Eight years ago today Nintendo's Purple Purse that tried really hard was released.
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Warrior's Call

Back in 2001 when the GameCube launched it lacked a definitive killer-app to go up against Microsoft's formidable Halo and Sony's excellent line-up. But the GameCube's savior wasn't too far off as a mere two weeks after its launch Super Smash Bros. Melee was released. Melee not only stands tall as the GameCube's best game released in 2001, but for some folks it may even be the best multiplayer game available even today.

For most the real meat of the game comes through its insane multiplayer. The core gameplay is still based on the same model as the first game. Combat is relegated to two buttons and pressing the control stick in a different direction with that button will cause a different attack. There are other evasive moves and the combat requires a ton of strategy against skilled players but Melee is one of the best games of the 'easy to play hard to master' philosophy. There are twenty-five characters in all, and each set of characters has at least one level dedicated to them from their own universe. Add in items and the "oh snap, did you see that?" moments or only a second away.

While there is clearly a refinement in gameplay from one game to another in the series, the first thing to notice about Melee is just how much stuff there is to do for those that can't play multiplayer. The same CIassic Mode is back where you'll select a character and go through the stages though things are mixed up with a team composed of Mario characters, fifteen Kirbys all running rampant, giant Donkey Kong and more and the best part is that it's different each time you play. The other new modes also include Adventure, where your character will run on a 2D world attacking enemies as you advance from fight to fight. It presents a wonderful homage to each of Nintendo's various series and is well thought out. The third and possibly best single player addition comes in the form of Event Mode where there are fifty-one events to go through, each with the odds stacked against you and going up in difficulty with each stage. Some memorable bouts are to be found here. There are other modes as well scattered throughout, Cruel Melee comes to mind as one of the crazier modes, and there's no doubt that folks will find a good time playing alone.

The aesthetics in Melee hold up pretty well, they aren't quite as spectacular as Brawl or any recent titles, but it is easy on the eyes and the wonderful mishmash of levels from Nintendo history really help push the game forward. The music on the other hand is absolutely wonderful, coming with a few new tunes for Smash Bros. and a lot of remixed music from favorite franchises.

Back in the early days of the GameCube, Super Smash Bros. Melee was the game to have, and for some it's still the best available game on Nintendo's Purple Purse. It's a fantastic self-homage to the company's glory and a total blast to play either alone or with some friends. Melee may not be as wild as Brawl, but it is just as good.

Score

"It's a Me.... Oh...."

One of the major launch games for Nintendo's GameCube back in 2001 was Luigi's Mansion. Poor Luigi finally steps out of his brother's shadow to have an adventure of his own and while Luigi's Mansion may not be what you would expect, it is good old-fashioned fun!

Luigi has just won a mansion and he's out to claim it. It turns out though that the mansion is haunted and big bro Mario has been captured. Suddenly, it's up to Luigi to jump into the fray and save his spotlight-stealing brother from harm. The game isn't a platformer, but something different entirely. As Luigi you carry a vacuum, ala GhostBusters, on your backside, a flashlight and a Gameboy Horror that serves as a map and scanner of sorts. You can't jump, but you can hunt ghosts.

Combat can get pretty hectic against groups of ghosts since you will be in the dark and have to scare the ghosts with your flashlight before sucking them up with your vacuum. There are regular ghosts and Portrait Ghosts in the game, the latter of which were once trapped in paintings and are now running your mansion. Capturing them involves a puzzle and then taking them down. The real fun comes from the boss battles though, which are absolutely creative. You'll go from facing a giant baby as you run around in its crib while giant rocking horses are launched at you from every direction, to a giant shadow monster inside of a tombstone that spawns more giant shadow monsters. It all culminates in a very challenging and surprisingly epic final boss fight that really should be experienced by anyone that's into great ending battles.

Luigi's Mansion is short though and it will take most around six hours to run through it. But Luigi's Mansion wasn't designed as a Mario game. This is like an old school arcade game where you keep on playing for the higher score. The better you are the more money you'll find in the mansions from ghosts. The money is like a high score tracker and at the end of each area the game lets you know how much money and treasure you found before moving on. I've played through the game over six times and it's always fresh and fun to get better and better at it.

