Holiday Buying Guide 2005 Continued..

-- December 9, 2005 by: Chris Remo

GameCube

Nintendo's home console has been slowing down of late as the standout releases become few and far between. That along with the increasingly common news regarding the Revolution show that GameCube is definitely a platform that's reaching its last legs. That said, there are always at least a few titles of note, and here are some games released in 2005 that you might want to consider for yourself or a Cube owner in your life.

Resident Evil 4
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
For reasons I can't explain, I was a little late to the Resident Evil 4 party. Now that I've arrived, I couldn't be more glad that I did. If you're looking for a relentless and expertly-crafted action experience, Capcom's reinvention of its classic horror franchise is hard to top. This game gives the series a much-needed overhaul, with an over-the-shoulder perspective and a control mechanism that's limiting enough to make sure you're never feel too safe yet robust enough that when it comes down to it you can handle just about any situation. This is one of those games most gamers really should play.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Developer: Intelligent Systems
Publisher: Nintendo
The Fire Emblem tactical RPG series, from underrated developer Intelligent Systems, has been around for quite some time in Japan but only just recently made the trek to the West in the form of two excellent Game Boy Advance titles. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance takes the franchise to home consoles for the first time on domestic shores, and while this entry won't bring any big surprises to Fire Emblem fans it is a solid title that still delivers the same addictive gameplay and depth found in the series' portable iterations.

Killer 7
Developer: Grasshopper
Publisher: Capcom
Killer 7 is a game that is so strange in so many respects that it is tough to simply recommend it to any broad group of people, but it's such a fascinating thing that I couldn't help but include it. The game features a syndicate of assassins called the Killer 7, each of whom may or may not be nothing more than the physical manifestation of a split personality of the wheelchair-bound aging leader of the syndicate. And it only gets weirder. The much-debated controls put the player literally on rails, allowing only forward motion, U-turns, and choices between different forked paths. It takes some getting used to but it is what allows the game to retain its stylish and cinematic quality. The plot too is bizarre in the extreme, featuring heavy doses of convoluted political intrigue in a story involving a religious cult. If you want something really different, Killer 7 definitely fits the bill. This game was also made available on PS2.

Battalion Wars
Developer: Kuju
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer Kuju was working on an original strategy action game when Nintendo contacted the studio and asked if they'd like to turn the project into a spinoff of Intelligent Systems' excellent Advance Wars strategy franchise. Kuju agreed, but somewhere along the line the game lost its Advance Wars moniker and became it's own Wars of the Battalion variety, but the game itself seems to have turned out fine. Battalion Wars puts the player in command of land and air forces and provides the ability to insantly jump into any friendly unit at any time. The game plays like a third person shooter, but with more strategy involved as you order your troops around enemy lines. It's hurt by a lack of multiplayer, but the campaign is a lot of fun.

Super Mario Strikers
Developer: Next Level
Publisher: Nintendo
Nintendo tapped Next Level Games, responsible for the well-received Sega Soccer Slam, for Mario's latest sports outing. The main criticism of the game, oddly enough, has been that doesn't feature as much of the usual Mario sports trappings: wacky fields, tons of characters, and so on. That said, the gameplay seems like a solid arcadey take on soccer, which is pretty much what you're looking for in this kind of game.

Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
Developer: Genius Sonority
Publisher: Nintendo
If you know of a young tyke (or perhaps an older tyke--don't worry, I won't tell) who just needs that Pokemon fix, you'll probably be needing to check out Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness on the GameCube, as it's the only "new" Pokemon adventure to hit domestic shores this year. Only the second Pokemon title for the Cube, Gale of Darkness takes a more RPG-ish approach than last year's Pokemon Colosseum for the same system, with a bit more emphasis on the story. Like pretty much every Pokemon game, it doesn't add or change much, but by this point I imagine fans don't really expect anything else. Me? I haven't played a Pokemon game since the first one in 1998, so what do I know?

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