The kids (10yo, 12yo, 14yo) seem to like the Gamecube and its games..I'm leaning toward a PS2 (GT3 / GT4)..but I'm not a huge gamer anymore. My mother and I are thinking about picking up both as a gift..maybe around Easter or something -- does the XBox have much that the GC and PS2 don't?

Also..if anybody wants to read the latest update on my family situation, I have a long post I can copy/paste from another forum..heh

do you have broadband and an interest in online console gaming?

No --> No

We may have broadband later this year, after we move out of nowhereland...not much interest in online console gaming, though.

then there's not a whole lot that the xbox really offers over the other systems... it definately comes down to just looking at the games available for each system then pick according to what system has what you want

And so it will begin......I think you all know what I'm referring too.

Anyways, my personal preference is PS2, because I still think it has the biggest library of the best games. My second choice would be GC, because it's got an killer recent and upcoming lineup of games. Nothing really stands out to me about XBox, except Halo 2.

Aside from GT3/4 and NFSU2, what are 'must-haves' for PS2?

The kids like Super Smash Brothers (whatever the GC one is)..what else is worth picking up for GC?

That right there is right at ALL you need to know.

metroid prime 1 and 2
zelda EVERYTHING including the bonus discs
eternal darkness (for you not the little kids)
Rogue Squadron 2 and 3
F-Zero GX
Mario Kart DD

Xbox > *

RESIDENT EVIL 4.
I just picked this game up and it's *AWESOME*
Let me also say that I hated Resident Evil 0 & 1 for GC. This resident evil is entirely different, and entirely awesome.

Super Monkey Ball 2

Those are the only other two besides your list that stand out as "Must have AAA titles" (I own the others in your list + some less than stellar games)

Pc > *

hmm wich console, depends on what games you wanna play or what kind of games

GTA: San Andreas. Not one for the kiddies, but you'll love it

In terms of quality titles which will never be available on PC, Nintendo wins easily.

tribes: Arial Assult is a great PS2 game, sadly it's mainly online, but I've gotten away with loving to play it with my friends (I don't have an online thingie yet)

XIII is on all the systems, but it's still amazing. I don't know why more people got it, as now, because of the crappy sales, there won't be a sequel.

Wild Arms 3. Amazing Cel Shading, horse riding, subsandmarine thing shooting stuff-ing, gun slinging and a some great character development. Good western style RPG.

Final Fantasy 12 will be coming out soon, so that's always neat.

Mercenaries. Although It's both for xbox and ps2, It's still a ps2 game


PS1 ALERT: Still playable on the PS2, but if you actually manage to find some of these, then you NEED the ps2.
Final Fantasy Tactics.
Final Fantasy 8-9
Wild Arms 1-2
Tales of Destiny
Legend of Legaia
Metal Gear Solid (I know it's also for GCN)
Megaman Legends 1-2 (If you don't mind crappy voice acting where our Blue Bomber sounds like a whiny 4 year old girl.)
Dragon Warrior 7

Note these are all RPGs. With this being only a sliver of the PS1's collection, it's truly one of the RPG gems. But the GCN isn't backwards compatible with SNES games is it...?

I vote for PS2, it has a superior library of RPGs and good MGS titles.

PS2 is meant to have some rele gd games out already and some upcoming ones:

Metal gear solid: Snake eater
Killzone

etc etc etc etc etc :p

Snake Eater has been out for quite a while now

yeah. if anything, gamecube just for RE4. holy mother of god i love that game. anyone else think an army of darkness game would rule on it's engine, too?

I disagree.

I say PS2 or Gamecube. Really, the Gamecube doesn't have that many titles that are worth buying (a handful at 20-ish) but for the most part, they're really good. SSBM, I somewhat enjoyed Mario Sunshine, though most don't, the new Zelda is just going to be sex, RE4 of COURSE, etc. For the most part, the good games on it are cross platform.

The PS2 however has a GIGANTANORMOUS library of games. This comes with its ups, and its downs. For instance, there's a ton of awesome games out for it, some of which NOBODY has heard of! However, that also means there are tons of craptacular games, too. You just have to look at the reviews for the games, and whatnot.