The graphics for Luigi's Mansion are beautiful. The mansion itself plays a major role as a character in the game, being suitably dark yet still wonderfully charming so that even a child can enjoy the action on hand. The ghost designs are silly and the boss fights are in worlds outside of the Mansion providing a trippy backdrop for everything. The music holds a suitable amount of wonder too, as the game has the ominous, haunting feeling, but when you find a Toad to save at the music becomes wonderfully upbeat and will only put a smile on your face. Another adorable aspect comes from Luigi himself as he runs through the Mansion his feet leaving dust behind him as he calls out Mario's name.

Luigi's Mansion is a wonderful and readily replayable game. The aesthetics are well done and lend the game some much-needed charm. It may not have been the next big Mario game, but it sure was nice to see Luigi in a starring role for once. Here's hoping for a sequel soon enough.

Score

Real Fantasy!

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker turned quite a few heads with its cel-shaded graphics and many fans were outraged that their favorite franchise could a take turn like this. Regardless of what side of the fence you were on for the graphics argument, Wind Waker is easily the best and most creative of the 3D Zelda games.

Wind Waker uses the same Zelda gameplay formula as seen before, but it mixes it up with creativity and fresh ideas. The most noticeable of these is that the overworld is on the ocean. Sailing is a big part of Wind Waker and you will spend a lot of time on the sea. But each new area provides that much more excitement as there is more and more hidden places and treasure to find. The game captures a sense of discovery not seen since first running through Hyrule Field in Ocarine of Time.

The combat is deeper as well compared to other titles in the series as certain moves will let you rip the armor straight off of your foes, something that other games in the series do not possess. It also stays away from Hyrule as the game is far into the future. You are merely a young boy who must dress as the legendary Hero of Time when children reach a certain age. Of course, you hate the clothing, but what young man would want to wear white tights anyway?

The dungeons are particularly exciting and in many cases the game doesn't even let you know that you are in a dungeon until it finally dawns on you. Wind Waker is such a well-realized and cohesive experience that it's hard to imagine any other game trying to match its splendor. The boss fights are suitably epic and take up the entire screen at times. The game's visuals allow these monsters to be even craftier than if Wind Waker went with a realistic look.

Wind Waker captures a sense of light-hearted adventure that the other Zelda titles do not match. In the other games you are usually out to save the world. In this game you just want to rescue your sister and hang out with a few pirates in the process. But when the story takes a turn for the dramatic you feel it more than in the previous games. The final area as well as the final showdown with Ganondorf not only exemplifies this fact but they have yet to be bested by any other game in the genre. Twilight Princess and Okami's endgames simply can't match up to Wind Waker's finale and that is a testament to its greatness.

Wind Waker's visuals stand as one of the best parts of the game. They convey emotion and that's something few games can do. Link's animated eyes scan ahead for enemies and you notice it. Other characters beam with gratitude and you can tell they mean it. The game is very well designed in this regard. Every area feels unique and exciting to explore because of the visuals. The sound is also well done with an at times light-hearted and at other times epic soundtrack that really captures the feel of the game.

Wind Waker is a testament to how great games are made. Not only is it one of the best games released on the GameCube but it also manages to be even better than the other games in the series. It has heart and ambition, two of the key ingredients for a great game, and Wind Waker succeeds on all fronts. Don't miss this creative and heart-warming adventure.

Score

I totally did this all on a whim.

Depending on your interest and overall skill in fighting games, Marvel VS Capcom 2 will be one of the best fighting games released on the Xbox Live Arcade or one of the most difficult, manic and absolutely insane games ever made. Either way, the game is enjoyable, but if you are a casual fight fan then don't expect to make it too far into this game if you aren't willing to commit to it.

Marvel VS Capcom 2's first console appearance was on the Dreamcast and later there were Xbox and PS2 ports as well. The presentation has received no noticeable upgrade, so the graphics and sound are about the same as they were before. These are Dreamcast level sprites fighting and the same horrendous soundtrack, backed by the usual battle cries of each individual fighter. The main difference between those three versions and the new XBLA and PSN versions is online play.

