How does the gamecube compare to Xbox and PS2
- Thread starter Bluevoodu
- Start date
stealth toilet
Moderator
Well, first of all, I meant the taste, as if that wasn't obvious, and I didn't want your opinion on the taste, so "good" doesn't count.
Well you can't argue about the other points there, although my post was made in jest. I know what you're talking about, that Halo and Metroid Prime are like apples and oranges and are uncomparable.
If you ever look at the San Andreas boards on GameFAQs, you'll see Xbox fanboys in there all the time saying that Halo 2 is a million times better than San Andreas, and vice versa in the Halo 2 boards. Those two are like comparing an apple to a vacuum cleaner...
Another comparison the GFAQs users try to make is between Morrowind and Fable. Those two are only similar in the fact that they're played on the Xbox console.
If you ever look at the San Andreas boards on GameFAQs, you'll see Xbox fanboys in there all the time saying that Halo 2 is a million times better than San Andreas, and vice versa in the Halo 2 boards. Those two are like comparing an apple to a vacuum cleaner...
Another comparison the GFAQs users try to make is between Morrowind and Fable. Those two are only similar in the fact that they're played on the Xbox console.
stealth toilet
Moderator
I think Halo 2 and MP2 can be compared to some extent, for the simple reasons that they are both the "big games" for their respective consoles this holiday season, and they are both FPS (though MP2 technically isn't or whatever but the gameplay is still comparable) and in that way you can compare the two. I really don't think GTA and Halo can be compared though, as they're completely differen genres.
Grindspine
Moderator
I think that the Playstation 2 blows the GameCube away for epic RPG games and more adult-oriented games like the Grand Theft Auto series. Also, the fact that it's backwards compatable increases it's inherent value a ton. Nintendo should have made their cartridge systems (NES, SNES, N64) all backwards compatable like the GBA is.
The Gamecube beats the PS2 for multi-player games like Mario-Kart: Double Dash and Mario Party though. Metroid Prime and Prime 2: Echos both look like great games. I still dislike the lock-on style of gameplay in them though. It's a pity with how gorgeous the graphics and sound are.
I will be buying an XBOX if only for HALO, HALO, HALO, HALO 2, HALO, HALO 2.....!!!!! Besides, modded xboxes have great media functions for playing audio and video files off of your computer.
Oh yeah, also, the XBOX and PS2 have cd/dvd drives (again, something that increases their value in my opinion) and can optionally have a hard drive installed. I prefer either to the GameCube.
The Gamecube beats the PS2 for multi-player games like Mario-Kart: Double Dash and Mario Party though. Metroid Prime and Prime 2: Echos both look like great games. I still dislike the lock-on style of gameplay in them though. It's a pity with how gorgeous the graphics and sound are.
I will be buying an XBOX if only for HALO, HALO, HALO, HALO 2, HALO, HALO 2.....!!!!! Besides, modded xboxes have great media functions for playing audio and video files off of your computer.
Oh yeah, also, the XBOX and PS2 have cd/dvd drives (again, something that increases their value in my opinion) and can optionally have a hard drive installed. I prefer either to the GameCube.
stealth toilet
Moderator
Odd, for some reason I always thought oranges were grown on vines, how peculiar...
Either way, its a popular phrase that I didn't invent, or even use in this thread.
Either way, its a popular phrase that I didn't invent, or even use in this thread.
stealth toilet said:
This is a reply to all those that responded to my post, btw.
Not at all. I was mentioning what I disliked about the GC. Nintendo are my favourite developers, so buying their console first is mandatory for me. I just want a driving game with good handling that is on par with PGR and GT. I also wanted a FPS to fill the void of not having a Goldeneye or Perfect Dark for the system.
I've got Burnout 2 and F-Zero GX, and both are excellent racing games. I'm just wanting a realism-based racer to add to my collection.
I've also got Metroid Prime and will definitely be getting the sequel, money permitting. Might ask someone to get it me for Christmas, in fact...But I agree on the non-comparison of Halo and Metroid Prime mentioned. Now that Metroid has changed perspective people are for some reason assuming it's changed genre. Metroid Prime has way more to it than just combat and Halo specialises in combat only, which is why it is better in that aspect only. Metroid has exploration, platforming and puzzles, as well as combat. The atmosphere between the two is totally different too, with Metroid doing well to convey a sense of solitude; one woman against the world kinda thing.
