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[demon]

Okay, so my gaming tastes and needs have changed over the past year or so, and I recently gave up on Xbox and re-purchased a Gamecube (I had one for a little while but sold it a couple years ago). Lately I've been in the mood for, how shall I say... pure fun, arcadey games. Right now I have Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2, and the original's single-player is fucking addicting as hell (not too hot on the sequels single-player levels, I find them way too gimmicky).

Anyways, I'm going head to EBgames and get 2 or 3 used games, the only one I'm sure of being F-Zero. I was thinking of getting WavraceBS, but remembered that it was met with some criticism, I think, but I can't remember why exactly. Something about having difficult controls? I remember really loving the original when I first played it on the N64 (although I'm sure the mind-blowing graphics helped), so I figured WR:BS might be worth a shot. Is it?

Also, any other suggestions based on what I'm looking for? Something that's simple fun, kind of original, with a lot of replayability, preferably with multiplayer. I rented Pikmin when it came out and enjoyed it for a while but soon found it really repetitive and it began to bore me. I rented Mario Tennis, but for some reason I just wasn't diggin' it. I don't think I want any fighting games, including Smash Brothers which I got kind of tired of on the N64.

Oh, and are there any good strategy games for the Cube? Anything like Advance Wars?


and yes I'm aware of RE4. That's more of one-time thing for me, so I'll just rent it when I'm really in the mood for it.


Also, I have to ask...when is that new Zelda game currently due out? Or does anyone even know?

 

[soundwave05]

On its own merits, its actually not a bad game.

The level of difficulty (or rather the ease of falling off your jet ski) can become extremely frustrating.

The biggest knock on this title probably is that its not quite as fresh or the graphics showcase that Wave Race 64 was for its time (1996). Lacks some of that EAD polish too.

But I'd say its a good game, worth it if you can grab it for cheap.

 

[6.8]

Just don't get Rogue Leader. I was told it was the best Star Wars shooter, and it was a load of crock. I find it to be apallingly mediocre.

 

[Mike]

I highly recommend Wave Race: Blue Storm. I thought it was the best launch title for the GC.

 

[soundwave05]

Meh. I liked Rogue Squadron II myself.

 

[hooo]

It's not the original, but not much is. The course design isn't quite that of the first, but the wave physics are great, and the leaning mechanic really does make playing the heavier characters more interesting. For the price you'll prolly be paying, I can't help but recommend it.

 

[Baconäger]

Wave Race: Blue Storm is one of the best racers this gen.

 

[Teddman]

I never played through it much. I'll never trade the game in though because THE TITLE SCREEN MUSIC ROCKS!

 

[Socreges]

WRBS is an awesome racer, but the consensus is less enthusiastic. People tend to prefer the original (not me) and often because of the learning curve. The controls and physics are complicated, but if you can get them down you should love the game.

 

[Zelda-Bitch]

The game is great. An extremely polished well made racer. get it, especially if you liked the first. I think most of the criticism was warranted however(except the controls). Mostly shunned I think for being essentially the same game. It was more of a remake then anything. It should have been expanded upon. It should have had more levels etc. Controls are fine, IMO. Just make sure you choose/tweak the racer that fits your style best. So, other then the sense you'll get that not too much has changed or have been added, I think you'll find this an extremely well done racer.

Oh, 1080 Avalanche is another very short and highly underrrated game IMO. Going back and doing the time attack gate challenge after I beat the game was a pleasent surprise as well. The game is lots of fun and fast as hell! If you can buy it on the cheap, get it.

 

[Speevy]

Is Wario World worth $15?

 

[demon]

Hey speaking of big GC racers, what about Mario Kart? That turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for some reason, right?

 

[Socreges]

Hey speaking of big GC racers, what about Mario Kart? That turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for some reason, right?

The game itself is great (I think the racing is the best out of any MK), but the battle mode is pretty weak.

 

[Enigma]

WRBS is an awesome racer, but the consensus is less enthusiastic. People tend to prefer the original (not me) and often because of the learning curve. The controls and physics are complicated, but if you can get them down you should love the game.

That's not why I was pissed at BS. WR64 is one of my top 5 racers of all time. And I only played it with all the settings on their most difficult (Laps, misses, wave height) and raced with Dave Mariner (If that's his U.S. name (The fatty). I had the JP Import version). It's one of my most finely honed games I've ever played. This game had tons of subtlely and rewarded skill as much as any racer ever.

BS is one of the best racers this gen, but it pales in comparison and I curse NST for eternity. Turbo? Horse shit. Turbo is a crutch that almost always artificially limits the top speed in normal mode. And in this case, it definetly did. Tracks? Blah. Only a couple were great. Generally, they kept the ones I could have lived without, and ommitted the ones I really wanted. The original ones? That Venice track is a f*cking disgrace. If that's the limit of NST's skill, they should have just did a straight graphical update to the original 8. And the physics? It's been a while, but I seem to getting really pissed about BS ALWAYS flipping you 180 degrees in a crash. In 64, in the rare instance I was gonna lose it, I could sense it and usually minimize the mistake. In BS it seems like the freakin' animation would kick in and nothing was gonna stop the f*ck-up and no matter what the circumstances (Speed, wave conditions), you always ended up 180 degrees from the direction you were travelling (Could we at least have a couple random animations, please?)