Depending on your skill level though, you may not even have the guts to step online, and that's the biggest fault with this game. Marvel VS Capcom 2 is hard to grasp because it's a three on three fighting game that can have any of your three characters on-screen at once filling the screen with a brightly colored attack that can combo enemies for sometimes hundreds of times. But the game makes no concessions to beginners: if you don't know how to play this game then it's all trial and error until you figure it out.

The original version enticed gamers to enter the training mode and learn the game's mechanics by unlocking the roster of 56 available fighters. In the new version the 56 fighters are all unlocked, and this is definitely good news for those who adore the game and simply want to test their skill online against other skilled opponents, but it essentially eliminates the chances of a newcomer to feel motivated to learn the ropes. It helps that all of the characters only really have around four or so move sets to learn, but with 56 characters and a lack of overall balance in the roster it will take a lot of time and dedication to figure out who your favorites are, how to string their moves together for massive combos and how to read your opponents' moves.

The game's multiplayer is pretty much the focus of it all with online play. Otherwise there is Arcade mode, which allows you to go through the game's seven stages with as many continues as necessary, Score Attack is the same idea only with one life and Training Mode, which is very bare bones and explains almost nothing to the player. On the multiplayer side you have local matches and online matches.

The difficulty of the game's single player again depends on the skill level of the person playing the game. If you have never touched Marvel VS Capcom 2 before then don't expect to even finish the game on Easy. It takes time and practice to become good enough to complete the game on the easiest mode and most folks simply won't have anything to do with that. Basically you will have to spend a lot of time in Training Mode, the problem is that it doesn't really teach you much and there's no real incentive to get into it. Chances are that if you can't even complete the game on Easy that you won't have anything to do with the online mode either, and that creates a problem for newcomers.

There is one major caveat though: Marvel VS Capcom 2 is good. In fact, it's really good. The core gameplay is just downright fun and the manic action is a blast to see on-screen. The 23 available characters from each universe make a diverse cast that makes the game really exciting to play, especially for fans of either universe. Well-known and relatively obscure characters are all here and your favorites, either by the character designs or simply their execution in fighting will be a tough task since the game's roster can range from badasses like Cable to laughable yet adorable additions like Servbot. For many beginners the Local Matches will be their go to destination if they have friends around. The game's quality mechanics will take up hours out of each time it's booted up for play.

Marvel VS Capcom 2 was designed with long-term fans in mind. If you loved the game before than the $15 asking price for this game with online play is a no-brainer. It's just a shame to see Capcom and Backbone not flesh out the Training Mode for newcomers because it does effectively limit the appeal of the game to many. However, if you have local competition around then expect to put dozens of hours into this game's multiplayer. You can go on through the whole thing without touching the Arcade Mode or Online simply because going head to head with others is just that much fun. Marvel VS Capcom 2 may not be the best at teaching gamers how to learn the game's mechanics, but it is ridiculously fun right from the outset.

Score

I haven't beaten Arcade or unlocked a single achievement. But this game is just so fun to play in local matches with people I know that it's great to just bust it out and kill a few hours!

A stripper with a Wii remote pointed straight at your heart: when a game starts like that you know you're in for a treat and that's simply what The House of the Dead: Overkill is. This hilarious, brutal, gory and sometimes sexy (if that's your thing) game is like a welcome treat for the Nintendo Wii as it reinvents the series and embraces its new 1970's pulp horror themes.

Overkill, like its predecessors, is an on-rails light gun game. You have no control over your character's motions; the game guides you through the levels. You do have control over aiming and peripheral vision, and as swarms of mutants gang up on you, you simply point and shoot. The Wii remote is a perfect fit for this kind of gameplay, eliminating the need to purchase another plastic gun.

The characters in this game are absolutely aces and include the odd couple duo of Agent G and the ladies' man Detective Isaac Washington who are both out to hunt down the nefarious Papa Caesar. These men will also cross paths with Varla Guns, an ex-stripper who has her own vendetta. The scenarios are absolutely funny, the profanity is over-the-top, and the cutscenes are intentionally done in a cheesy manner, and poorly edited at that. But it all makes the game feel like a unique experience that really should be played through as Agent G and Isaac are constantly at odds with one another as they travel through the game's areas and form one of the weirdest friendships seen.

