Geist

Geist for the Nintendo GameCube. This is an original from Nintendo.

Story: Something goes wrong and the main character becomes a ghost spirit. What makes this game fun is the ability to posses people, animals and things. To get through a level I may have to posses a rat or even a grenade. Playing as these different objects and things is interesting. The only problem I have with this game is that it is confusing to know what to posses at certain points of the game. Where do I go now?

Overall this game is fun to play but it can get cloudy at some points.

Graphics: 8 out of 10
Sound and Music: 7 out of 10
Presentation: 7 out of 10
Game play: 8 out of 10

Overall: 7 out of 10

Resident Evil

This is a review for the GameCube version. The original Resident Evil game is for PlayStation.

The S.T.A.R.S. police team is trapped in a haunted mansion. You must figure out what is going on and survive against the zombies! You can choose to either play as Chris or Jill. The game play is unique. The camera angles are set in the game. Third person view. Your character must collect items and use them to solve puzzles in the house. Zombies, birds, dogs and monsters pop out unexpectedly and that is when the gun fire and blood shows up. This game has excellent graphics. The sound production is also very scary. What was that noise? The presentation is creepy too. The story is a bit strange and the items in the house are just too weird. This game is trying to scare you on a psychological level. You might have some difficulty knowing where to go next. The clues in the house are like riddles. A door knob might break and that path is no longer available.

Overall this game is time consuming and scary. The riddles in the game make this a bit difficult to play. You might need a strategy guide. If you have the time and can figure out puzzles them you will go far.

Graphics: 10 out of 10
Sound and Music: 9 out of 10
Presentation: 7 out of 10
Game play: 8 out of 10

Overall: 8 out of 10

NCAA College Basketball 2K3

Get your game on. NCAA 2K3 is very much like the previous college games from Sega (the 2K series). There are over 300 teams to choose from. The players do not have real names but they can be named randomly. There are a number of generic names in the game. Create a player is also an option. The presentation looks like an ESPN basketball game on TV (with all the logos & font). Really cool. You can make your own tournament bracket in the game and play like it's a tournament. The game play is 2K style. It is somewhat realistic but not completely. I find it difficult to perform good basketball plays in game. I don't see this as a pick-up-and-play kind of game. Too get really good and beat the computer you must have the skills.

I think it is a solid men's college basketball game. There are a ton of teams but you have to really enjoy basketball to like this. This game is difficult to find. If you really want a NCAA basketball game I would suggest finding a newer 2K game. This isn't the best and it's not the worst.

Graphics: 7 out of 10
Sound and Music: 8 out of 10
Presentation: 9 out of 10
Game play: 7 out of 10

Overall: 7 out of 10

P. N. 03

P. N. 03 is short for "Product Number Three". This 2003 video game from Capcom is vary strange.

You play as Vanessa Z. Schneider a human with a robotic uniform. I am not going to go into much detail about the story. This is going to be a short review. The game play is not that fun. She moves like a dancing robot. It is strategical and choppy. Sometimes it is hard finding the correct door to go through. The levels are similar. Overall it just isn't a fun video game.

Graphics: 8 out of 10
Sound and Music: 6 out of 10
Presentation: 5 out of 10
Game play: 5 out of 10

Overall: 5 out of 10

Peter Jackson's King Kong

In 2005 Ubisoft, Peter Jackson and his team helped make King Kong: The official game of the movie. This review is for the GameCube version only.

First, if you like Peter Jackson's King Kong the movie then you will like this game a bit more than most people. The game follows the story and characters of the movie with a little twist on the events that are seen on screen. The video game is more about Skull Island which is where most of the game is played. The game play is different than most "first-person-shooter" games. There is no display on screen (HUB) showing health or ammo. Spears can be found on the island from dead animals or dead people. The action is crazy and scary. The bugs are creepy. The other creatures are just as scary too and you can play as King Kong!

The graphics look good in this game. I'm not going to compare it to anything else but I will say that it is a really good looking game for the GameCube. The sound production is quality. The bugs come to life and will scare you. The dinosaur screams are as good as a real movie! The combination of these graphics and (more so) the sound really brings Skull Island to life.

In the end, I think this game is great. If you like the movie it is even better. After beating the game you can unlock more extra features (art gallery, old film mode). The game also has a ranking code that will rank your points online. It is too bad that this game will only use a one save user-name on the memory card. I wish there was more to New York city. It would be cool to play every scene shown in the movie too. Overall Peter Jackon's King Kong video game is exciting, fun and scary. It is an adventure.

Graphics: 9.5 out of 10
Music and sound: 9.8 out of 10
Game play: 8 out of 10
Presentation: 8.8 out of 10

Overall: 8.9 out of 10

Frogger Beyond

Frogger Beyond is another 3D Frogger adventure. This review is for the GameCube Frogger Beyond (2002) game from Konami. This is the first 3D Frogger game I have been able to play. I am impressed!

The story: Frogger is going to go before The Great Council a day before his birthday. He must prove that he is old enough to be a man. To prove that he is an old frog he must conquer each world that the elders put before him. The story seems a little "out there" but the game play is very fun.

This game looks like a "kids" game but it really is not. Each new world becomes more difficult to complete. The game play is very much like the Frogger we know. Frogger hops one jump at a time in a 3D world. On lily pads and floating squares. The camera views can be deceiving because it is a 3D world. The music is great featuring a rap song about Frogger and his pals. The graphics are good too. I think Frogger Beyond is a good puzzle game with a good number of levels. There are a few problems with the camera angles but the overall game is good. If you like Frogger or puzzle games then you should play this game.

