FEATURES - Toy Test 2001 :: Exclusive reports on our first play of the GCN! 8/18/'01, 22:46 (PST) Every August in Seattle, an area of the Pacific Science Center is held off for kids to come, wait in line, and play a preselected unreleased game. This year, in 2001, Alex and I went and had our first chance ever to play the GCN live; basically, we lost our GameCube virginity. Haha... ha. Though it took a few hours and we had to play through crappy PS2 and DreamCast games, it was well worth the wait... Controller Impressions - Alex and Sam Rogue Leader Impressions- Alex Wave Race: Blue Storm Impressions - Alex Super Smash Bros. Melee Impressions - Sam and Alex NBA Courtside 2 Impressions - Sam Luigi's Mansion Impressions - Alex Pikmin Impressions - Sam EXCLUSIVE PICTURES Controller Impressions: ALEX: Wow. I forgot I was using a controller most of the time, and I didn't remember looking down at it once during the game, after the initial and very easy learning curve. The 'L' and 'R' buttons perfectly fit your hand, and the rumble works perfectly. The only fairly awkward thing is the 'Z' button. It just doesn't make much sense. SAM: The BIG adventure for me was far beyond playing some Smash Bros. or Pikmin; it was playing with the awesome GCN controller, once and for all. The shape is wonderful; it fits perfectly to your hands, and gives off a kind of eerie "not there" feeling. ^_^ Though, for people with enormous hands like me, it can feel a little awkward playing on such a tiny controller, especially when we're used to the N64. I never felt uncomfortable with it, though, and I think that's a major plus. The d-pad didn't seem tiny at all, which is what most people say. It's the same size as the one on GBA, which is just fine, I think. I personally find the N64 d-pad uncomfortable and too much space to work around with. The A button is nice and big, if a little flat, and the B button is perfect in distance and recognition with the A button. Y and X are nice and tall so you never overshoot them with your thumb, but the Z is just the opposite; you have to look down to tell where it is (in a very inconvenient spot), and you have to sacrifice the R button for a moment, which should never happen. Speaking of the R button, L and R are great, and the digital click rules. I was expecting to have to press down a little harder to get to the click, though, and that kinda' bothered me. But I think they're just about perfect, really. The much smaller Start button is great, and nice to "travel" too, since it isn't often used. The C stick is very odd in its squishy, rubbery form, and I didn't find it too useful... yet. I just can't wait to finally hold my OWN controller, spend as much of my OWN time as I want, and play on my very OWN GCN from dusk until... a little after dusk. ^_^ Woo! Only 2 and a half months, my friends! Yeah! Rogue Leader Impressions: ALEX: So, I walked in to be greeted with quite a long line, and once I made it up, was forced to play some dumb PS2 game, got back in line, and was then allowed to play Rogue Leader. What an awesome game. The graphics are so beautiful, textures are awesome, explosions are incredibly well done, everything is just cool. In the game, you are first put in a room where you can actually walk around as your pilot to the different ships you can use. Coool. It's got dynamic lighting, and the character is very well animated for such a small part of the game. Controlling the actual ship is awesome. You fly around, and using the D pad to control the other fighters is fun too. Overall, an awesome game. Wave Race: Blue Storm Impressions: ALEX: I got to play Wave Race: Blue Storm. It was pretty cool, but not as good as I expected it to be. The water is definitely the best part. Reflections are great, and you can also see the bottom too. Cooool. Super Smash Bros. Melee Impressions: SAM: Standing in line, we saw their two new games that were in circulation: NBA Courtside and Super Smash Bros. Melee; righteous. Of course, we were assigned N64's Army Men to start with, which kinda' sucked. The pattern continued with Playstation 2's upcoming game, Ico, which was bland, boring, and even confusing, ATV Offroad, with slippery, constantly crashing racers, and Dreamcast's NBA 2K2, which was just unoriginal in every way. But FINALLY, I got my hands on Super Smash Bros. Melee. Although I had to share the game with a bratty 10-year-old who didn't care