SoulCalibur II

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Namco

Soul Blade was an excellent fighting game that laid the groundwork for the absolutely amazing SoulCalibur to swoop in and take its place at the very top of the 3D fighting game mountain…with plenty of people saying that it still hasn’t been knocked off yet. So, Namco had a lot of expectations to live up to when they announced SoulCalibur II. In an interesting move, Namco announced that SoulCalibur II would be released on PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube…each version with a unique member of the roster to fight as. Playstation 2 got the least interesting of the bunch with Heihachi from the Tekken franchise added. Xbox got a slightly more interesting Spawn from the Spawn comic book series. Gamecube, however, far and away had the best exclusive character - Link from the Legend of Zelda series. Because of that, I've honestly never even played SoulCalibur II on any other console except the Gamecube as I type this…and part of that is not just because Link is in the game, but because Link is actually one of my go-to characters in the game since I find him quite fun to play as. As neat as it is to use Link in a non-Smash Bros. fighting game, and as good of a fighting game that SoulCalibur II is, it doesn't feel like there's a lot of innovation here. It feels like the original SoulCalibur with slightly more stuff…which is not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination, but it's hard for me to score it too much higher because of that. That said, this is still an excellent fighting game and if you’ve spent hours playing SoulCalibur, then you'll likely spend several more hours playing SoulCalibur II.

Review added: 08/31/2022

Space Raiders

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Taito Corporation

I want to like Space Raiders more than I should, but Taito made it kinda difficult. If you’ve never played it, Space Raiders is basically just a modern version of Space Invaders. That’s about it. You’ve got various enemies on the top of the screen shooting at you while you’re able to move left and right to shoot up at them – basic Space Invaders gameplay. You do have grenades at your disposal, the ability to roll out of danger, powerups to collect, and the option to sacrifice grenades for a temporary firepower boost – all of these new features definitely add to the gameplay in a positive way. Unfortunately, new features or not, it’s essentially just the same game that first gained popularity roughly 25 years earlier. Of the three characters, I only played through the story of one, and while I enjoyed myself at first, by the time the end of the game was coming near, I really just wanted it to be over. If you like classic arcade-style shooters but want to see it with a more modern coat of paint, then you’ll likely appreciate Space Raiders more than the average gamer…Unfortunately, even the extra features and fancy coat of paint can’t hide the fact that video games had evolved significantly over the quarter of a century since Space Invaders first took arcades by storm, and while this provides some nice nostalgia, the gameplay just simply feels aged and dated.

Review added: 02/09/2021

Spirits & Spells

Also known as: Castleween (Europe), Mahou no Pumpkin (Japan)

Developer: Warnado

Spirits & Spells, known as Castleween in Europe, is a platformer that manages to both be boring and frustrating at the same time. The concept of the game seems solid enough - you control two children in Halloween costumes, Alicia in a witch costume and Greg in a devil costume, with each child having their own unique abilities. These abilities force you to swap between the kids in each level in order to advance. Sounds okay so far? Well, the concept seems fine, but the actual execution of the concept is where the problems begin to pop up. Once you get past the nice little introduction to the game, you immediately get disappointed as you realize that you're stuck playing a generic version of what a lovechild of Crash Bandicoot and Klonoa would look like…and like some children of famous parents, Spirits & Spells grew depressed knowing that it could never reach the success of its mom and pop, so it turned to a life of depression…and by playing this, it transfers some of that depression onto you. Well, I felt depressed shortly into playing it, anyway. If you want to play a boring, bland platformer with some Halloween visuals, then Spirits & Spells is for you. If you want to play something entertaining that won't put you to sleep, then you'll probably want to avoid Spirits & Spells like you avoided the house in the neighborhood that gave trick-or-treaters dental supplies when you were a kid.

Review added: 09/26/2022

Super Monkey Ball

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Amusement Vision

Super Monkey Ball is another one of those games I'd often play with a group of friends in college. When taking a break from our Smash Bros. parties, we'd often pop Super Monkey Ball in and play the various mini games like monkey bowling. It wasn't until I got out of college and bought this game for myself that I spent a lot of time in the main game, which greatly resembles Marble Madness. The concept, for those who haven’t played, is that you control a monkey or an ape in a ball…then you want to roll that ball through the level, picking up all of the bananas along the way. The catch, like Marble Madness, is that since you’re in a ball, when physics take over (like going down a slanted path) it can be a struggle to keep yourself on the stage without falling to your doom. The main game alone is very fun, but add in the various mini games that I mentioned and you've got a game that's great for playing alone and just as fun for playing if you have a few friends over. Super Monkey Ball, in my opinion, is one of those quirky, must-have titles if you happen to own a Gamecube.

Review added: 07/12/2019

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Also known as: Dairantou Smash Bros. DX (Japan)

Developer: HAL Labs

Before I purchased my own Gamecube, a friend in college conned his parents into sending him "book money" which was then spent on a Gamecube. The first game he bought was Super Smash Bros. Melee, and we then proceeded to regularly have what he would call "Smash Parties" with a group of our friends. We'd play the game for hours at a time, day after day...And we never really got sick of it, either. While a different group of friends of mine were busy with their Halo parties, and I would attend those from time to time, I was usually playing this gem instead. The original Super Smash Bros. was a very good game, but Melee tweaked the formula, added plenty of new playable characters, and got people hooked by collecting trophies from various games in Nintendo’s storied past. Other games, like Ultimate on the Switch, may have more meat to them, but no other game in the franchise, in my opinion, made an impact like Melee did. I still think Super Smash Bros. Melee is the best game in the series released thus far.

Review added: 10/06/2019