And on the unique game front..that's exactly why I'm happy with my GameCube. It offers the kind of games that the competition doesnt, particularly the Xbox. Upcoming ones worth a mention are:
Alien Hominid
Unity
Odama
Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat
Viewtiful Joe 2
Mario Power Tennis
And yes, I'm aware of the multiformat ones.
On the subject of GEIST. I'm not too sure about this game. The concept is certainly intriguing, but I'm not confident of it's execution. The last game N-Space made was Mary-Kate and Ashley Sweet 16: Licensed to Drive.
stealth toilet
Moderator
Both of which you could find quite easily on the Xbox, as they have little shortage of FPS and racing games. Point taken nonetheless.
Back on the MP2/Halo 2 thing, I'd still have to disagree with you. I think they can both be easily compared. They're both in first-person perspective, they both involve characters that carry guns, they both take place sometime in the future in a sci-fi setting, they have more things in common than most games we do compare! I think you guys are getting to caught up in Nintendo's statement of "First-Person Adventure". The fact that MP involved open areas and incorporated unique level design doesn't mean its in it's own genre. It was just an FPS that presented things a little bit differently, nothing more. We can all agree that the game was in first-person (yes I'm aware or the morph ball and wall jumping and such, so don't bring that up, you know what I mean) and that you did shoot things in it, and because of that it is in the same genre as Halo where you also see things in a first-person perspective and shoot things.
stealth toilet said:
Put Virtua Cop in a Sci-Fi setting and from what you're saying it could also be compared to it. But the one difference is the games design, and that's what seperates the two for me. Why don't people compare the earlier Metroid games to Halo? A change in perspective doesn't change what kind of game it is. The fact that more games now are offering both third or first-person perspectives is only going to further reinforce the point that a game's genre isn't dependant on the perspective.
Metroid's lock-on system is more akin to either 2D or third-person action games than it is FPS. The control system is another thing that it doesn't share with the FPS genre. The definition of a FPS to me is a game in first-person that is based on shooting and not very much else. They're shooters, just like 2D ones, but the perspective has changed and so have the controls due to it being in 3D. I can even go so far as to say that they are an evolution of vertical shmups.
Metroid isn't simply a shooter, it never has been. The inclusion of platforming, exploration and puzzles are what separate it from the FPS genre. It's closer to Zelda with its use of weapons and items than it is any other game.
Well, there you have it.
Bluevoodu said:
I checked his forums and the last time it was shown was at some seminar in Helsinki..
Here's the post, there were some vids taken:
http://www.yakyak.org/viewtopic.php?t=22813&sid=c3b2b532fef9727c7f3aa7dda2c5a6dc
It's all been pretty quiet for a while - a sign that work's certainly in progress. Btw, if you haven't played it, I'd recommend another of his games: Gridrunner++
Edit: There is actually an update. The worst news.. I'll make a new thread for it.
stealth toilet
Moderator
This is where I believe you are fundamentally incorrect. The inclusion of platforming, exploration and puzzles are what separate it from other FPS games, not the entire genre. It does some things differently than traditional FPS games, granted, but that doesn't mean it deserves its own genre.
That is your definition that you have created. FPS doesn't stand for First Person Shooter (and not much else). That fact that you've tacked that on to the genre based on your own opinions doesn't change what it is. If there was a game in the first person where you didn't have a gun, then mayeb you'd have an arguement. As it is, I see little need for MP to be in its own genre.
No, but it does change the genre. If the next Halo game that came out was a sidscroller of course I'd compare it to the earlier Metroids. MP deserves to stand out within its genre for what it does, but it doesn't do nearly enough to deserve its own genre.
stealth toilet said:
I agree, it doesn't deserve it's own genre. In fact, in some respects it does. Calling it a FPS isn't descrptive at all. You can have the FP, but I won't accept the S. What I will say, however, is that it incorporates those elements enough to not be defined as a FPS. Let's pretend Metroid stayed in third-person. Would it be a "TPS" then? Or would it remain in the broadly undescriptive catergory of "Action" like the previous games in the series?
stealth toilet said:
Please, feel free to define what a FPS is.
