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Nintendo released this console as the "budget" alternative to the XBox and PS2, and although it's conceived it lagged behind slightly in technical specifications, that really is a load of utter tosh. The console is tiny, so small the media used was mini-DVDs (1.5Gb capacity), but in a bid to stop piracy, the discs are cleverly written backwards. Well, so the rumours say.
The console has expansion ports galore, but apart from the GameBoy Advance adapter, I don't know of any others you can get. There are two memory card slots on the front, and again, four pad ports.
As far as the pads go, they seem to be PERFECT. There's the analogue stick, an analogue stick primarily used to control the camera, a D-pad, four normal gameplay buttons, 2 analogue shoulder buttons (ideal for driving games... not that I'm any good at them) and a third smaller shoulder button. It's the FEEL of the pad, though. The weight's just right, the buttons all feel very natural, and the different grips to use either the D-pad or the Analogue stick seem spot on, and neither of them feel uncomfortable.
The games... well, they're some of the best I've played, and the number of iterations of button combinations mean complex games can feel simplified (I looked at the controls for True Crime and nearly cried... yet once you get into it, it comes naturally).
With game prices coming down, and let's not forget the Wii's Gamecube compatibility, Gamecube games have never been so attractive to own. No, really! There are some great titles, as I will prove.
Crazy Taxi
October 2009
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