Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

RetroWars VI: Gamecube v Xbox

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    RetroWars VI: Gamecube v Xbox



    Versus




    GAMECUBE vs XBOX

    The Playstation 2 undoubtedly won this generation of console wars leaving Nintendo's recovery attempt and Microsoft's debut to battle for second place using very different approaches. In each RetroWar we'll pit two titans of rivalry against one another as many school kids would do back in the day, weighing up the strengths and weaknesses of each side, arguing in favour of your childhood 'top dog' and sharing your modern day hindsight view on who truly was the greatest.


    GAMECUBE
    The Purple Cube saw Nintendo produce a powerful console handcuffed by restrictive media format choice once again, all tied up in a little box with a handle on the back. With a strong focus on Nintendo IP but an initial cross section of genres the system was fast out the gate at a still unbelievable launch price of £130. The system delivered stunning looking games like Rogue Squadron II at launch but stumbled a little due to the controversy of Zelda's art style, Mario Kart's first real disappointing entry and a mixed reaction to the mainline Mario missing launch and not being entirely up to scratch either in the end.








    XBOX
    Microsofts console performed in inverted fashion to the Gamecube. Here the system hit the ground with its face at launch and beset by several issues including having to give buyers free games as compensation MS had its work cut out but pulling games like Splinter Cell to the system proved a turning point as they showcased the advantages the hardware had over its rivals. Microsoft made hard pushes to address each area of concern and mostly managed it seeing the systems fortunes turn around during its short life.








    THE DEBATE
    Two consoles battling for their corner of the market and ending fairly close to one another in terms of eventual sales but with very different legacies:

    -Which of the two systems was the better hardware experience?
    -Which had the best software lineup in hindsight?
    -What are your defining memories of each?

    Defend Your Favourite - Defeat Your Rival

    #2
    I remember getting both from VGI in one big package as I'm sure quite a few other members here did. (TA, Van, Atticus?) My recollections are of setting the two up, the GC with Luigi's Mansion, then the Xbox with Halo, then rapidly realising I should't have bothered buying the 'Cube as there was only one game that was absolutely going to engulf my time, Halo blew my mind. Having never played any first person games of the style on PC, it was my first experience of high level gaming of its type, and truly is one of the greatest 'next gen' experiences I ever had.

    As time went on both systems gave me tons of reasons to love each of them. I could still happily sit and play the Star Wars and Resi games on the GC, and oh man what I wouldn't give to still have the Xbox and Outrun, possibly one of the best home arcade experiences ever. And who could ever forget the experience of playing Steel Battalion for the first time, genuinely epic.

    My worst memory of the Xbox is the original pads, so god awfully uncomfortable, was so glad when the Controller S appeared. When I had it...... ummmm, tinkered with a bit, it was even better. Strangest modding experience ever mind you, meeting a random guy at a tube station in London and handing over my system then collecting it two hours later.

    My only gripe with the GC was at times it felt like there was nothing I wanted to buy for extended periods of time, something Nintendo has gone on to perfect as the years have gone on with their minimal output.

    Looking back I would struggle to choose between either. Both were great hardware, both had a selection of brilliant games. Two top machines in my opinion.
    Last edited by Colin; 06-09-2019, 11:29.

    Comment


      #3
      I think was percy for both Mr C? Xbox for me, loads of great nights on pgr, vietcong etc with TA and various people.

      Comment


        #4
        Launch-wise the xbox definitely had the trump card with Halo. I'd never played anything like it. All kicking off on the Pillar of Autumn it felt like a James Cameron film. Some truly great chapters too. The Cube was a lovable piece of hardware at launch (very quickly moddable for Jp/US iirc too) but I didn't fall head over heels with Waverace, Rogue Squadron or Luigi's Mansion. In fact it wasn't until the Jp import of Pikmin that the console really took off for me.

        In the long run the xbox had a few diamonds but I preferred the Cube by far. Still have one. Still play it.

        Originally posted by Colin View Post
        My worst memory of the Xbox is the original pads, so god awfully uncomfortable
        I remember someone once saying it was like holding a leg of lamb

        Comment


          #5
          This one is hard for me because I really like the GC in many ways. Its form was lovely. The controllers were great... for certain types of games. It had some fantastic games.

          When I think about the XBox, I have very little fondness for the console. It looked awful, it had those ridiculously giant controllers and I don't really think it had much of an identity. And yet where it really counts, the games, it delivered much more for me than the GC did. By far. I actually ended up with very few GC games across its lifespan but I had a decent haul of XBox games. Although as I'm writing this I'm struggling to remember favourites other than Burnout and Stranger's Wrath... maybe I could pick more favourites from the GC lineup?

          I don't know. Maybe the answer is that neither of these consoles made a huge splash for me but I enjoyed some games on both of them.

          Comment


            #6
            In terms of which one I'd go back to, probably the GC.

            However, at the time, I went with the Xbox and I feel that was the right decision. The Xbox had a great advantage because as well as its exclusives (of which there were some great ones), in the case of multi-platform games, it usually had the best version of each in that era, with a few exceptions. It also had a few physical design elements in its favour, such as in-built storage, 4 controller ports and DVD playback.

            Another thing; I got my first widescreen TV at the time (a 32" Sony Triniton, which weighed more than Denmark), when consoles were only just starting to support it. The Xbox had really good widescreen support; once you selected it from the system menu, many games actually made use of it (the PS2 had an option for this too, but in my experience the support was hit-and-miss).

