all I needed. I mean come on it looks like you are flying an X-Wing into battle a Death Star from Return of the Jedi!!!!! Overall the game isn't the best apart from the visuals and the fact that you go into the classic battles from the original trilogy. Its very repetitive and does become a little boring. I also fell in love with the Gamecube controller, it really is one of the best, so comfortable to hold for long periods and the button layout is spot on, the D-pad and c stick could have been a bit larger but I will let it off as they were hardly used anyway. Star Wars sold me on a console and looking back I'm glad it did as the Gamecube is one of my fav consoles. I have a feeling the current Star Wars game to be released will also make me buy a new PS4, god damn you Star Wars for making me shell out my hard earned cash!!!!!!
Resident Evil
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ab/Resident_Evil_2002_cover.jpg/250px-Resident_Evil_2002_cover.jpg&hash=d35194e299da4d4c06e19bb22eb78be6
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e4/Resident_Evil_GCN_remake.png/240px-Resident_Evil_GCN_remake.png&hash=225466f71335d6bf4d99b306f3e7ccbc
Having missed this game first time around on the Playstation I picked it up second hand on the GameCube. This version had enhanced graphics for the GameCube. I'm glad I did pick it up as its one of the scarcest games I have ever played. It's best enjoyed on a dark night with all the lights off!!!!! The way things jump out at you is just like watching a horror film, the game is all about the atmosphere. The dogs got me every time. I was also a fan of the fixed point camera system as it was different to most games at the time which had movable cameras. It all added to the effect of making you feel like you were in a horror film. The game has many elements to it, puzzle solving, action shooter and stealth sections all play the part to make it a fresh challenge all the way through the game. Its a shame the series lost its way in recent times as it had such a good start.
Super Smash Bros Melee
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/75/Super_Smash_Bros_Melee_box_art.png&hash=5332c32673b214f47f9587454553291d
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bd/SpecialMelee.jpg/220px-SpecialMelee.jpg&hash=714f505c3744ef71d2793a07ddd8dc8e
I never had Super Smash Bros on the N64 and to be honest didn't know that much about it when it first came out on the Gamecube. But I liked the look of it and have always been a fan of beat em ups so thought I would give Nintendo's version a go. I'm glad I did its such a fun game but mixes up the beat em up's of old to allow children to play. It must have been the first 4 player beat em up I have owned and a group of mates round and this is a blast for hours. There is nothing better than having Mario, DK, Link and Kirby go at it in a crossover game which most kids would have argued about at one time. "Mario would kick Links ass", well now you could do just that. The single player is a bit dull but then they usually are in beat em ups, this game is all about multi-player!!!
Super Mario Sunshine
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/78/Super_mario_sunshine.jpg&hash=7af8ba3c9d2ef958eac21e49bcc25a0b
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/28/Hover_Nozzle.jpg/220px-Hover_Nozzle.jpg&hash=8f9fe5170bfcabec801c80351d956164
Every Nintendo console has its Mario game and I was hooked since Super Mario World so I get everyone that is released. This game doesn't different to much to Super Mario 64 in that you have a central world with levels off, in each level you collect Shine Sprites (stars) to unlock new levels to get to the end boss. There is nothing wrong with that and lets be honest Super Mario 64's graphics have aged very badly, were as Super Mario Sunshine still looks very good. There are good bits and bad bits to the game however. The holiday setting is just rubbish and the stupid people walking around just look weird on every level. And the story is a none starter, Mario has to clean an island!!!!! The FLUDD starts off as a great addition and the graphics at the time for the water were amazing but after a while it starts to get a bit boring and you just want to run and jump and throw fireballs! I do like the side levels were you don't use FLUDD but if I remember these were very hard. The game had a hard act to follow with Super Mario 64 and I had hours of fun with the game, I think it will go down as one of the lesser loved Mario games.
Mario Kart Double Dash
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/78/Mario_Kart_Double_Dash.jpg/250px-Mario_Kart_Double_Dash.jpg&hash=fd70926be81b2daafef518b10bd341bf
/proxy.php?image=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c9/Slide-Attack.png/220px-Slide-Attack.png&hash=904981a6fdf018407363e504c23e0339
Having missed Mario Kart 64 this game was an easy pickup for the GameCube. The graphics were much improved over the N64 game which was a big help and it seemed they had put more speed and combat back into the game this time round. The 2 characters on a Kart is a waste of time and just a gimmick as it doesn't really matter who you choose. The introduction of different Karts is a welcome and adds variety. Its all in the tracks though and there is some great ones in this game, one that comes to mind is DK Mountain which I love as its a down hill run with loads of places to bash people of the track. And the multi-player as ever is a blast both on the tracks and in Battle mode. Nintendo are the masters of great family games and Mario Kart is king of that, all the family can play this game and have fun.