But, I do have one thing to mention. If you're into racing titles at all, Gran Turismo 4 comes out the 23rd. That'd be the deal breaker for PS2, IMO.

My top GC picks, in no particular order:
- Metroid Prime

THE First Person Shooter for the 'Cube. 'Nuff said.

- Metroid Prime 2

See above. And this has multiplayer as well. I also enjoyed the SP portion better than the original Prime.

- Super Smash Bros. Melee

Best party game ever. THIS is what all of Mario's Parties should be like. Lots of levels, characters, items, powerups. Even if you're not into the fighting genre you'll love this.

- F-Zero GX

Haven't played this game much, but it looks like the game starts with 95% (or more) of the content waiting to be unlocked as you progress. Has tons of features and modes too.

- Super Monkey Ball 2

First of all, 2 has everything the first game had, except upgraded and better and stuff. I don't have the second one myself but I played it a couple times with my cousins and it was fun.

- Zelda Promo Pack

Even though the front says NOT FOR RESALE you'll still find it being resold, doubtlessly. This game includes all of the old Zelda games except for Link to the Past (probably because it was still making the rounds on the GBA when the promo was released) as well as 3 20min Windwaker demos (ie they toss in a location from the WW game and you can play as much of it as you can within 20mins. It sucked when it timed out though).

- Zelda Master Quest

The Master Quest RO... err GAME is fun. I don't have this CD myself but if you've played Ocarina of Time you'll like the dungeons in the Master Quest.

- Warioworld

Not the best game, but I found it pretty fun. Plays differently from the Wario GBA games but that's a good thing.

- Mario Kart Double Dash

Great multiplayer game. Good single player experience too, lives up to it's predecessors. Has more battle maps than MK64 which makes me happy, though I wish there were a couple more. Works with Warp Pipe, which is a good reason to get it in itself if you have broadband internet.

- Kirby's Air Ride

Fun multiplayer modes, specifically the city game mode. It's also playable online with Warp Pipe.

- Action Replay + this site

= Win (if you're willing to input 20 lines of codes at a time. :p)

- Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Fun game, decent length, I liked this more than Paper Mario 1. Has some interesting deviations from the norm (Glitz Pit Tourney).

- Pokemon Colloseum

It's tougher than the Gameboy games, and note that the multiplayer mode requires each person to have a pokemon ruby/sapphire game pack and a gameboy advance.

I gotta beat this someday.

- Starfox Adventures

I hear hardcore Starfox fans were disappointed with this because it wasn't 100% flying, but I liked it.

- Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

Classic gaming. Get it. Multiplayer is only unlocked when every player uses a Gameboy Advance to play (which sorta sucks) but Single Player is good in itself.

- Zelda: Wind Waker

Sailing sucks. The rest of it is great.

- Super Mario Sunshine

Ehhh I didn't like this game as much as the game it tried to emulate (Mario 64). The voice acter they got for Bowser is just sad. That is all.

- Starfox Assault

Sounds like it has good multiplayer modes and tons of unlockables. It has been compared to SF64 (which I haven't played) if that means anything to you. I've also seen good peer reviews so I ordered it online a couple days ago.

Games with good-sounding titles to avoid:
- The two Spyro games

They're buggy. The "Dragon's Tail" one is ok, except I ran into a bad glitch that wiped my savegame. The PS1 Spyro games own these easily. H8 Universal Interactive Studios for giving the game rights to incompetents.

- The Crash Bandicoot game

It's not as bad as the Spyro games, but again it doesn't have the feel of the PS1 games. I lost interest after a couple of worlds.

That's pretty much it.

trust me on this... wait for it to drop below $30

and keep all the "halo killer" hype OUT OF YOUR HEAD when you play it

Holy carp yes!

mmm xbox

kotor 1 &2
morrowind
Fable
gta 3 and vice city and also san andreas is scheduled for summer
Halo 2

I've not played my xbox in a while.....since I got my new pc. Fable and Halo 2.....

