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Platform Filters:   All Platforms  Xbox   GameCube   PlayStation 2   PC   Game Boy Advance   Site Sections:   Updates  News   Games   Publishers   Developers   Reviews   Previews   Release Dates   Editorials   Glossary   Contact Us		Editorials:       3rd September 2004: Nintendo shows its wares (EGN)  We check out the latest GameCube titles lined up for Christmas and beyond, including Donkey Konga, Metroid Prime 2 and Zelda. Posted by Marc Hull - GameCube - UK and Europe Once again, Nintendo seem set to power through Christmas with a range of high-quality first-party software for their GameCube console, and EGN was the perfect opportunity for us to get our grubby mitts on the titles. After last year's Nintendo 'truck' which parked outside ECTS and hosted Mario Kart tournaments, this year's stand continued the tradition of wacky themes with an area made to resemble a sea-side pier. They even had their own helter-skelter! Amidst these surroundings though were a range of pretty impressive titles, ranging from Donkey Konga to Zelda, so here are our thoughts of what was on offer: Donkey Konga: This title must stand next to Sega's Samba De Amigo as one of the most insane game ideas ever. The actual gameplay sounds simple; you just have to tap some bongos with varying force as icons move across the screen in time to the music. Every-so-often, you'll also have to clap, which is presumably picked up by a microphone somewhere inside the bongos. However, don't be fooled by the cute graphics and concept; this game is as rock hard as they come! Even on the easiest difficulty level, people were making complete fools of themselves, not being able to coordinate their taps and claps properly; I'd dread to think what the harder modes are like - fortunately there were locked in the show version. Overall this looks like it could be a pretty fun party game, although I think Samba will retain its crown as the most entertaining console oddity in recent years. Mario Tennis: Although only shown in video form, this game is looking good. The tennis courts all seem to be familiar Mario-esque locations, such as outside Luigi's Mansion, and the footage showed a range of cool extras on top of the standard game of tennis, including fighting loads of boos each carrying their own rackets! Graphically, all of the characters looked superb, much like those in Mario Golf, and the action looked smooth and fast. Overall, we can't wait to get our hands on the game to see how it plays! Metroid Prime 2: The MP2 demo at EGN was the same as the one at E3, but that didn't make it any less impressive. Although looking very similar to the first game, complete with visor-style heads-up-display, there have been some minor graphical improvements, with the levels now looking slightly more detailed than before. The main addition to the title seems to be the new 'light and dark' system. In a similar vein to Ikaruga, Samus can now arm herself with a light cannon and a dark cannon, which can be used to solve a variety of puzzles. As you'd expect, the dark cannon is most effective when removing light barriers, and the light cannon is good for damaging dark enemies. Overall, despite not adding loads to the original formula, this game definitely provides fans with 'more Metroid', which should be enough to keep them happy! Legend of Zelda: Unfortunately we didn't get to play this already-legendary title, but instead got to see a running video of it, and boy does it look good! For those who didn't find the graphical style of Wind Waker quite to their taste, this should more than make up for the long gap since Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask on the N64. Hyrule again seems to be flawlessly recreated in 3D, with rolling clouds, day to night transitions and weather changes. Link's combat system also seems to closely follow the one from the N64 titles, although things do look a bit darker and movement looks a bit smoother this time. As always, we'll bring you more info as soon as we get it. Marc Hull             Latest Images:		Related Games:  Donkey Konga for GameCube  5  Screenshots  1  Editorial Click here for All Game Information. Mario Tennis for GameCube  16  Screenshots  1  Editorial Click here for All Game Information. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes for GameCube  19  Screenshots  1  Editorial Click here for All Game Information.
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