The mutants you encounter in the game can be any sorts of person really, from rednecks, nurses, doctors, and of course hobos! The boss battles are fairly disgusting in their own right, as each boss is far mutated beyond any normal foe. The game does show you the weak spots though, so the battles can be pretty easy. The final boss battle on the other hand, in fact, the final sequence as a whole, is so well done, so grand in scope, brutally sexual in a way that only Oedipus could love, and so disgusting that it can't help but go down as one of the best finales ever put in a game.

The graphics in Overkill on a technical level are fairly plain, but artistically are quite wonderful. You'll go from each level to the other and none of them look alike. They are all based on B-quality horror films and your locales will be a mansion, a hospital, a swamp, etc. Each level is presented with a movie poster showing the names of the actors (the game's characters) and what the story will be about in that level in a cheesy catchline.

The soundtrack on the other hand is just downright ridiculous and you might just find yourself staying in the menus to hear the bizarre lyrics play out. It has a 1970's feel to it, much like the rest of the game, and it really helps push the feel that Overkill is trying to capture. The voice acting is wonderfully done, even if all of it is profanity. Agent G and Isaac will constantly be chattering as they run through the levels and it only further adds to this humorous game. The characters really are cheesy, but they work out so well, just like Gears of War's Delta Squad, they are endearing even though they shouldn't be taken seriously. The sound effects on the other hand are about average, mutants won't send chills down your spine, guns don't sound powerful, but then again, that isn't necessarily what should be expected from a game like Overkill.

Overkill is a brief experience. For those that want to simply run through the game's story it will take them about three hours. Replayability is the key though. On my first few nights playing Overkill I stayed only on the first three levels, replaying them to aim for a higher score and a higher overall grade. After about six hours spread across many nights I finally continued into other levels and repeated the same thing. It isn't necessary to play the game that way, but constantly striving to better yourself and being replayable are essential to gaining full enjoyment out of the game. Once the story mode is completed, the much more challenging and lengthier Director's Cut is unlocked providing more on-rails shooting action, just with a more traditional life system that makes the game a bit more challenging than the regular mode. Coop is an essential part of the multiplayer and any portion of Overkill can be played with another person. There are also some mini-games available to play as well, though chances are most folks will stay with the story.

Overkill also earns its M rating. Don't be fooled by this game being on the Wii that somehow it's less mature than other M rated games. Some folks may be so appalled by this game that they may not agree with the M rating, especially for the finale. Overkill is filled with blood and gore, profanity and has a thing about strippers. This game is definitely not for the sensitive folks, nor should it ever be played in front of any child regardless of their maturity or age. Playing Dead Space or Grand Theft Auto in front of a child is more appropriate than playing Overkill.

The House of the Dead: Overkill is one of the best light gun games around. It has a wonderfully unique and cheesy atmosphere. The game is brutal, intense and funny. Any of age gamers that own a Wii should definitely look into this game, as it is one of the year's best. There aren't many games quite as risqué as The House of the Dead: Overkill, which may explain why there aren't many games that are this funny and absolutely inappropriate: basically, show it off to everyone you know.

Score

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HALO! YOU'RE EIGHT YEARS OLD YOU SEXY OLD DOG! Cortana, you get hotter every year, my lovely peach.

Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Those two names should be enough to warrant some nostalgic views on the days when men were men and videogames were videogames. The two games reigned over the 2D exploration genre and since then there hasn't been much activity on home consoles as the handheld is the preferred home for the games. Enter Shadow Complex, the first major release in the genre for a home console in over a decade. But don't be fooled by the marketing hype behind it because at the end of the day Shadow Complex's title is a fitting one, as it can never surpass the shadow cast over it by the games that pioneered and perfected the genre.

Shadow Complex plays just fine. There's nothing inherently wrong with the game. You run, you jump, you shoot, and you find power-ups in various nooks and crannies. It sounds like a good time, the problem is, the core of Shadow Complex isn't particularly good, nor is it particularly bad. The combat is fine, it takes place on a 2D plane but the environments are 3D so enemies can surround you. The problem is that the 3D environments actually take away from the fun, forcing you to use an unintuitive aiming system. If anything, Shadow Complex would have been better without this gimmick that really adds nothing to the combat.

