2003-10-25 - 5:25 p.m.

Master Biscuit

As a final note about the emails, please put "Console Biscuits" in the subject line, as mailboxes tend to fill quickly with spam, and I delete with extreme prejudice.

It's finally the weekend, and with the mass scholastic raping of one week behind me and another approaching, I've taken the time to delve into my new Gamecube games, Rogue Squadron 3 and SSX 3. I haven't finished either one, so I'll spare my reviews and in-depth ranting until such time, but so far I am EXTREMELY pleased with SSX 3. This is a snowboading game, for those of you not familiar with the newest game of the SSX series. I have admittedly never played the previous two titles, but this game is without a doubt as fun as it is beautiful. The soundtrack is a little too techno for my tastes, but with all the absolutely insane spins and tricks, it seems to fit perfectly (plus, there's the ever-constant reassurance I can turn the music off). I'm feeling good replay value for it, too. With hundreds of items (including artwork, posters, and rider accessories -- even hidden characters!) to purchase, this will be a game long-played in my apartment... if I can ever get the controller back from Brandi, that is.

Rogue Squadron 3 is a fun game, but I'm so far disappointed with the lack of movie clips. This was a game that promised a run through the original 3 Star Wars films, and after a good... 6 missions, I've seen one mission (the Death Star rescue of Princess Leia, on foot) with movie clips (this would also be the only mission that was actually about any of the three original movies; all the other missions so far have been transition from 'A New Hope' to 'The Empire Strikes Back'). However, that single mission was awesomely flawless with it's movie-to-game transitions, and the actual environments you find yourself running through are mostly identical to the movie. I think I'm finally on Hoth next, and I can see the edge of the speeder-bike run through Endor soon after. Hopefully, it will prove to be as fun as it has been so far, with more movies than I've seen so far.

I'll keep everyone informed. Hopefully, Jim invested in The Simpsons: Hit and Run this weekend, so I'll know if it's worth my time (and yours) sometime later. Even so, I'll eventually rent it for myself.

Max Payne 2 is a gorgeously dark noir game, but I've only watched my roommate play for about an hour. I'll steal his computer later tonight and tell you what I think sometime next week.

- Don