Let's Play Every Game Cube Game, Part 17
International Superstar Soccer 2 (Konami, 2002)
A soccer game that only has national teams from 2001. It looks quite good, but it feels stiff compared to FIFA, and the announcers leave a lot to be desired.
International Superstar Soccer 3 (Konami, 2003)
A noticeable graphical upgrade that doesn't really fix the mechanical issues. Running around feels a bit smoother than it did in ISS2, but the game is horrible at figuring out who you're trying to pass to. I ended up going down 1-0 after it inexplicably decided that I wanted to pass the ball to literally no one in the wrong direction, leading to one of the opposing strikes getting a free 1:1.
The Italian Job (Climax Brighton/Eidos, 2003)
A racing game that has nothing to do with the movie because they didn't have the rights to any of the actors. Almost all the cars are Mini Coopers or generic trucks. The tracks do the Burnout Paradise thing and don't prevent you from going off course into the rest of the map, but they're so poorly marked that you can easily do that accidentally and get lost in the middle of nowhere.
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (EA Redwood Shores/EA, 2004)
A third person shooter that has you fighting a Harrier jet with an RPG in the first 5 minutes. It reviewed well and I am absolutely here for that kind of over-the-top nonsense, so it gets a list spot.
James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire (EA Redwood Shores/EA, 2004)
The control stick controls forward movement and horizontal camera, while the c-stick controls horizontal movement and vertical camera. This is an incomprehensible control scheme that I refuse to use for more than the time it took to get a screenshot.
James Bond 007: Nightfire (Eurocom/EA Games, 2002)
An FPS/vehicle game that really, really likes scripted setpiece moments. It feels far too constructed for my tastes, but I do love the ninja moves pedestrians will pull off to make sure Bond isn't guilty of vehicular homicide. You can see two of them phasing into a wall here.
Jeremy McGrath Supercross World (Acclaim Salt Lake City/Acclaim Max Sports, 2002)
I don't have any hard evidence that this was a PS1 game that got lost, but it sure looks like something that release in 1998. It's one of the worst reviewed GCN games ever, and I don't think I need to explain why.
Jikkyou Powerful Major League (Konami, 2006)
I did not know there was a Powerful Pro game with the MLB license, but here it is, and it's set in 2005! I love this. The pitching mechanics are going to take some getting used to, and batting is much more difficult than in most baseball games, but the charm is enough for me to put the effort in.
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 9 (Konami, 2002)
There are a whole lot of these games coming up, so I'm going to treat them like the FIFA games earlier and just talk about differences. This first one is much uglier than Major League but hasn't changed much mechanically.
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 9 Ketteiban (Konami, 2002)
A "definitive" edition of JPPY9 that does not start, so I couldn't get a screenshot of it. Like all of the special editions, it released five months after the base game, so I doubt there's much different.
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 10 (Konami, 2003)
It's got shinier menus and the grass texture looks a little better, I guess.
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 10 Chou Ketteiban (Konami, 2003)
I swear this is a screenshot from a different game. The announcer might be different.
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 11 (Konami, 2004)
The UI pieces have been reordered in a way that I think I like better. Not much else changed.
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 11 Chou Ketteiban (Konami, 2004)
Running out of ways to describe these.
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 12 (Konami, 2005)
I know that realistically I was never going to see the differences in each one of these by playing exhibition mode every time. I'm sure there are extra unlockables, improvements to season mode, etc, that separate each of these, but I don't have time to dig that deep into each one of them. So my solution is to just put the last one (which will be tomorrow's first game) on the list and treat the others as building blocks towards that. As great as the underlying baseball game here is, I don't want 9 of them on the list.
The list:
1080° Avalanche
Animal Crossing
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
Batman: Dark Tomorrow
Burnout 2: Point of Impact
Charinko Hero
Chibi-Robo!
Cocoto Kart Racer
Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest
Custom Robo
Dark Summit
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
F-Zero GX
Family Stadium 2003
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Freedom Fighters
Freekstyle
Gotcha Force
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing
Jikkyou Powerful Major League