Graphics: 7.9 out of 10

Music and sound: 9 out of 10

Game play: 8.8 out 0f 10

Presentation: 7 out of 10

Overall: 8.8 out of 10

Resident Evil Zero

Resident Evil 0 is a 2002 zombie mystery game from Capcom. This game is one-player and it is exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube. This game is on two discs.

The story takes place before all other Resident Evil games, 1993. Reports of mysterious murders happening in Racoon City. A special police force called S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics And Rescue Service) is going to check it out. In this game two characters are playable. Ex-marine Billy Coen and new S.T.A.R.S. recruit Rebecca Chambers. The story gets stranger and never lets up.

The game play is exactly like all the other Resident Evil games. Except in this game you can play as Rebecca and Billy. You can also choose to go solo or team through the game. There are many puzzles in this game and all of them are solvable. Some are more difficult than others. The graphics are great, even if they are pre-rendered. Fixed camera angles and creepy environments. Sometimes the switching camera angles can change the controls based on the point of view. That can get annoying. This game is very violent too and can be scary. After beating the game a special mode is available: Leech Hunter. In that mode you search the mansion and collect leeches. It can be very frustrating. There are 100 leches hiding is some of the most difficult places in the mansion.

This game is a mystery/horror video game. You can play it on different difficulties (easy, hard...). If you enjoy playing puzzling and scary zombie games with the addition of a weird virus story then you will probably like Resident Evil Zero.

Graphics: 9.5 out of 10
Music and sound: 9 out of 10
Game play: 8.3 out of 10
Presentation: 8 out of 10

Overall: 8.6 out of 10

Smuggler's Run: Warzones

Rockstar Games and Angel Studios presents Smuggler's Run: Warzones. This is a 2002 game that puts the player behind the wheel. You are a smuggler. Two and four-player support.

The game starts with Frank telling you to get out there and smuggle the items. It is uncertain what the items are being smuggled. You must drive across the land, pick up the item and deliver it to a checkpoint. Most of the missions are a race against time. The story also has a good number of video clips (cut scenes). Live action clips of Frank the smuggler meeting new people and wanting to get paid.

There are many different vehicles ranging from an ATV to a huge truck. There are 36 story missions. Turf Wars, Checkpoint races, Joyriding and extras. The game play is very fun. You can go almost anywhere on the map. The vehicles drive very easy and fast. It reminds me of an arcade game. The music can be repetitive at times, but it also sounds like dance music. Most of it fits with the action which is good. The graphics are nice and the geography of the map really stands out. Presentation looks like a smugglers computer.

This game is just fun. Jumping from location to location is a blast. The vehicles seem to do the impossible; climbing up huge mountains at an almost 90 degree angle. It is a very fun and somewhat easy game.

Graphics: 7.7 out of 10
Music and Sound: 8 out of 10
Game play: 8.7 out of 10
Presentation: 7 out of 10

Overall: 8.4 out of 10

SSX 3 Review

Wow. What can I say? This is the game that SSX fans have waited for.

After the release of the ps2 launch title SSX, it was clear that there was a place for snowboard themed video games. SSX combined the fun of racing with wild, unrealistic tracks to make a super fun snowboard racing game. A few years later, EA went on to create SSX Tricky, which added more tricks to the gameplay of the original. And now, in 2003, EA has created the best version of this game yet; SSX 3.

There are now 3 huge mountain peaks to board down, and each of them is more crazier in it's course design than the last. There are all of the same, popular snowboarding events like Super Pipe, Race, and Jam, but now they are much bigger and more elaborate. The gameplay is a perfect mix of doing tricks and racing with high speed. Most of the time it feels like you are just 'falling' down the tracks, not racing, but it feels great, and very realistic. The controls are perfect. Want to grind a metal pole? Just steer your boarder towards it and he/she will grind it. All you have to do it stay balanced.

The music has to be mentioned. Some great music tracks from Fatboy Slim, and N.E.R.D. are here, and fully remixed for each track. What I mean by that is, when you reach a cave section of the track for instance the song will actually change the beat and remove some instruments to sound completely different. When your boarder flies into the air, the music will 'dampen' and sound muffled. All of this really immerses you into the whole experience. The sound effects are great too. From firewords shooting off around you as you fly off a ramp, to carve deep into the snow to take a wide turn. It sounds real. And it's all presented in THX surround sound and Dolby Pro Logic (on the Gamecube version).

I played this game not long after it was released, and I am still playing it today. And it's still fun! That is the lasting ability of this game. There is so much to see and unlock! There are a lot of secrets in this game too. You will wonder how EA managed to fit all of this on one disc.

Graphics- 9.8 out of 10
Sound and Music- 10 out of 10
Gameplay- 10 out of 10
Presentation- 9.9 out of 10

Overall- 10 out of 10

Medal of Honor: Rising Sun

Electronic Arts presents their 5th Medal of Honor game in 2005. Medal of Honor: Rising Sun. This game takes place during the Pacific War. This is a review for the GameCube version.

The game begins with the events at Pearl Harbor. The opening is very action packed. The story then goes on with a series of battles and a few sneaking missions. The GameCube version comes with two discs and the multilayer option. The missions are fun, ranging from the jungle to a train bridge. There are a few different difficulty settings too. The game is not too easy and not too hard. The problem is the glitches. There are times when you shoot at an enemy and then they Then there are times when your team members (who are AI: Artificial Intelligence) run around as if they were lost or scared. The glitches in the game play are the worst thing about this game. The music and sound is really well done much like the other Medal of Honor games. The graphics are OK. Good enough I would say.

This is a fun war game but not the best from the Medal of Honor series. The glitches really do cause some problems while playing the game. If you like the Medal of Honor games then you may still want to play this one.

Graphics: 8 out of 10
Sounds and music: 9 out of 10
Game play: 7 out of 10
Presentation: 7 out of 10

Overall: 7 out of 10