Dcubed Posted Friday at 06:37 PM Posted Friday at 06:37 PM What is a mediocre arcade to GCN port turns out to be an amazing arcade to GBA port! Absolutely insane what Raylight Studios pulled off here. Jaw dropping stuff for the hardware!
Cube Posted Saturday at 07:17 AM Author Posted Saturday at 07:17 AM 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker Join the convoy! NA release: 20th February 2002 EU release: 31st May 2002 JP release: 12th September 2002 Developer: Sega, Acclaim Publisher: Acclaim NGC Magazine Score: 48% Mods Used: Widescreen Code Another arcade port for the GameCube, this time another fun Sega arcade game that had previously had a Dreamcast release. At its heart, it’s an arcade racer, but having to account for the large load behind your vehicle does add a surprising amount of weight to the gameplay. You have to deliver cargo across four routes, although you can go for a higher score by selecting heavier and more difficult cargo. Along the way you’ll smash through traffic and take some alternate routes. Most cars will slow you down but taking out a fireworks van will net you extra time. You also have a rival that ploughs through everything like a madman, but is also handy for getting you a slip stream boost. You don’t have to beat them, but you do get bonus points for doing so, as well as access to a parking minigame that gets you an upgrade. While some new tracks would have made this port more worthwhile, there’s at least a few additional stuff beyond the main arcade mode. There’s an expanded version of the parking minigame, where you have to park in multiple stops in a small arena, which requires getting used to reversing. There’s also a race mode where you smash into bonus cars for extra points. While there’s not much to it, it’s still fun while it lasts. I think it’s a shame not much was added for this version to make it more substantial, but at least there’s a few little things to make the game last a bit longer. Fun Quote iving life in this kind of fast lane is busy and enjoyable for a while, but you’ll probably reach the end on your first go. After a few runs, even the two-player mode won’t be enough to make this disc seem worth the money. And you’ll tire of your mullet pretty quickly, too. Martin Kitts, NGC Magazine #68 Remake or remaster? A Sega arcade collection would be great. Official Ways to get the game There is no official way to play 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker. 2
Dcubed Posted Saturday at 08:00 AM Posted Saturday at 08:00 AM Good game, but it does lose some of its appeal in its home form without its crazy deluxe arcade cabinet... Complete with Trucker Horn! 1
Cube Posted 20 hours ago Author Posted 20 hours ago Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest Be the King of Cubivores! Got Meat? JP release: 21st February 2002 NA release: 5th November 2002 EU release: N/A Developer: Saru Brunei, Intelligent Systems Publisher: Nintendo (JP), Atlus (NA) NGC Magazine Score: 76% Mods Used: Widescreen Code Originally an N64 title called Animal Leader, Cubivore is a very strange game where the objective is to bring wilderness back to the land and defeat the Killer Cubivore to become the King of All Cubivores. The animals are made up of cube-like heads while their limbs comprise of squares in many different layouts to create different forms – called mutations – you can use to your advantage. You start off as a little piggy with one limb. As you battle and eat other cubivores, you’ll gain their colour, which alters your form. Throughout the game you’ll get more limbs, and specific combinations for colours will create new mutations. These various mutations affect how you move, how you attack and how much health you have. There’s also some special type of colours – such as ones with streaks of dark colour – that provide additional benefits. In order to get more limbs, you’re going to have to mate and produce a child, which always has an extra limb. You do this by entering a heart-shaped cave and, based on how many mutations you have, you’ll attract a certain number of female cubivores (which you never see out in the open). Some of these will give birth and you’ll be able to select a new “e-z mutate” form for your offspring, which will then let you morph into that shape whenever you want. These love caves are placed at specific places throughout the game, so you always have to advance at the same places for each playthrough. To progress, you’ll also need to create special parts called “Raw Meat”, which are usually held by powerful bosses. These bosses have rather bizarre names like the “Shoplifter Beast”, “CEO Beast” or “Neighbourhood Watch Beast”. Combat is simple, but also extremely tough. You hold L to charge your lock-on and press A to pounce. Enemies are really good at dodging and you need to get good at it, too. Evading attacks is especially important when you’re up against multiple foes, as they can essentially stunlock you and you’ll be unable to compete. I found the combat rather frustrating by the end. The structure of the game is also a bit strange. You’ll improve your Cubivore before getting killed off as the next “animal”, starting from a single limb again and going through the same set of levels (although with large changes) multiple times. It’s still nice to discover the new mutations, and the bosses and new groups of enemies you face still keep things interesting. The fact that Cubivore was mainly developed for the N64 is very evident in the final product. While the cube and square nature of the animals look great, the environments are all a bit drab. I really don’t like how they’ve used textures with detail on the cube-like environment, it’s an odd mishmash where something much simpler would look much nicer. The camera is also stuck in its N64 form, clearly made for the c-buttons, as a press moves the camera a set amount. The camera also tends to leave your cubivore out of frame in battles, and it adds to the frustration. Cubivore is a frustrating game that still manages to have a lot of charm, in both the character designs and the rather bizarre text in the game. It’s such a strange game that it’s definitely worth trying out, even if you don’t finish it – especially as the task of doing so requires you to discover 150 mutations, which is a bit difficult for me due to mixing up some of the colours. It’s an absolutely fascinating game. Fun Quote The real joy of the game comes from seeing how your latest mutation will move, react and control. The animation is simply fantastic – each individual cubic animal flips, hops and crawls around the spartan landscape in unique, believable ways. At least, if real animals were made of boxes and squares, this is exactly how you’d expect them to move. Martin Kitts, NGC Magazine #77 Remake or remaster? A remake would be wonderful. Improve the camera, make the graphics more coherent and add a bit of flair in terms of particle effects and water, then it could look magnificent. Official Ways to get the game There is no official way to play Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest. 1 3
Jonnas Posted 19 hours ago Posted 19 hours ago I always wondered what the game behind that weird Melee trophy was. I am happy to learn that it's as exactly as bonkers as I hoped it would be. Heart-shaped caves for reproduction? Jesus, Nintendo and their love hotels... 2 2
Ashley Posted 18 hours ago Posted 18 hours ago Cube likes Cubivore on the GameCube? Sounds like favouritism. 1 1
Dcubed Posted 9 hours ago Posted 9 hours ago I know I already spoke about this game in the N64 thread, but it really is remarkable how little changed in the transition from N64 to GCN. The only meaningful difference is the bump in resolution from 240p to 480p and the addition of an English localisation. That’s it.
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