Good Gamecube games

[zero]

You say that Spiderman 2 is linear. How is XML not linear? At least with Spiderman 2 you can free roam around the city, and do side missions (kind of like GTA). XML is linear in every sense of the word.  True, XML may be longer, but that's because it has pretty generic, boring worlds. Spiderman 2 has fewer, but more varied, missions.

I never said X-Men wasn't linear, but it doesn't hurt it like it does Spidey. Spider-Man's free roaming is a great time, for about 15 minutes. The webslinging is absolutely awesome, and it was enough to fool me into buying the game. However, there is nothing else there, the side missions (like pizza delivery) may be like GTA, but that's about the end of the similarities. SM2 takes maybe 10% of GTA's sidequests, put them in a giant world map and then calls it a day.

Look at it this way: on SD, you can jump on a car to stop robbers, swing after fleeing enemies through the city, fight a giant Mysterio high above the city buildings... what do you do in XML? Walk through like 20 levels that are all basically corridor mazes with different graphics, beating wave after wave of bad guy.

Let's take a look at one of the greatest games of the year so far, God of War. In between puzzles, it's pretty much beating wave after wave of bad guy. Now, XML is not quite as good as God of War, but tossing in the multiplayer element and the player customization makes it pretty damn close.

That's what got to me, anyways. With SD2 I felt like I had to figure stuff out, strategies and such. XML was always pretty easy: pound on Cyclops' eye beam, and hit the potion button when you need it.

That's really the only complaint I have about XML, it was pretty easy barring the last fight which was just insane. But Spider-Man 2 was insanely easy... until the last fight, adding that to an incredibly short game is just inexcusable.

I found the graphics in XML to be pretty weak. I got the impression they were trying to do a cartoon, cel shaded type style, but it came off flat to me. SD2 kills XML in the graphics department.

Agreed, unfortunately deep graphics don't salvage a shallow game.

I wasn't that impressed with the customization in XML. A lot of the skills I never used (Charging up objects with Jubilee & Gambit is one that comes to mind). Sure, you can upgrade stats, but that doesn't make beating wave after wave of enemy more fun... unless you're really, really into stat building. I'm not.

Beating wave after wave of enemies can be fun... it just depends on the game and how it's executed. I felt it was executed very well in XML. Spider-Man's combat was also really cool, but again, the game was over before I knew it and I didn't need to save the sinking boat another twenty times.

Well, I'm done ranting. Pick lots of holes in my argument, I bet they're there haha. I'm just bitter with XML - I was hoping for something different.

What would you have done differently to fix X-Men Legends?

[triplexpac]

I never said X-Men wasn't linear, but it doesn't hurt it like it does Spidey. Spider-Man's free roaming is a great time, for about 15 minutes. The webslinging is absolutely awesome, and it was enough to fool me into buying the game. However, there is nothing else there, the side missions (like pizza delivery) may be like GTA, but that's about the end of the similarities. SM2 takes maybe 10% of GTA's sidequests, put them in a giant world map and then calls it a day.

[zero]

I would have tried balancing out the characters more too. I found my Cyclops/Storm/Colossus combo was unbeatable. Storms Lightning power eventually got so powerful it could wipe out all the guys on the screen with one hit. Other characters tended to be useless... or at least, I couldn't find a use for them.

I'm honestly having a hard time figuring out how to say what I want improved in XML. I was just let down overall. Ever have that feeling with a game?

That's what I loved about the game though, it's different every time you play it. You have the Cyclops/Storm/Colossus team, I had a kickass team of Wolverine, Psylocke, Iceman, and Cyclops. But sometimes, it was the awesome team of Wolvie, Gambit, Rogue, and Jean Grey. I loved making new teams, although their powers were often similar to other characters, I'll agree there.

And I get that letdown feeling from games all the time, Spider-Man 2 comes to mind.

[triplexpac]

And I get that letdown feeling from games all the time, Spider-Man 2 comes to mind. 

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[KussenKDogg2]

There's standard kill each other type stuff, like Halo 2, only the levels are cooler, and tailor differently to Samus's abilities, like a giant ball you can use the spider ball attachment on. Then there's bounty hunter mode, and that's fun, but it lasts forever. Basically, you fight to reach a certain amount of money first, but when you die, you lose a bunch, and stuff. Yeah, it's fun, don't buy the game for the multiplayer though, cause it can get stale...

[Vilge Duin]

Me and my girlfriend got a Cube a couple months back (along with a Gameboy Advance SP) simply for some multiplayer goodness. So just my random thoughts on some games...

I've become absolutely addicted to Time Splitters: Future Perfect. The game has everything I'd want from a FPS. I've found nothing more fun than getting a game full of undead monkeys where the only weapons are bricks. It can be tedious in places, but I personally think the varied weapons and outrageous characters (anything ranging from a duck, a dead cow, the gingerbread man, robots, badass marines, etc.) make it a riot to play. It has it's problems but a damn good game.

Smash Bros Melee had me playing for 20+ hours over the first week we got it in every spare moment of my free time. I'm still playing it. There's so much customization in the game and in what you can come up with. For example me and my girlfriend just had a timed match against Bowser and we were Mario and Luigi, just to see who'd get more knock outs on him. Alas we both got whooped but still fun.

A game not mentioned, but still awesome in its own right is Pikmin 2. The multiplayer side consists of challenges and battle mode. The challenges are essentially like the single player game, but more specific, and battle mode is as its name implies. You both get a bunch of pikmin and have at it. It's not the most serious game but hey, I think it's charming and a decent relaxing play.

She also picked up Super Monkey Ball 2, and I have to say it's not my thing but I've had fun with it. The main game is just like the old puzzler Marble Madness, but it has a shitload of multiplayer modes. Some good, some not. Pool, Tennis (almost as good as Mario Tennis), racing, monkey boxing, a shooting game, baseball, bowling, etc. It's fun for what it is.

I personally found Mario Kart Double Dash dull and uninspiring. It seemed dumbed down. It was slower, the jump ability was taken out and the courses were even more ridiculously short than they were before. It's a continuation in the vein of Mario Kart 64. It's just boring. I went through every track in the span of an hour and I had almost every single thing unlocked (and nothing interesting I must add) in a few more. We got it with our Cube and promptly sold it for cash towards Melee.

X-Men Legends for the PS2 was pretty damn good, although deciding who's gonna be who is a bit taxing. I've been thinking about picking it up for the Cube again. We didn't get too far unfortunately.

And I'd warn against picking up Mario Party even though you already have ordered it. Unless four people are playing at once, it can turn into the most unmitigated and blatently boring few hours of your life for a "short" game. It can be fun... I just think it isn't. Doesn't have that instant gratification other games have, the minigames are too short in a lot of cases (although in its defence some are great), and the downtime between the minigames drags on. Especially if even one computer player is involved.