Is it a good game? Yes. But it's a shadow of it's former self. WR64 combined the best of Nintendo and Sega arcade racers. BS combined a masterpiece with NST hack skills.

 

[Nightbreeze]

Is Wario World worth $15?

yes. The boss battles in that game are worth that price alone.

 

[border]

The consensus is the same as with virtually every Nintendo franchise on the Cube -- "Not as good as one on their last console, but entertaining if you don't mind the changes."

 

[Grubdog]

Wave Race: Blue Storm is the game that made me buy a GameCube, I played it in a store and immediately went down to EB to pre-order a GC right then. It has the best water effects i've ever seen in a game, and it's GREAT fun. One thing i'm disappointed in however is the lack of options, it's terrible, you can't even play a single race... if you want to play you either have to do a whole tournament or time trial, and the long load times annoy me too. Overall though the core gameplay is great, and it's definately worth owning. It was obviously rushed though, I would have liked to see a sequel on GC, hopefully Revolution launches with a new Wave Race title.

 

[imastalker co.]

most under rated game this generation.

the only thing that Wave Race 64 has over Blue Storm is style, and the soundtrack. but then again, no one can top Wave Race 64's soundtrack when it comes to happy summer time music

awesome racing game. jokingly deep (no pun intended), and excellent level design. weather also changes everything on the fly. not to mention that til this day, no game has better water psyhics.

 

[Cold-Steel]

Also, any other suggestions based on what I'm looking for? Something that's simple fun, kind of original, with a lot of replayability, preferably with multiplayer.

Get Pikmin 2, the multiplayer is fun as hell but make sure you've got a person who likes (or has played the Pikmin series) to play against you otherwise you won't have any trouble beating them down.

Four Swords Adventures is a really amazing, unique experience but you have to have four friends with GBA's. Same goes for Crystal Chronicles. Connectivity in general is really unique and fun. Especially the Shadow Battle mode. Everyone dies in the first five minutes...usually by someone else screwing up. :lol

 

[Dr.Guru of Peru]

I highly recommend Wave Race: Blue Storm. I thought it was the best launch title for the GC.

Yup. The general concensus seems to be that WR:BS wasnt so hot. But I strongly disagree with that. My favourite racer this gen, and better than the original.

 

[drohne]

it needlessly muddles the connection between player and craft. in the original your turning radius is directly linked to the action of the stick. in the sequel your turning radius is determined by some combination of the stick and the shoulder buttons, which doesn't feel as tactile or immediate. blue storm otherwise retains the merits of the n64 version, so it's still a good game.

 

[Virgin Wii]

I never played the original game on N64. That said, I loved Blue Storm. I didn't find the controls difficult at all, probably due to the fact that I had played F-Zero X on the N64 (which had shoulder button controls) and didn't have to adjust from Wave Race 64. I think people say the controls are complicated just because they aren't familiar with them.

The wave physics are really great. There are only 18 tracks in the game (I think), but the way you race on each individual track changes greatly depending on the weather. This makes replaying through the cups fresh, since I seem to remember the weather being random. Another great thing about the game is that each racer really handles differently; if you get to the point where you mastered the game with one character and everything is just too easy, you just switch to a new character and the game is almost as hard as when you first started playing.

The game has a free roam mode where you can choose a course to just ski around in. This can be extremely addicting; I've fucked around in a single course for over an hour, hitting ramps and riding the waves. There's also time trials and a trick mode, though I never really fooled around with the trick mode.

Awesome game.

ps
You said you were getting F-Zero GX, but I just need to remind you that it's a must.

 

[Dr.Guru of Peru]

I dont find the controls too difficult. Just take some time to get used to, but they work very well. You lean with the shoulder button for sharper turns. Thats really the only difficult part of it.

1080 Avalanche is also a title that plays similarly and is quite fun. But its shorter than WaveRace:BS, and IMO doesnt have as much replay value. Id recommend picking up both though.

F Zero GX I didnt like as much. I guess its supposed to feel this way, but the cars felt as if they had no weight on them, and everything was real floaty.

I dunno, I guess Im weird. I like NST. Their titles just need abit more polish and meat to them. Looking forward to their next title(hope its an Excitebike sequel).

 

[Virgin Wii]

F Zero GX I didnt like as much. I guess its supposed to feel this way, but the cars felt as if they had no weight on them, and everything was real floaty.

How did you expect the craft physics to be when they're racing on magnetic tracks in zero gravity?

 

[Grubdog]

Strange, I never use the shoulder buttons in Blue Storm, I find it's easier to not use them, when I want to turn sharply I do that analog stick thing and press the diagonal direction.

