Plenty of Big Gamecube Titles in the Wings

The underlying message at the Sony and Microsoft events was very much one of ‘out with the old, in with the new’. It’s easy to get carried away looking at the footage of Killzone 2 and MotorStorm, but let’s not forget that these games are on a system that won’t be released until well into next year. And experience has taught us to be wary of promises made by SCEI, especially when it comes to performance.

Nintendo kept a focus on what is yet to come on its current Gamecube system. The cynical among you might point out that this is because, as usual, its next-gen games will be the last of the new crop to become available. Others might, more charitably, wish to see it as demonstrating an understanding that gamers can’t survive only on long term promises, and still have a thirst to be slaked by games for the consoles they already own.

If you like Zelda games, then surely you can’t fail to be excited by the footage of the upcoming Twilight Princess, as we now know it's called. Many were disappointed by the artistic direction of The Wind Waker, having hoped for a game that was a more in the mould of the N64 Zelda titles. Ever since the release of Super Smash Bros., many have longed for the realisation of a Zelda game where Link appears as he does in that. Nintendo is going to deliver.

The Zelda video expanded on the conceptual footage that was released last year: Link in full Sword and Sorcery mode, partaking in exciting combat on horseback. Beautifully lit shots of Link moving through the woods holding a lantern aloft pushed all the right buttons. Most interesting though, was the section in which Link fell to his knees and transformed into a werewolf. He was then rescued by a small, sprite-like character, who rode him into battle. Particularly intriguing was the bit where this character's enormous, flowing hat turned into a hand. Reminiscent of Treasure’s Freak Out, where a young girl has a haunted shadow that can grab and manipulate scenery, it hinted at some promising gameplay mechanics.

Also prominently featured was Capcom’s Killer 7. The game, originally announced way back at the same time as Viewtiful Joe, has a unique look, with cel-shaded technology and film noir sensibilities combining to create a delightfully stylised look. The game’s main character has seven split personalities, and it looks like another of the accomplished, more ‘adult’ Gamecube exclusives that the console’s detractors usually fail to pick up on.

Other notable titles were Battalion Wars, a nice-looking Advance Wars-inspired game that promises to combine third-person shooter and real time strategy elements. Also exclusive to the ‘Cube will be a special Mario edition of Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution, Mario Baseball and Super Mario Strikers, a football game in the cartoon mould. The seventh Mario Party game is coming, and it’s been confirmed that the number of players is being upped to eight. Also exciting is the upcoming Pokemon XD. Whether the XD stands for something or is simply an expressive emoticon, we don’t know, but the game is a full blown 3D RPG and bound to do enormously well.

With hundreds of titles already available and more than 60 scheduled for release over the next year, there’s no need to chuck out your little purple/black box just yet.