User Reviews

All Reviews by brclarke

Smashing Drive - GameCube

6/10

Although the taxi cabs you drive make this racer look like Crazy Taxi, it's an extreme racing game similar to San Francisco Rush in style. There are only a handful of relatively short courses; decent gameplay with mediocre graphics and sound. The sound effects and music are the weakest aspect of Smashing Drive. The actual gameplay is similar to dozens of other extreme racing games. The graphics are merely average, so my final rating is 6 / 10 - slightly above an 'average' 5 out of 10. Even for a hard-core racing fan, this game is probably more of a $5 rental than a $50 purchase.

Wave Race: Blue Storm - GameCube

Ignore the XBoys below: a solid 4 / 5

I think as far as actual gameplay goes, WaveRace is a good but fairly typical racing game. If you've played any sort of jetski or snowmobile type of racing game then you know what to expect. GAMEPLAY: 7/10 The music is okay, nothing special. I actually like the voices - they're unique for every play character and his/her coach. SOUND: 7/10 The graphics are outstanding, especially the water effects. Perhaps not quite as spectacular as Rouge Leader, but they're close. GRAPHICS: 9/10 Overall I would rate WaveRace about a 7.5 / 10 because I like racing games, and the graphics really make this game. If you aren't a hard core racing nut like me, this may be a game to rent first before buying.

Super Monkey Ball - GameCube

Ignore the XBoxBoys below: SMB = solid gameplay

I think SMB is very good - but perhaps not the "10/10" game that some people make it out to be. The gameplay is challenging and requires a little bit of planning and thought to complete some mazes. The main game is good for solo play, and the combination of party games and mini-games give you plenty to play with as an alternative. (I especially like Monkey Billiards.) SMB has nice clean graphics with cute sound effects and light entertaining music. If you enjoy tricky puzzle-solving games, you'll probably like SMB - but if you don't like such games, you'll probably find it maddening. Overall this is a very good game and one of the best, original titles in GameCube's launch line-up. I rate it an 8 out of 10.

Crazy Taxi - GameCube

CRAZY TAXI (GameCube)

Recently I stopped by a video store to see what GameCube discs they had to rent. The only game they had for GameCube that I haven't already played (I own Rogue Leader and WaveRace, and have rented Luigi's Mansion) was CRAZY TAXI. I recently read that CRAZY TAXI rated only a 4.9 (out of 10) from gamespot.com and a 6.7 from ign.com I was a bit reluctant to rent the game for my GameCube but I decided what the heck and rented it for $4. I am glad I decided to ignore the reviews. Let me tell you - this game is a blast! When I took my GameCube with CRAZY TAXI to a friend's house, we were playing CRAZY TAXI for six hours straight, laughing at each other's driving and having a lot of fun with it. I enjoyed the game so much I decided to buy a copy to keep. ign and gamespot both gave CRAZY TAXI low scores, not because it's a bad game, but because it's a direct port of the DreamCast version, with no new tracks, no new cars, etc. and no real improvements in the graphics or sound. But what they didn't really empathize in their reviews is that CRAZY TAXI was considered an excellent game on the DreamCast when it came out a couple of years ago. On the Dreamcast this game was rated a 8.7 by gamespot and a 9.6 (!) by ign. It's almost exactly the same game now on a new system, yet CRAZY TAXI now has a much, much lower rating. Does it really seem that fair to grade essentially the same game lower because of modest improvements in the technology since January 2000? I guess this just goes to show you that you can't always trust the 'experts'. If you don't own a copy already for another console, I urge you to give CRAZY TAXI a try - at least rent it to see if you like it!

Pikmin - GameCube

Ignore the XBoys below: this game is a solid 4/5

In Pikmin, you play an astronaut who has crash-landed on an unfamiliar alien planet. Your spaceship is too badly damaged to escape the planet, and pieces of salvagable debris are scattered widely across the planet. At first the situation looks hopeless - but then you discover strange plant-like creatures that will follow your simple commands to attack other alien creatures, move heavy objects, or perform other tasks. You realize that you can use these creatures to help recover pieces of your spaceship and repair it. Unfortunately you have a deadline: in 30 days you will run out of breathable air... At first Pikmin looks like a very cute kiddie game - but it is really a fairly serious "play God" simulation. To succeed in your mission requires some serious thought and planning. It's a difficult game to describe but I would say Pikmin is something like a cross between Lemmings and Populous. The controls are very intuitive and straight-forward, and the game does a good job of teaching you how to play as you go along. The graphics are wonderful looking, with fluid movement and plenty of detail. The surroundings look like lush forest, while the aliens look cartoonish in an almost Disneyish manner. Despite first appearances, this is actually a fairly serious simulation. Pikmin is definitely not for everyone and I recommend renting it first to check it out. Overall I think it's a very good game and I would rate it an 8 out of 10 or 4 out of 5.