 

[kablooey]

It's a very fun game once you get a hang of the controls. Although that can take a while.

That said, it's one of my favorite games of this gen. If you put in the time, it's fun fun fun.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

Wave Race:BS is the most underrated racer this gen.

i personally love it but i know some of my friends find it boring just cause they cant compete.

 

[Shikamaru Ninja]

The best racer this generation. It is one of my favorite Nintendo games ever developed. The only thing that sucks is that the game has around 8 tracks with variations, too bad the game didn't have like 14 !! But then again it was a very short development time alloted for this title.

 

[Spike]

All I can offer is this:

I played WR:BS every single day until the release of F-Zero GX.

Take that as you will.

 

[Odnetnin]

I could not for the life of me get over the

1) Midway/THQ looking graphics

2) Sloppy controls / Uncontrollable waves


in comparision. I played Waverace 64 to death

 

[Kabuki Waq]

the controls were not sloppy at all and the graphics were good for the time.

uncontrolable waves? wtf who are you? moses?

 

[Virgin Wii]

I could not for the life of me get over the

1) Midway/THQ looking graphics

2) Sloppy controls / Uncontrollable waves


in comparision. I played Waverace 64 to death

You could control the waves in WR64? That's... weird.

 

[jett]

Wave Race is an excellent game, and my favorite racer this gen(maybe tied with RRV). Beautiful water physics, too. I wish more games had similiar reactive water. Most developers don't even try. :\

 

[Ristamar]

Hey speaking of big GC racers, what about Mario Kart? That turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for some reason, right?

Don't listen to IGN. If you have friends, you can't go wrong with Mario Kart.

 

[demon]

You could control the waves in WR64? That's... weird.

I think maybe he means your boat doesn't affect the waves and create wakes and whatnot. That true?

 

[mCACGj]

Over Christmas break after Mario Kart Double Dash came out, my friends and I started playing in the morning. We didn't stop until that night, and we did this for the whole week. The neighbors next week were talking about how they heard loud, vulgur language coming from the house...man did I get a good laugh at that.

The game is just pure fun, don't listen to reviewers.

As a suggestion, Viewtiful Joe is a lot of fun if you havent played it already.

 

[bionic77]

Fun game, unlike some of the complaints here I found the game to be too easy. The best part of the game is racing in the bad weather. For < 20 bucks it is worth picking up, just remember it is insanely short.

 

[Virgin Wii]

I think maybe he means your boat doesn't affect the waves and create wakes and whatnot. That true?

Not true. Wakes are definitely in the game; they can screw you up when you're behind someone.

 

[bionic77]

Hey speaking of big GC racers, what about Mario Kart? That turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for some reason, right?

One of the best mutliplayer games this generation. Still not as good as the king (SuperMarioKart), but it is the 2nd best MarioKart imho.

 

[Cold-Steel]

Among the casuals Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is considered the second best multiplayer game on the Cube next to Smash Bros.

Highly reccommended.

As for F-Zero GX, I thought it was an amazing experience but I can see why people don't like it. It's extremely difficult.

 

[demon]

Alright. Well I went to a couple EBgames/gamestops/whatever and only found F-Zero (new, but it's really cheap at 20 bucks), but couldn't find Waverace, so the search continues tomorrow. I'd look for Mario Kart, but apparantly it's some fucking shit price even used. 45 dollars for a used game? Fuck you EB. I'll wait till it's cheaper. Or shoplift it.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

try blocbuster.

Damn i hated fzero required you to memorize every boost just to compete.

 

[Cold-Steel]

If you like F-Zero GX it will keep your attention for awhile.

The Story Mode is one of the most difficult campaigns in a game. If you plan to play multiplayer with your friends, do so on as big a screen as possible because the game moves too fast.

FYI - Hitting someone off the track is a do or die. Success depends on contact. Failure = instant death.

 

[Virgin Wii]

Alright. Well I went to a couple EBgames/gamestops/whatever and only found F-Zero (new, but it's really cheap at 20 bucks), but couldn't find Waverace, so the search continues tomorrow. I'd look for Mario Kart, but apparantly it's some fucking shit price even used. 45 dollars for a used game? Fuck you EB. I'll wait till it's cheaper. Or shoplift it.

Be sure to post impressions. I love F-Zero talk. Just be sure to hold off on the story mode for a while until you've gotten your bearings by playing the grand prix races. The story mode is much more difficult.

try blocbuster.

Damn i hated fzero required you to memorize every boost just to compete.

On Master maybe. If you can't finish first on any other difficulty level without hitting all the boosts... practice more.

FYI - Hitting someone off the track is a do or die. Success depends on contact. Failure = instant death.

Not really. It's very easy to recover from a missed side attack if you use restraint and don't go all out. Not missing is much harder, though, but with practice it's like kicking daisies.

Don't worry about attacking now, demon. Just concentrate on racing without hitting the sides.