Shadow Complex is a game that's coasting by on hype and hype alone. The level design is basic, the secrets are obvious and everything is spelled out for you. Shadow Complex's greatest sin is that it lacks subtlety. Where in genre greats the atmosphere truly brought you into the game, made you understand your situation by letting you discover the mysteries through the environment itself, Shadow Complex spells things out for you and it does it all the time.

In Symphony of the Night the game never stopped to explain things to you in detail, it let you discover things on your own. For instance, using a certain item at a certain position by a clock tower will cause a new path to open up, this path isn't necessary to complete the game, but when discovered it gives you an overwhelming sense of joy. A copycat game like Shadow Complex holds no such subtleties to it, it simply can't because it has the single-minded focus of trying to be like the other games rather than being it's own game.

The game goes into great detail to tell you a story about some terrorist group that apparently no one has noticed and they can somehow control giant robots and are ready to attack. Of course, one man with a flashlight and a shotgun is all it takes to stop this threat to world peace and let Americans rest safely at night.

The game's protagonist is even a ploy at recent trends. Jason Fleming is this guy, he meets women at bars, and he has a half-tuck shirt and some torn jeans. It's like Chair and Epic looked at as many Abercrombie ads as they could before designing the character, or just at Uncharted's Nathan Drake, though it really does amount to bad character design either way. There's no mystery behind Jason. He was a soldier and he hates killing. Of course, the game only mentions that to you as Jason quickly picks up a firearm and starts blasting everything in sight. Rather than let us discover Jason's hatred of violence and let us explore as we try to survive and learn more of his past, Epic and Chair saw fit to make us an unstoppable shotgun-toting badass with an unlimited supply of grenades. You can almost hear Mark Rein and CliffyB in the background chanting "USA! USA! USA!" as they over-glorify something that they try to pass off as wicked and cruel.

The game's bosses are truly pathetic. You won't remember a single fight. Not a single one. In most games that fall into this genre the boss fights are highlights of the action. In Shadow Complex it simply involves you spamming the grenade button until you win. The designs are lackluster and clearly inspired by Metal Gear Solid in more ways than one. Others might even notice a horrendous amount of GI Joe influence in the game. These machines all look alike; they never pose any real threat or challenge either. Even the finale of the game lacks a final boss, as it is nothing more than a setpiece that you are clearly meant to win. Creative enemies are nowhere to be seen in Shadow Complex and while it is a game that aims to be a bit more realistic than Super Metroid it at the very least should have tried harder than giving us only two real enemies: foot soldiers and little spiderbots that you can kick.

The graphics are what you would expect from both Chair and Epic games: they are technically proficient if not excellent. But based on artistic merit it basically is again what you would expect from both Chair and Epic: gray things blowing up. That's all this game really amounts to really, and there's no better way to say it: grey things blow up a lot.

The sound on the other hand is surprisingly good. Not only does Shadow Complex boast excellent effects, but there are even a few sections where hints of subtlety can be felt struggling to break through as soft piano music plays. But those moments are not only exceedingly rare, but far too brief for the games own good. They also manage to make the rest of the game seem that much more average, including the obviously Metal Gear inspired soundtrack. The voice acting is really good considering this game is an Arcade title, but there are no standout performances.

Shadow Complex is a case of (very cheesy) styIe over substance. The developers apparently love Super Metroid and have made that no secret. The problem is that the game plays like any other game would, it looks like any other game would, and it even sounds like any other game would. Shadow Complex is sort of just there. It lacks the feel of originality, it lacks the magic, it lacks the heart and it lacks the soul to be anything special. It is one thing to make homage to Super Metroid and other genre greats, but it is another thing entirely to blatantly rip them off.

Score

The platforming genre is almost synonymous with videogaming. However, when most people think of a platformer their minds turn to a certain Sicilian in red, hopping over turtles, mushrooms and fire-breathing Koopa Kings. Acceptable as it is, other platformers can turn the genre into an art form, an exhilarating ride that somehow captures the magic of the impossible. Mirror's Edge is one such game, coming from EA Dice, and is one of the most innovative experiences released in a long time.

