Let's Play Every GameCube Game, Part 1
Time for a new console! Like before, this will be a long series of posts covering approximately 10 games each, and anything that seems to still be good will be added to The List(TM), an ongoing collection of games I may or may not come back to for more thorough coverage. There are only about 2/3rds as many GCN games as there were GBC, so this should fly by, right? ...Right?
1080° Avalanche (Nintendo, 2003)
The sequel to a similarly-named N64 game, which shows some clear Tony Hawk influences despite being primarily a racing game. I only played the first track, but that was a ton of fun and it has a soundtrack that really works with the atmosphere, so GCN starts of strong with a list game right out of the gate.
18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (Acclaim, 2002)
For reasons that are very unclear, Acclaim decided to port over this obviously dated Dreamcast/Arcade game without any real modifications. It looks terrible, plays in a way clearly designed to eat quarters, and it doesn't even make use of all the GameCube's buttons. Whenever you need to shift gears, B just magically shifts in the right direction!
2002 FIFA World Cup (TOSE/EA, 2002)
Well, it's a big step up from GBC soccer games, let me tell you. It feels a lot slower-paced than a real game, but it looks great for early GCN and controls decently well. But, of course, there's really no reason to go back to a 19 year old sports game.
2006 FIFA World Cup (EA Canada/EA Sports, 2006)
It fixes the pacing issues of the last game and has somewhat more believable announcers, but I'd have hoped that four years of experience with the hardware would've allowed for a bit more of a graphical improvement than this. Alas.
4x4 EVO 2 (Terminal Reality/Vivendi, 2002)
A truck racing game with annoying engine sounds and really basic graphics. It doesn't seem like there'd have been anything worth mentioning about it even back in 2002, so I'm not surprised that it only managed reviews in the 5s and 6s.
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius: Attack of the Twonkies (THQ, 2004)
I forgot how many crappy licensed THQ games there'd be when I decided to do this series. I'm glad the alphabet decided to remind me early on, but I wish it had done it with a game that didn't also have unskippable cutscenes. The game is a generic licensed platformer based on a franchise I've always found unbearable. Good thing there's only one of these, right? Who'd make two?
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius: Jet Fusion (Krome Studios/THQ, 2003)
THQ would make two, because of course they would. This one came out first and was an even more generic platformer with unbelievably bad graphics for a GCN title, but it does at least have fully skippable cutscenes. That makes it the better of the two.
Aggressive Inline (Underground Development/Acclaim, 2002)
This is from the period where Acclaim were blatantly trying to knockoff Tony Hawk in an edgy why, but before they completely lost it. It was received very well in 2002, but I can't say I personally have any interest in shirtless roller skating.
Alien Hominid (The Behemoth/O3 Entertainment, 2004)
This got an alright reception in 2004, The Behemoth have made much better games in the 17 years since. It plays like a much less interesting Castle Crashers with some serious Scooby Doo Effect going on with all the moving pieces.
All-Star Baseball 2002 (Acclaim Studios Austin/Acclaim Sports, 2001)
An ugly baseball game with some of the worst fake announcing I've ever heard. They don't even try to provide any commentary that isn't just the count or a description of where you hit the ball. All the players have an obvious pause between animations whenever they're changing actions, and large parts of the stadium are clearly just low-res 2D images. It's bad.
The List:
1080° Avalanche