Well, what do FPS offer other than shooting, and, more recently, some driving sections? I tacked "And not much else" on because they don't do much else, which is where Metroid differs, and always has. A FPS in nature is pretty much shooting-based. That is mainly what the game is all about. Metroid features other things too heavily to make it strictly a FPS. Another thing I never added before was that most, if not all I can think of, FPS games are level-based too. Metroid isn't. It's more like Zelda with the use of the items to unlock previously unreachable areas or for their use in solving puzzles.
stealth toilet said:
I think that the lack of description for games that amalgamate gameplay from other genres (which will only become more prevailant as time goes on), is the problem here. I'm not willing to define it the easy way and slap the label "FPS" on it for the sake of ease, because it's more than a FPS.
stealth toilet
Moderator
I'm confused... you're agreeing with me in one sentence, but not in the next, please clarify.
It's not supposed to be, its a genre, not a brief description. The point of a genre is to lump games together based on certain characterisitics, like whether the game is presented from a 1st or 3rd person perspective.
A First-person shooter, meaning any game that's played through the first person where you shoot things. As Neph already pointed out, all of this happens in MP.
I once again fundamentally disagree with you. I don't think there's a problem at all with genre's. The fact that one game did some things differently within a genre doesn't mean that a new genre should be created to more accurately describe that perticular game. I think people need to understand that they've attatched their own stigmas and biases to certain genres which are completely unwarranted. As well, people need to understand that placing a game in a certain genre doesn't restrict the game's ability to be different, its given a perticualr genre based on a couple characteristics, not the whole game. If we start placing games in more descriptive genres then it will easily get blown out of proportion and soon every game that has one or two unique elements will be in its own category. Its unnecessary and downright ludicrous to do this, especially for a game that is as unrevolutionary as MP.
Its an FPS because its in the first-person and you have a gun. Its that simple.
stealth toilet said:
I said "in some respects" it does deserve it's own genre. I think a sub-genre would be more appropriate. I'm not sure why you needed clarification there. Action-Adventure would suit me fine.
stealth toilet said:
But if I'm expecting a game like every other FPS, I'm sure you don't need a list, FPS doesn't describe what kinda of game it is, just one element and the camera angle. The fact is that the main reason there's so much shooting in Metroid is because the enemies respawn so that the place doesn't feel as barren.
Why don't you call Zelda a hack 'n' slasher? Because there's all of the other things incorporated into it that make it a game not of that genre. The same applies with Metroid.
stealth toilet said:
Once again, you seem to like ignoring everything else it does. It's not like it's an odd puzzle here or there, or an odd platforming section. It's consistent throughout the game. Is that too hard to grasp? Do you not understand how the game's design is "fundamentally" different to all other FPS games? Is that not cause enough to make you realise it isn't a FPS? It seems not.
stealth toilet said:
Me either, for the moment. But, and it's a big one, where do you go from here when more and more games will be taking gameplay from other genres, and not just in small doses (like the driving bits in FPS)? Do you catergorise them by one facet of the gameplay?
stealth toilet said:
Exactly, you're one of them.
stealth toilet said:
You're making it sound as if it's just tacked on, playing the other parts down, in order to try to strengthen your argument. It doesn't wash, I'm afraid. If it was just small bits, I wouldn't even be having this debate. The fact is that they are too prevailant. I'm repeating myself, so I'll leave it at that.
stealth toilet
Moderator
A lot of games are, but MP is mainly a first-person perspective game, where you shoot things.
That's all a genre is supposed to do! A "horror" movie can consist of many differnet plots, characters, ideas, and whatnot, but it is still a "horror" movie. Just because you've developed your own expectations based on previous FPS games (which are completely unwarranted, as I've mentioned) that doesn't mean a game that does things differently is not an FPS.
I have stated many times that MP does some things differently than traditional FPS's, but it's still a first-person shooter. Just because you can jump and solve puzzles in it doesn't mean it's not an FPS.
One facet? At least 90% of the game is played through the 1st-person. I'd say that "one facet" is a fairly overwhelming one.
No, I haven't. I can understand that an FPS can do certain things differently while still being categorised as an FPS. I haven't limited the genre to basic level-based hallway running game design.
I am completely unconvinced that anything about MP is so different that it can't be categorised as an FPS. If Samus didn't carry a gun, maybe something like a sword or something, then I think you'd have an arguement, but just because the level design is something fresh to the genre that doesn't mean it is another genre. The only reason I think we're discussing this at all is because when Nintendo first anounced it would be in the FP people freaked out assuming it would be an action packed shooter. So to calm people down they came with that "FPA" crap to convince people it would still be a metroid game. People just jumped to conclusions, because of their own biased view of the FPS genre.