The GameCube was awesome. It's a shame that we didn't have Digital Foundry back then, but we do have DF Retro. Happy Bday GC.
Here is my review of the Pro controller: Short story: I hated it and returned it. Long story: I don't understand people's preference for the Pro controller at all. It has such great reviews, yet after I bought one and used it, what a huge disappointment. It had a multitude of small quirks to it that added up to a big deal breaker for me. Compared to the XB1, PS4 and even the Joy-cons: - the Pro is noticeably heavier than all of them, and it bothered me. - the Pro's thumbsticks felt "spongy" (best way I can describe it) and didn't feel precise. The Joy-con thumbsticks feel much more precise and responsive, maybe because they are smaller. - People have complained about the awkward thumb position on the Joy-cons, however that doesn't bother me as much as the way I had to uncomfortably bend my thumb to use the A button. The right thumbstick and button layouts are not up to par with Xbox or Playstation as far as ergonomics, and I would rather use the Joy-cons for their button placements. - The Pro's lettered buttons have hard edges to them, which was actually distracting when playing. Xbox, Playstation and the Joy-cons all have rounded buttons and moving my thumb across them is smooth. - The Pro's + and - buttons are small, and both round, making them more difficult to find during gameplay than on the Joy-cons. - INPUT LAG! I troubleshot the lag using multiple methods to try and resolve it, but most of them were the typical Nintendo dodge of "there is interference in your house" bullshit that they have been using as support for decades. The lag was very noticeable. I I would hear the physical tap of the thumbstick on the edge about a 1/2 second before anything happened on screen. It was tolerable up until I needed precise movements, then it because hugely problematic. I do not notice this lag on any of my Joy-cons. Maybe I had a bad pad, but I'm not the only with this complaint from what i have read. Given the multitude of issues I have with the Pro, I ended up returning it and buying another set of Joy-cons. For me, personally, I prefer the Joy-con when they are in the grip over the Pro. Don't believe the hype.
Opinions on the Switch? This is the first Nintendo console in a long time that I'm seriously considering buying. I like the portable/home console convertible aspect of it. Mario Odyssey and Zelda Breath of the Wild look like excellent games. Mobile hardware has gotten powerful enough that the graphics from what I've seen look quite decent. I'm not interested in PS4 or XB1 as their libraries and user experiences are too similar to PC. But the Switch looks like something totally unique. Also I figure within the next 3 years my son will be playing on it. And it seems like the Switch is actually selling very well, unlike the WiiU, so it may be pretty well supported by developers. Thoughts?
It's all about the games. Do you think you'd play them? I've been playing Breath of the Wild and while it's good it's not anything like most PC open world RPGs. Nintendo still focuses on the artistic, emotional, and music aspects of the game. There is almost no spoken dialog, no story, and although the world is huge it's probably 90% empty. The skill tree consists of two branches. Health and Stamina. The Weapons are nice but they're all disposable so you never collect anything. It only has a fraction of the content of other RPGs like Fallout or The Witcher.
I'm going to hold off. I'm worried it doesn't have enough worthwhile games and would just become a dust collector like the Wii. Its big system seller is Zelda. But bfun is saying it sucks. And he's not the only one saying that. So I guess I'll pass for now.
It only sucks if you compare it to most other RPGs you play. It has some charm but I'm not sure why the reviews were so good. Here is you favorite reviewer's opinion.
I have Breath of the Wild on WiiU. There are a lot of very impressive things about it, especially running on very modest hardware, but everything constantly breaking drives me nuts. It's one thing to have durability as a stat like Dark Souls and many other games, which doesn't bother me at all. BotW can get ridiculous regarding how fast your gear can continuously break. The experience with the combat system wasn't helped by the fact that Platinum Games and Team Ninja, in my view the #1a and #1b teams in action combat mechanics currently, also released action-RPGs within a month of BotW.
Breath of the Wild is an ass ugly game. Saying it doesn’t look modern is an understatement. It doesn’t even look last gen really. It looks like an upscaled GC or PS2 game. Nintendo does some stuff with art direction to try to compensate but it really doesn’t work. Maybe the game will wow me at some point, but so far it seems very barren and empty. If I knew nothing about this game you could tell me it came out in 2003 and I would probably believe you. Not a great first impression for the Switch.
I'm coming to that conclusion. Looks like a decent PC runs the game better than either Nintendo console.
I've never liked inventory management in any game and this weapon system kind of forces it on you. You have to know how powerful each weapon is and how powerful each enemy is to take maximum advantage of the durability rating. The fact that there are only a few slots to store weapons makes it worse. It does seem to gets easier as time goes on and powerful weapons are pretty much everywhere. I've also learned to skip most random encounters as there is always a durability cost with little reward. The lack of rewards has been my biggest gripe but I'm getting used to it. 4 shrines for a heart is kind of weak. I probably spend 80% of my time clearing shrines and that's more puzzle solving than adventure.
It does but you need to have 13 hearts to get it which means clearing about 40 shrines. More if you use orbs for stamina instead of hearts.
What's the point then? Sounds like the game is probably over by the time you get the sword. This game kinda sucks. And the graphics on Switch are so bad. I swore I'd never let myself get scammed by Nintendo again after buying a Wii, but well, here we are.
So you bought one? Seems like Mario + Rabbids is the game to get. A portable Doom and Splatoon might also be good.