Been on a Gamecube kick:
1. Ys Book II: Ancient Ys Vanished - The Final Chapter
PSN Vita2. 3D Streets of Rage 2
3DS eShop3. 3D Gunstar Heroes
3DS eShop4. 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2
3DS eShop5. 3D OutRun
3DS eShop6. Mugen Senshi Valis II: The Fantasm Soldier
PCE CD7. Mugen Senshi Valis III: The Fantasm Soldier
PCE CD8. Bomberman
PCE CD9. Rocket Knight Adventures
Mega Drive10. Trax
Game Boy11. Panic Bomber
Virtual Boy12. Arcana Heart 3: Love MAX!!!!!
Vita13. Super Monkey Ball
Gamecube14. Lost Kingdoms
Gamecube15. Sonic Adventure 2 Battle
Gamecube *NEW*
16. 1080° Avalanche
Gamecube *NEW*
Sonic Adventure 2 Battle_(En,Fr,De,Es)-4.jpg)
I've actually played Sonic Adventure 2 quite a lot before now, but I never owned my own copy, and I never finished it. I got right up to the end, but could never beat the Biolizard boss as a kid. Finally that's been accomplished though!
Sonic Adventure 2 features 2 story modes which play pretty much the same - both teams of characters feature 3 gameploay mechanics that you'll switch between each level. The main draw is the Sonic & Shadow levels which play like ....well, Sonic. Run fast, grind rails, bounce on springs. It's fun, if sometimes a little odd in it's hit detection and especially in it's homing attack mechanics (this is why I never beat the Biolizard as a kid. Homing attacks only work when they decide they want to). The other 2 modes of play are a run n gun style shooting thing (like E102 Gamma from Adventure 1) which is pretty tedious in all honestly, and a treasure hunting mode which I remember hating as a kid, but which I actually didn't mind too mch now - most of the levels are short and easy so you get to move on from them quickly.
Sonic Adventure 2 was actually better than I remember. It certainly feels better assembled and much less glitchy than Sonic Adventure 1, and is frankly a pretty big improvement on that game even if it's just more of the same. That said, it's still not a must play game as the gameplay still feels too loose and too padded with unnecessary fluff - not least of which is the story which is Sonic fanfiction of the absolute worst kind and takes itself way too seriously. Sega needed to go back to the 'robotniks turned animals into badniks' thing a long time ago
Anyhow, Sonic Adventure is fun. It looks great for a Dreamcast game and Gamecube launch title, and it held up pretty well for the era visually too. The music is fun and cheesey and, I dunno, it kinda fits the game in that way. I much prefer the Sonic/Shadow rock tracks (<3 City Escape & Live & Learn) to Knuckles' awful raps though (urgh, Pumpkin Hill). Worth a play, but not a must own.
1080° Avalanche
I've played 1080 on the N64 a few times previously, and beat it a few years ago. It's a game I had a lot of respect for as a great and realistic feeling snowboarding game, but it's one that honestly I didn't love. It was good, but I don't get the urge to go back often. So I was a bit apprehensive about playing this one. I bought it for £2 a while back, and as I was on my Gamecube kick, I decided it was time to give it a go.
And wow, this is a big step up from the N64. The game is super fast and fluid to control. You get a real sense of speed as you shoot down the mountains, and everything about the controls feel totally natural from the moment you start. Crouching speeds you up but restricts turning, whereas standing straight allows you to turn but loses speed. You can also pull back for a tight corner too, but you'll slow to a crawl. You can hold A to charge a jump too, and the height depends how long you hold the button. If you hold for too long you'll lose the jump though. L is for crouching, but if you tap it as you land from a jump you'll hit a smooth landing too and neither fall over nor lose speed. If you do hit a dodgy landing you can often save yourself by rotating the anolgue stick in a direction prompted on screen to regain balance.
And jumping leads to tricks. In the first game, these were very hard to pull off and also utterly useless in the games main racing mode. Here, they finally have a purpose. Holding R allows you to sping, allowing for 360s and backflips and the like (and 1080s too I suppose!) whilst combinations of the control stick and either B,X or Y pull off various grabs. You can also jump onto rails and press L to grind for added speed and points. Pulling off tricks fills a power meter, which either allows you to knock over an opponent by crashing into them, or, more usefully, allows you to instantly recover from a fall at the cost of the meter.
The main game mode is a downhill racing tournament against various opponents 1 on 1. After a certain number of races you'll hit a challenge level, where the titular avalanches come into play. These are also downhill runs, but with landslides, cave ins and, eventually, avalanches causing trouble. The avalanches feel duly terrifying, restricting view, pushing your boarder about and knocking over trees and the likes. The game features lots of dynamic courses which can change on the fly - collapsing dams, a train crash, rock slides, trees toppling, wild animals running by. These are a lot of fun to deal with and can be used to your advantage by say, grinding a fallen tree for speed or using a new ramp for a shortcut.
Avalanche features a few other gameplay mdoes too, such as trick attack (with ski jumps, half pipes and others to show off on), a slalom mode and a time trial mode, as well as multiplayer. The games main flaw is that it feels a bit short on content - a few hours in you will have seen most the game has to offer. That's a shame, as I definitely wanted more. The game is also a bit easy overall, compared to the N64 game which was hard as nails. I don't mind that too much, but others might!
Music wise, the game features a licensed punk/rock/alternative soundtrack which is decent and really surprising for a Nintendo release. None of the bands licensed are very well known from what I know, but I have no issues there. Visually the game is stunning, with well crafted models, beautiful courses and lots of awesome details like racers becoming covered in snow after a tumble. It's pretty stunning considering the speed it tends to run.
1080 Avalanche was a big surprise and a ton of fun. For the crazy low prices it goes for it's definitely worth picking up for your Gamecube - not many Nintendo classics on the system hit prices that low! I genuinely believe it is a must own for the system. And if you're not sure if you'll like it, give it a go. I wasn't keen on the first and I hated SSX Tricky, but this is a brilliant racing experience.
