The GNamer Video Club (Now Showing: CUBE Magazine DVD 19 (2004) )

@masofdas wrote:

I did use a freeloader as I imported Animal Crossing as all the mags said we weren't getting it.

Same! And then I saw it in the shops 3 months later.

I couldn't bring myself to watch that Leeds festival video without skipping loads - my cringe gland is too hyperactive! And actually that sizzle reel made me realise that I think the mid 2000s might have been my least favourite period in gaming history. Is that sad? I'm probably wrong, but there's something about even seeing the weird diagonal arrows of CUBE magazine that make a bit "I don't get it".

@The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

That's another excellent post, but you're not wrong when you say that this is a bloody weird DVD. I used to get CUBE the odd time, so I've had these DVDs and I know I watched them. I don't remember them being this, well, bad. 

Aye, to be fair to CUBE, I don't remember them being bad either. I'm sure I've got another one with some early Twilight Princess footage which showed off a good hour or so of gameplay amongst some other really good features and whatnot. I'll try and see if I can find that one either in my house or on that site I used for a later post.

I think we'll need to wash away the memories of that DVD with a bit of NGTV next...

@gjones wrote:

I remember browsing through CUBE in WHSmiths before inevitably buying NGC - you're right about the odd scores on their reviews. I think they gave Wave Race or F-Zero (both fine games) a massive score, that was disproportionate to other reviews at the time.

According to a Wiki I used to help put that post together, Wave Race: Blue Storm got a 93 from them whilst Luigi's Mansion only got a 76.

@Jimbob wrote:

And actually that sizzle reel made me realise that I think the mid 2000s might have been my least favourite period in gaming history. Is that sad? I'm probably wrong, but there's something about even seeing the weird diagonal arrows of CUBE magazine that make a bit "I don't get it".

Nah, I can see where you're coming from. It's a lot of grittier action games and shooters and a fuck ton of licensed games - Nintendo wouldn't really heat up again until the Wii came around, either.

What madness, the 6th gen is my personal favourite with three of the four consoles being in my Top 10 consoles and I think bunch of the games are my Top 25 as well.

Also might have some nostglia as I bought two of four consoles myself for the first time, and think I appreciated getting the other two as presents more so than getting a PS1 as a five year old.

@masofdas wrote:

What madness, the 6th gen is my personal favourite with three of the four consoles being in my Top 10 consoles and I think bunch of the games are my Top 25 as well.

Also might have some nostglia as I bought two of four consoles myself for the first time, and think I appreciated getting the other two as presents more so than getting a PS1 as a five year old.

It's my favourite gen too. Nostalgia factors in, but the jump from N64 to GameCube was incredible, looking back. Everything since has felt incremental. Games were still largely linear experiences and still kept much of the zany feel you'd get from Japanese developers. What I mean by this, is that there were a lot of single-A (is that a thing?) published games that either don't exist now, or would be an indie release.

Thanks for that Jay! Can't say I watched too many of the videos, because unlike the last one there was no absolute belter like The Chronicles of Dark Master that popped out. I watched a bit of Big Boy Barry advertising Cube none too subtly and turned that off.

The generation was a good one, I'll agree with that. Mêlée, the Zeldas, the Monkey Ball games, Double Dash!!, Metroid Prime, and of course TTYD. I think it's probably the first gen. that would still hold up today without feeling noticeably 'retro', apart from stuff like not being HD. I might be wrong.

@JayMoyles wrote:

Play GBA games on your telly with this peripheral. Didn't Nintendo release an official add-on for the Cube that did this?

Yup, the GBA Player. Couldn't see the point myself: the bigger screen didn't seem worth the lack of portability. The Mas-Balla divide there, going back before we even knew each other...

I would say the majority of games from that gen if all four counted together would have aged but the Nintendo first party and some more of things along the lines of Res Evil 4 looking at other companies do still hold up. Then again I still have no issues with quality N64 and PS1 games.

I have GBA player but barely used much prefer playing GBA games on a handheld mainly due to artstyle of the games, even now if something feels like a handheld game eg Animal Crossing I'd sooner play there but not anything I feel works in handheld.

@Balladeer wrote:

Thanks for that Jay!  Can't say I watched too many of the videos, because unlike the last one there was no absolute belter like The Chronicles of Dark Master that popped out.  I watched a bit of Big Boy Barry advertising Cube none too subtly and turned that off.

Aye, a lot of it is general games coverage - I think the convention video and the incredibly awkward and pointless footage of Leeds Festival are the standouts.

I think the early Cube was cracking, but it's this era of the Cube - and of that generation of consoles in general - that suffered a wee bit with a lot of samey action games and shooters. I think it was this period in particular that sprung a lot of complaints about greys and browns dominating the colour palettes of a majority of games around this time.

I would agree with that but early PS360, not this gen unless I'm just more forgiving because of SD etc

I definitely think that happened on the other two machines at the time! I certainly didn't buy a single grey-brown shootybang game on the 'Cube, unless you count the Primes (2 was more a grey-purple shootybang game I suppose). Obviously the GBA games have aged.

I'll give them two videos a watch in the near future, then.

Three other machines and don't forget it! I played a lot of shooters post Halo CE and yeah would agree lot don't have a great colour palette along with some not holding up, yet the sheer quality of other games keeps these consoles and games high in my estimation.

GBA games aged

...I've made a terrible mistake. If I don't turn up tomorrow gents, assume Mas has hunted me down and is using my skin to make a Dreamcast custom cover.

@masofdas wrote:

Three other machines and don't forget it!

I'll admit it - I forgot it.

@JayMoyles wrote:

Aye, a lot of it is general games coverage - I think the convention video and the incredibly awkward and pointless footage of Leeds Festival are the standouts.

I watched those. I'm not sure what they added to the DVD or to my life or to anybody's life. Awkward Samus dress-up was my 'favourite bit'.