Should I buy the Panasonic Gamecube?

[GmanJoe]

Well? Should I? I got the money, obviously. But would it be a waste of money?

It can play on both PAL and NTSC TVs. It can play both Japanese and North American games (not sure about European games). It can play DVD.

$500.

If you get it fully modded then yes, you should.  If I had the cash, I\'d get it just to import Doshin the Giant.

BTW, if you get the Q, import Doshin the Giant.

-Eik

[GmanJoe]

What is Doshin the Giant? If it\'s an RPG....I can\'t read Japanese.

If you\'re not up on your Japanese games, just buy a DVD player instead.

Otherwise, Doshin the Giant is a game in which you are the giant named Doshin.  You\'re put on an island where you help the people with what they want by changing the landscape, bringing them trees, leveling off mountains, whatever.  They communicate to you by picture bubbles so it takes the strain off translation.

You can also become evil Doshin and need to be in order to do certain things, but you have to find a balance because you want the people to like you and eventually build shrines for you.  These monuments are the goal of the game and the more cities you try to bring together, the more you\'ll want, but the more difficult it will be to balanace everything.

It\'s almost like Sim City in how you are controlling life, only you take an interactice role.  There are also disasters and things to watch out for to make your life miserable.

Everything I\'ve read about it has been positive.  Famitsu liked it and so did the kids who imported it at planetgamecube.com. Apparently it\'s very addictive, fun, and original.  It\'s the one reason I\'ve considered a modded Q or Cube, myself.

Plus having a DVD player in my room would be a neat bonus.

-Eik

[GmanJoe]

Wow...that does sound like fun! I like those type of games! I betcha they\'ll make a US version.

here are some screens for ya

[IMG]

You have to admire Nintendo for trying something a bit different with its games at times. They may not always be successful in bringing them over to the west, but the Japanese often try out some innovative and playable titles. With fantasy life sim Animal Crossing finally getting a western release later this year, Doshin the Giant is another Nintendo 64 game given a jolt of life on its younger, more powerful sibling, Gamecube. Okay, so the main character may look like kids TV character Pob on super steroids gone bad, but give it a chance, eh?

 

So, no, the game doesn\'t involve the Pob look-a-like running around pulling faces at the various inhabitants. Rather, Doshin the Giant is a God sim that was originally released on the N64\'s doomed 64DD hard drive/disc add-on. Not really suited for the ill-conceived peripheral, Nintendo saw fit to move the game over to the format that was much more apt for the vast expansive environments in the game. So backed by some 128-bit punch, Param\'s title was revamped and left to roam on the purple pastures of Gamecube.

 

If you\'re still wondering what it\'s all about, judging by how vague the screenshots look, then don\'t worry - the premise is quite simple. As the player, you control the giant yellow being who lords over a number of villagers on an island. Like Molyneux\'s PC classic Black and White, decisions on what you do on the island affect the people that live there. Using the giant, Doshin, you can move and shape landmasses, plant or destroy vegetation and generally tend to the needs of the villagers who worship him. By helping the humans, Doshin then gets hearts that surround the screen and fill his heart meter. When the meter gets full, our freaky yellow giant grows bigger, allowing even more chores to be performed easier. This makes him a bit more liable to falling over and causing damage, though.

 

However, you can decide that you may not want to be at the beck and call of the little flesh bag muppets and instead cause some havoc. By crushing and killing the inhabitants, and smashing their homes and land, Doshin turns a dark red colour and assumes his evil winged \'Jashin\' form, capable of much more powerful and destructive moves than his Doshin guise. But while some tasks are easier as Jashin, it\'s not wise to use too much force lest you lose the very people the game revolves around. So, as with all good God games, a balance must be struck to progress fully.

 

There is hope that Doshin the Giant can fulfil its promise here, as the seemingly simple game could have a lot of depth if it all comes together. And despite looking a bit graphically basic, the game features smooth animation, real time reflections, bumpmapping, transparencies, real-time day to night lighting and a whole host of other effects that take advantage of Gamecube\'s extra oomph. Even if Doshin looks like Pob. But we\'re sure we\'ll get over that by the time it gets a release in Japan this month. This is one God sim that may well convert the console masses yet. Keep reading for more on Doshin the Giant soon.

Its really expensive.  And the normal version DOES NOT play American games.  You can buy a universal verion here--> http://shop.store.yahoo.com/egamesy2k/gcsyspuv.html that does play American games, but it is $539.95!  I\'d rather get a regular gamecube and a separate DVD player.  Honestly, I don\'t even like GameCube, it just has all the well-known characters.  The games are not coming out too often, and a lot of them are based towards the younger generation (I think RE is the only exception.)  If you want a different console than PS2, I think you should get an Xbox.  It has a built in DVD player, and has a very impressive line-up of future games.  It is also the most powerful system, and you don\'t need tons of expensive addons to play online.

Hotshots: Do you work at EB or something? *winks at everybody else*

GmanJoe: Only if you want to be the coolest GameCube owner on the block. It\'s really a poor decision to buy it outside of "cool" factor. If you\'re into Japanese DVD\'s and don\'t own a US DVD player, it\'s a bit more valuable.

Otherwise.. you can just buy a stand-alone Japanese GCN and get it modded for the US for import games.

[GmanJoe]

Originally posted by hotshot657
Its really expensive.  And the normal version DOES NOT play American games.  You can buy a universal verion here--> http://shop.store.yahoo.com/egamesy2k/gcsyspuv.html that does play American games, but it is $539.95!  I\'d rather get a regular gamecube and a separate DVD player.  Honestly, I don\'t even like GameCube, it just has all the well-known characters.  The games are not coming out too often, and a lot of them are based towards the younger generation (I think RE is the only exception.)  If you want a different console than PS2, I think you should get an Xbox.  It has a built in DVD player, and has a very impressive line-up of future games.  It is also the most powerful system, and you don\'t need tons of expensive addons to play online.

They\'re coming out with a new version this end of May. It can play both US and Japanese....AND European DVDs. Also, it can play the games from all three regions.....as well as be played on NTSC and PAL TVs.

My PS2 is my primary DVD player but it does the job. Hmmm.....man, decisions.....

[GmanJoe]

Originally posted by Blade
Hotshots: Do you work at EB or something? *winks at everybody else*

GmanJoe: Only if you want to be the coolest GameCube owner on the block. It\'s really a poor decision to buy it outside of "cool" factor. If you\'re into Japanese DVD\'s and don\'t own a US DVD player, it\'s a bit more valuable.

Otherwise.. you can just buy a stand-alone Japanese GCN and get it modded for the US for import games.

Coolness factor? Nah....to old for that. I got friends that own those Panasonic wall TVs, own 8 bedroom homes with 3 car garages, drive Porches and have "trophy" girl friends. They\'d laugh at me if I told them I was cool to own an Uber Game Qube.

I might just take your idea of modding a GC. Though I\'d like to get one that can play DVDs from Japan.