Mirror's Edge paints a picture of the future that isn't too bright for the masses. In the name of safety the government controls all messages being sent from anywhere and anyone. The reaction to this comes from the Runners, a group of highly skilled individuals that carry sensitive information from its original source to the receiver. The story in Mirror's Edge however follows Faith, one of the Runners, and her mission to clear her sister's name for a murder she's been framed for.

The story in Mirror's Edge is fairly interesting, it won't necessarily open your eyes to anything, but it is motivation enough to see what happens. However, the method in which the story is told is pretty pathetic. The game employs hand drawn cutscenes that simply do not do the game justice. Some of the story is told while you play and these events are far more interesting than watching the poorly animated cutscenes play out.

You probably aren't playing Mirror's Edge for its story though. The real draw here is the exciting platforming action awaiting you. In the strictest sense of the word Mirror's Edge doesn't necessarily do anything new. You run and leap over various obstacles trying to not fall to your doom. But it is the manner in which you do it that makes Mirror's Edge truly shine. The game's first innovation comes from the first-person perspective used. It really gives you a sense of speed, danger and excitement for every leap you take and every wall you run on. The game is an exciting thrill ride in this regard.

The first-person perspective really immerses you into the game. Faith's entire body is put into it; it's the immersion of being this full-bodied person that carries the game so far. When you roll, you'll see Faith's legs coming down at the end, her hands coming forward to stop herself when she reaches a wall after running towards it, her arms moving back and forth while running. The immersion not only makes Mirror's Edge feel unique, it makes you feel like you are in absolute control of everything going on.

The second innovation is actually the game's graphics. The stark colors not only help paint how dreary the world is with total government control, but the bright, over-saturated colors that are mixed in with the bland ones really helps provide an unique contrast to the game's setting. Of these bright colors you'll want to keep an eye out for red. Anything red is not only a sign of where you should go, but also a sign of something you can interact with. The red colors are meant to show you how the world looks to a Runner, which obstacles can be used to jump, pipes to climb on, etc.

Mirror's Edge is one of the most exciting games around. Taking its two great innovations, the game sets you loose and tells you to run. The game is all about momentum and speed, in a sense like the newest Prince of Persia, but it ends up being the far superior platformer. As you get into the groove you simply just go and the game's world becomes almost second nature to you as you glide through each level. That's the beauty, Mirror's Edge simply wants you to go, not to stop and think. The folks that can't follow the simple idea of just going need not apply to Mirror's Edge because they'll only be stuck waiting while everyone else is leaping across buildings.

One fault with the game does stem from combat however. It isn't necessarily that the action is bad; it just doesn't mesh too well with the game. Mirror's Edge is all about speed and going from Point A to Point B in whatever way you choose. It's a platformer, there isn't anything complicated about it, but once the combat situations arrive the speed comes to a crawl. In most cases you can avoid combat and keep running, though enemies will keep shooting at you, or chase after you, but that only adds to the excitement. On the other hand, there are sections where you might be stuck inside and your best bet is to fight. Depending on the number of enemies it may be a quick fix or a quick death. The combat simply isn't as well implemented into Mirror's Edge and the game feels far more natural when you run without a weapon in hand.

Mirror's Edge might have the great graphics and gameplay, but it also brings the noise. The game's sound design is magnificent. When you run, you can hear Faith breathing, hear her every footstep. When guards fire their weapons it will make you move quickly in the other direction. These aren't peashooters that your enemies are carrying and they sound deadly. And when a helicopter is chasing after you, firing at every chance it gets, as you run across rooftops you'll know you're playing one of the best sounding games ever. Add in the wonderfully ambient music and Mirror's Edge is a real knockout for folks that take their audio seriously.

At the end of the day, Mirror's Edge is a platformer, but it's also one of the most important and best platformers ever made. It follows it's own path and separates itself from other games in the genre with bright, contrasting graphics, and fully immersive gameplay that sucks you into the world. Despite some horribly animated cutscenes, Mirror's Edge arrives in high styIe and teaches people one of the simpler things in videogames: just go.

Score

Relish this treat kiddies! It isn't everyday that I review a game on a platform I typically don't play videogames on. Of course, I'll try and net in a PS3 review one of these days, but the only games I've played are Call of Duty 4 (already reviewed 360 version) and Guitar Hero III (already reviewed 360 version).