            In terms of games, it had probably my favourite version of Phantasy Star Online, as well as some great titles like Panzer Dragoon Orta and fun, weird titles like GunValkyrie and Kung Fu Chaos (though time and changing social attitudes have not been kind to that last one). I also played a huge amount of Third Strike on it, and I still feel it had the best version of Soul Calibur II (I never liked any of the special characters, but the Xbox version had widescreen and surround sound IIRC).

            The Xbox's only real drawback today is that many of its best games got re-releases or superior follow-ups, or were dependent on Xbox Live, and thus aren't worth playing today; whereas some of the Cube's titles stand the test of time a little better, like Double Dash or Rogue Leader. It also lacked the sheer breadth of the PS2's library, though we're comparing it to the GC here I guess.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Asura View Post
              I still feel it had the best version of Soul Calibur II (I never liked any of the special characters, but the Xbox version had widescreen and surround sound IIRC).
              The Xbox version had a 720p mode which, strangely, didn’t support widescreen and played with borders down each side. When played in 720p, however, it almost looked like a generational leap forward next to the other console versions. I bet it looks amazing even today.

              Comment


                #8
                I never really forgave the Game Cube for its awful sequel to Wave Race 64, which was my favourite game of the PS, Saturn, N64 generation. Like the hardware though. Sunshine is probably my last favourite Mario game.

                Never had an X-box, but I've picked some games up to play on the Bone, and I'm having a blast with Jade Empire, Crimson Skies, Orta and some Star Wars games.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Colin View Post
                  I remember getting both from VGI in one big package as I'm sure quite a few other members here did. (TA, Van, Atticus?) My recollections are of setting the two up, the GC with Luigi's Mansion, then the Xbox with Halo, then rapidly realising I should't have bothered buying the 'Cube as there was only one game that was absolutely going to engulf my time, Halo blew my mind. Having never played any first person games of the style on PC, it was my first experience of high level gaming of its type, and truly is one of the greatest 'next gen' experiences I ever had.
                  I didn't get my Cube from Lee until the USA launch and I was a month late to the party with the USA launch of the Xbox; My original plan was to get the Pal version of the Xbox (over worries about the online side of things, with the DC issues over ISP entry) but was talked into importing the Xbox just before Christmas by Atticus, Big Edd, Goldsmith and Hartley who were all raving about Halo .

                  I have to say that at the start I was more impressed with the Cube, Super Monkey Ball is one of the best games ever made and still to very day, me and some of my mates play Moneyball Golf and Pool and I was simply amazed at the gfx in Star War RS II: I thought it was the best looking game going and even more impressive than HALO.

                  But that Christmas I had a new 5.1 Hi-Fi and a few mates called up and we all played HALO and got to the Silent Cartographer level and it was like a Jesus Christ moment, that level was unbelievable and we kept playing until we got to that Snow stage. Me and my mates, all said this is most amazing game ever...ok an overreaction but we were all amazed

                  Playing Halo for that Christmas was just amazing both in single mode and in co-op.
                  Last edited by Team Andromeda; 07-09-2019, 07:28.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by vanpeebles View Post
                    I think was percy for both Mr C? Xbox for me, loads of great nights on pgr, vietcong etc with TA and various people.
                    Vietcong AI was amazing and would give me nightmares. I loved the OG Xbox. It's one of the best consoles ever made and I liked it far more than the PS2, Cube. Those early days on LIVE were the best ever! I remember Hartley Hare, going for a fly when he tripped over a lead playing PGR2 online. I think he was trying to get a drink, only to fall over and all one could hear, was a BANG and Harley losing connection LOL

                    I also remember playing PGR2 when one of the boys fell asleep drunk online and you could see his car parked up and we all laughing at the sound of him snoring. Used to have a right laugh with a gamer called Bonehead on Rainbow 6 III too.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Marius View Post
                      I never really forgave the Game Cube for its awful sequel to Wave Race 64, which was my favourite game of the PS, Saturn, N64 generation. Like the hardware though. Sunshine is probably my last favourite Mario game.

                      Never had an X-box, but I've picked some games up to play on the Bone, and I'm having a blast with Jade Empire, Crimson Skies, Orta and some Star Wars games.

                      That is a superb point and it marked the end of my love for Nintendo. I can never forgive them for shifting stuff like wave race to third parties. They were often good but never great. Gc wave race was a huge disappointment.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by Marius View Post
                        I never really forgave the Game Cube for its awful sequel to Wave Race 64, which was my favourite game of the PS, Saturn, N64 generation.
                        Yeah; it had its fans but I really disliked that, and the sequel to 1080. Real shame.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Marius View Post
                          I never really forgave the Game Cube for its awful sequel to Wave Race 64
                          I’m a fan of Wave Race 64, but calling Blue Storm awful is overreacting, surely?

                          Yes, 64 is the better game (even if it has aged badly like most N64 games) but Blue Storm certainly isn’t awful. It pretty much plays the same way as 64, albeit in an overly-polished and somewhat bland manner.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Blue Storm was a massive disappointment. I can't put my finger on all the reasons why but I felt it was nowhere near the original.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Team Andromeda View Post
                              Super Monkey Ball is one of the best games ever made and still to very day
                              How could I forget SMB. Yes, amazing game. To this old Marble Madness fan it was a dream come true.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X