I can't really say much for the other consoles, as I haven't played them. =\

Hmm. I'd say Game Cube. The X-box seems to just get crappy versions of games which come out on PC and almost always better [on PC]. The PS2 has pathetic hardware, amd the GC has more titles that are suited for console. I don't what misguided maniac decided to try to take FPS's to consoles.

Another good game for the GCN is Donkey Konga. It's like DDR with bongos. I got it for my birthday a few days ago, and have been playing it tons. Even my my non videogame playing roomate can't get enough of it.

Thanks for all the replies

I can't wait to play GT4 on a 40+ inch HDTV..one of these days..




I already have a PC..lol..we've probably had one since you were 6...guesstimating on age, of course :p

kotor 1 &2 <--- On PC
morrowind <--- On PC, less buggy than X-Box version.
Fable <--- Doesn't live up to the hype
gta 3 and vice city and also san andreas is scheduled for summer <--- On PC, and coming to PC.
Halo 2 <--- Will make it to PC at some point. Also not that great, just your average FPS with better than normal controls. (Really, compare it to any other FPS. It's definately not a breakthrough game)


Gamecube has better hardware than PS2, and has a much higher good to bad game ratio. The awesome games that PS2 gets are very few and far between, although they do have the large library to go on.

X-Box is a PC in a cool black case and TV out. Almost every game worth playing on it comes out for PC soon after, almost always owns the X-Box version, doesn't require a monthly payment to play online (which is BS. Additional content, sure. Just to join in on another game? Bullcrap. They could run a 486 in a basement to host the master list of all the games going on.)

I think in X-Box you get more bang for your buck, and they have pretty good games. But if you want good racing games, I would say that GT4 is going to be the best, but there are some pretty good ones on X-Box. Only problem for PS2 is that it is old and slow... But hey, as for gamecube... *chucks the gamecube console out a tenth story window* Yeah. I have X-Box. Anyway, who thinks S Controlers are better than normal controlers? I HATE the normal ones.

well, i would've said PC, but....ya know, the topic kinda suggests that he wants a console.

I don't think he wants a 10yo, 12yo and 14yo playing Grand Theft Auto and Halo....

The only qualm I have with that statement is the Fable and Halo 2 comments.

Fable is quite a good game, though it's not as good as Molyneux had spouted, he even admitted he screwed up because he didn't keep his mouth shut. Halo 2 is a great sequel to a great game. Seriously, I had fun playing Halo 1 and 2, the campaign and multiplayer are engaging and very well evened out, and the storyline is compelling and intriguing. Halo 1 had some archi issues, but they worked those out in Halo 2.

Other than that, I kind of agree with you. But the X-Box does have some more games than the ones you listed. Ninja Gaiden, some like Project Gotham Racing, and quite a few titles that I couldn't begin to list.

But I think the GC's good:bad game ratio has to do with the fact that I can't even list more than 30 games for the Gamecube in one sitting, and that's counting good and bad. The PS2 has a humongous library of games, and who cares how many of them are crap, as long as there are more good ones than on the other consoles? Not to mention, the PS2 kind of has the platformer/racer/RPG/survival horror genre owned, hands down. Seriously, no other console even comes close to stacking up.

If, however, silly minigames, and 1-2 fairly good games in every genre you know (and some you don't) is your bag, then the gamecube's for you.

As has been said--it's really up to what kind of games you're wanting to play. Oh yeah, if you're a tekken fan, Tekken 5 comes out soon too. Thought I should mention that.

Don't count on it happening any time in the near future. If it happens, it may end up like Halo PC, it could be quite a long time before you hear about a port.

plus i think bungie said it might not happen at all

That too.

I read that the Xbox 2 will be out by the end of the year. PS3 can't be too far off that mark either, then. Maybe wait a bit?

Xbox 2--out by the end of the year (tons of rumors, almost 100% confirmed)

PS3--out by end of year OR early next year

'Revolution'--Who knows. As for me, who cares?

PS2 ~ $100

PS3 ~$400?

:p

Oh good grief.

Lee, be careful who you ask an opinion on anything nintendo relate from.