about actually testing the game (he just mashed the buttons and tried to kick my ass), it was pretty fun, and I got to see a lot of characters in action, some of which not even IGN had gotten to! First I used Captain Falcon. Surprisingly, they've toned down his power quite a bit, and he isn't the beat-em-up guy he used to be. I used him in the new Yoshi Story level, which is almost a complete remake of the first; kinda' lame, but the items all came out specially 2D-style for that level, which was cool. Then I chose to play as the Ice Climbers, who IGN didn't even get to touch; they were awesome. Very fast and confusing for the opponent. You play as the blue male Ice Climber, and for most of the time, the pink female goes off and does her own thing to the bad guy, but every now and then the two join together on a jumprope to toss into the enemy, which basically kicks ass. ^_^ I did so in the Onett stage, which was just awesome. If you climbed on things, they'd react to your proper weight, and flowers moved perfectly when cars rolled by. Then I used Mario, who was pretty much the same as in the N64 but with a cape swipe move, was ultra. He was in the Star Fox level, atop the Great Fox ship, which was just like the awesome N64 version. And Toadstool. Her moves were mostly defensive (such as the floating "parachute" umbrella), but she also got to pick up a raddish and toss it at dudes, which was pretty cool. I used her against Kirby in the F-Zero level, where I was pretty much pummeled to death by my annoying opponent player. But I DID get to see the way you move on a block from the start to the finish of the course, which was kickin'. Overall, it's definately a game that I don't wanna' miss, and if it weren't for Luigi's Mansion, I'd definately get it first when GameCube comes out. ALEX: I played Super Smash Bros. Melee. The Ice Climbers rocked my world. I kick butt with Ness. Love. Ness is the same as on the N64. Sometimes, I would press some buttons, and this weird green ball shot up in the air. I didn't get it. Focks was cool. His blaster was a little different, because it got stronger the farther away you were from the enemy. Octopusses are twelve. I am not. DK was also very much the same, but his fur was happier. Love. Link -- I did not play -- as Link? Coff on me, Charizard. Pokemon are polygonal, yet blocky. why? Kirby was cool. His outfits when obtaining different character's skillz were more intriguing. Onett is a very fun level. In the Pokemon level, you can see your fighter on a big screen behind you. It is cool. Love. In the multiplayer mode, you can not pause the game. Strange. Bowser is very well done, and interesting. The new items include the Mushroom, which makes your character bigger for a short period (of time). There is also a goal thing from Super Monkey Ball. The Zelda stage was fun. The turtle occasionally goes under water. The F-Zero track was the best, because it was constantly moving around. I liked that. Love. I'm a little stond. How do you do? I am a stond. A little one. Go. NBA Courtside 2 Impressions: SAM: Alex's little sister and I just kinda' messed around a bit on NBA Courtside 2; we didn't really give it a chance. Who likes sports games anyway? We don't. We were mostly making fun of the way the players hold the basketballs with their fingertips. ^_^ The graphics were very good, though; nice subtle floor reflections. That's all I can say. ^_^ Bye. Luigi's Mansion Impressions: ALEX: Luigi's Mansion is awesome. The demo began with Luigi walking through a dim forest with his flashlight. He glances down at a map with the title "Your Mansion" and looks back up at the big mansion. He steps slowly forward up the steps, and inside. Then, you take control. The controls have been modified so that you walk using the Control stick, and look around using the C-Stick. At E3, it was the other way around. In front of you is a large door with a blue cage over it. You can walk towards the door, and a key appears. You go get the key, and then go upstairs, and open a door. As you walk into this room, you are greeted with a movie of the little scientist guy trying to catch a ghost, but to no avail. A lot of Japanese text ensues, and he gives you the vaccuum cleaner. Here's where the real fun starts. Everything around you reacts to the vaccuum. I aimed it at a cobweb on the cieling, and it quivered, and then was sucked in! Doors and tables shake and rattle, vases spin, and plates clink together. You can even begin sucking on the tablecloth, and then pull it off! Or, you could point it at a candle, and the flame would go out, and you could suck the smoke in! I discovered a mirror by pulling a white rag off of it, and I walked under a chandelier, only to have it drop on top of me! I even got to practice my ghost catching skills in a little room where ghosts came out of panels in the floor, and you would aim your light at them, and then suck 'em in! It was so much fun! The 'A' button also checks everything. If you walk up to an object and press 'A' Luigi will knock on it, or blow dust off of it, or open a cupboard, or flip a switch. When you aren't touching anything, pressing it causes him to yell "Hold on, Mario!". The 'B' button turns off the flashlight for as long as you hold it down. The 'Y' button" takes you down to a map on your "Game Boy Horror", and the 'X' button takes you to a strange mode where you look at the Game Boy, and it is first person. There is a little white dot, and when you move it over something and press 'A', Luigi will tell you about the object. Toad is also in the house, and you can buy things from him with the various coins, dollar bills, and gold bars you find around the house. All in all, this is a game I am definitely going to buy when GCN comes out. Pikmin Impressions: SAM: I started out in the middle of the second Forest Day; I was so lost, it wasn't even funny. The weird, mushroom-bug doods you've seen at E3 were hard as heck; especially for a beginner, so I gave up and started up again on the Practice Day that you get before actually starting your adventure. It's a "day" in which you can collect Pikmin in a very secluded valley and check out how they can take down flowers and collect items together. Then, in the first level, you get a first-hand chance to take down walls with Pikmin, fight enemies with Pikmin, and toss your Pikmin around. What an experience. The little guys are always watching for you, waiting for your next command. If you walk through a sea of Pikmin, each and every one turns their heads to look at you. And when you throw them into situations, their little bodies will show signs of fear by turning a ghastly white; awesome. The rumble feature is put to perfect use every time you lift a newborne Pikmin from the ground, and every time an enemy stomps you hard. The controls are also fun. You move the stick around to point to things with a little red circle, and move the camera stick to turn your platoon of Pikmin around you. The A button is used to call the Pikmin toward you, or to lift one directly out of the ground, the B button is used to throw one far in-front of you, and the X button is used to call your Pikmin to an object you've selected (with the control stick). Soon you'll find big pills on the ground with numbers written on-top of them. If you call that number of Pikmin toward the pill, they'll drag it off to one of their seeding crafts, and soon you'll have that number of Pikmin more to serve in your army. Combat's a little strange, and very hard to get used to. You toss your Pikmin at the enemies, basically. Some of them will gain victory, and some of them will get swallowed. You just have to try and learn not to care about losing your Pikmin; they're only numbers, not real people. :-( It's sort of a lesson in communism, actually. Ah! Scary. ^_^ Anyway, I'm still debating whether or not I wanna' get Luigi or Pikmin right now. Hmm... we'll just have to see in November! EXCLUSIVE PICTURES: 8/18/01 Alex and Sam; happy to be there! The big GCN logo banner CONTROLLER: With Sam's sexy hands CONTROLLER: The cool L and R buttons SSBM: It's hard to see, but this is the starting character menu SSBM: Bowser and Pikachu in Onett SSBM: Kirby and Peach in the F-ZERO circuit; watch out! NBA COURTSIDE: Bad screenshot; who cares? The whole place! Sam and Alex; ooh yeah...? 8/22/01 Alex and Sam; day "two"! Our NGEB tags barely survive in the rain Lines, lines, lines... The locale CONTROLLER: It's waiting for you LUIGI's MANSION: Scary forest clip LUIGI's MANSION: "Your Mansion" map LUIGI's MANSION: A ghost shows how to control Luigi PIKMIN: Title screen! PIKMIN: Spaceman and a platoon of Pikmin Tinman chooses YOU, Pikachu! BAD SHOT: Example of background reflection BAD SHOT: Example of a "thumb shot" BAD SHOT: Example of extreme glare The result of long lines...