If time was money, then I'd be broke. And apparently, we've all got our hands out as of late - begging. Begging for more time to catch up with all of the games that occupy our homes. Our minds. Our lives. What is it we do for a living again? None of that seems to matter when you're curled up with games like Zelda, Ikaruga, Tenchu or deceptively kawaii creatures that govern our livelihoods to - catch them all!? What a concept...

Well, this Gaming Report is different. There's a void, as such games like the ones expresed above have claimed our team. They're gone and it's possible that we'll never see them again (not even at E3). Shoot, speaking of which...with all the stuff that's about to unfold next month, I may just have to hire a new panel of writers. Fortunately, some are still accounted for, below are their tales of glee and enjoyment.

Bahn - Multiple Titles

But first...a bit more of ranting from me. Y'know, I've become the worst excuse for a gamer. I went out of my way to pre-order Zelda, pick up the demo disc early; purchase Wind Waker on DAY ONE of its release. Know how many hours I've logged? Ten. That's it. My gaming drivers must be impaired or something...I've never put such an insignificant degree of time into any Zelda game (hell, I am anxiously trying to find a GBA version of A Link to the Past). And let's not even get into the Ocarina of Time discussions. The package is still in shrink wrap. Oy. I have made a pledge to dig into this game during my next two days off from work. I will spend my time doing nothing else but playing Zelda. I will unlearn what I've learned. Call upon the tunes of lore, Mr. Fairys and even use my "Tingle Talker" (err, the GBA-to-Gamceube thingy). Yeah, than...only than, will I truly be revitalized. Hm, but - I have to figure out how to do this without sleeping and getting distracted by the rest of my "wall of shame" library.

What's that? Well, see...I own Ikaruga too and hey - it's great. It kicked in that special feeling...the nostalgic type that harkens back to the days of Life Force, Thunder Force, etc. etc... Man, what's up with publishers dissing us shooter fanatics? There's simply not enough. Anyways, I really dig the game, but it's become apparent that not everyone shares my sentiments. See, the game has a certain memorization arc that is emphasized substantially more compared to other shooter types. Of course, MOST shooters consist of a specific pattern, but they offer more flexibility. Ikaruga does not, and it irks many of the need to effectively memorize the timing when a said player swtiches the polarity of the ships and learning to properly execute chain combos (I've had better luck pulling off such tactics in Super Turbo!!!! Suffice it to say, the game's a keep just in this aspect alone. Do I really need to get into the visual excellence of this game. I mean, you've seen the screens by now. And you are playing it...right? RIGHT?!?! Come on, get with it!

To backtrack, for some strange reason - I got the urge to pick up Spy Hunter. Why? For the classic Spy Hunter edition! Call it another case of nostalgia, but I've been on this vibe for awhile and I had to play the game. The funny thing is...it reminds me now how much I totally suck at it. I don't remember crashing so much in either the NES or arcade editions, but NOSTRA was having fun shooting/running/teasing me off the road. It's ok, I'll get my revenge when Spy Hunter 2 hits. My Interceptor will be bad-ass and that 2D handicap will not hinder my reaction time anymore!

There's been a few more games here and there, but nothing which I can't save for our next edition which should appear sometime shortly before E3. Besides, the folks below have a few things they wanted to say and I suppose it's their turn to have the floor...

Yoshi - Multiple Titles

My recent gaming exploits have been forays into three of my favorite genres: horror, strategy/RPGs, and racing. The only favorite genre missing from that list is the Castlevania genre. ;) Adding to my horror collection was Capcom's Clock Tower 3. If you can imagine a game with Devil May Cry's controls, Resident Evil's puzzles, and Silent Hill's twisted nature, you'd have a pretty good idea what to expect from CT3. While not as polished as any of the aforementioned classics, CT3 is worth a play through for its unique mechanic of escape over combat and its wonderful cinematics.

For my next trick, I finally got around to playing Atlus' Tactics Ogre: Knight of Lodis. Splitting play time between the GBA SP and the GameCube's GB Player, TO has reminded why I enjoy the genre so much. The light strategy mixed with heavt story has always been a favorite combination of mine. Once again, however, TO falls short of games like Shining Force, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Vandal Hearts. Given that it is a portable game, it is truly amazing and makes me all the more anxious to get to FFT Advance and Onimusha Tactics on the go.

Finally, the last two weeks have included a fair amount of time with Capcom's cel-shaded racer, Auto Modellista. The game has received mixed reviews everywhere and rightfully so. I fully enjoyed the single player mode, which is free of the awful pay-for-parts system from Gran Turismo. The down side is that it is only about 50 races long and took me two days. A seemingly perfect solution to that dilemma was the online play. Capcom made the correct choice by using Sega's new SNAP service and by making it broadband only. However, they made the wrong choice by making most of the tracks completely dependent on car upgrades, rather than racing skill. The city courses require no skill whatsoever. In fact, if a player chooses not to try to make a turn, he often comes out better by bouncing off the corner. On the mountain courses this problem does not exist, but that is too little too late. Where the hell is my Sega-programmed, online Daytona?

Hero - Colin McRae Rally 3.0 (Xbox)

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GC)

When was the last time I played, or wanted to play a game so much that if I wasn't at the controller, I was watching someone, and if I wasn't watching someone, I was thinking about it?

Right now I have the overworld theme of Wind Waker humming in my head. It's been a very long time since I've had a game that could do that. I've played a lot of good games, a lot of bad, and a lot of games that I grew fond of, but it takes something special to envoke what Wind Waker has. It's like being a kid again - that unbiased mindset that allows one to sit down, play, and be amazed with the game as it is, not as other people call it.

Graphics, gameplay, music, plot, and every other critical remark I could make wouldn't matter. All I know is, in the end, I like this game. A lot. And I'm sure I'll be humming this theme years down the road.

Sqoon - Multiple Titles

Legend of Zelda - The Wind Waker (Gamecube)

If there's one thing the current talents at Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto know how to do, it's creating characters of unusual depth with simple expressions and sounds. Mario in Sunshine, for example, with his whoops and cheers shows he's having just as much fun on Delfino Island as the player reasonably should. And the Link of Wind Waker, never ceases to be amazed and jump around with joy as he uncovers the world, as happy and excited to take part of Nintendo's legacy and history. Just as the player reasonably should.

Ren - Multiple Titles

Legend of Zelda - The Wind Waker (Gamecube)

Ah, so many games and such little time to play them. I've been eagerly anticipating this title for months, and it hasn't disappointed me yet. In my opinion, the cel-shaded graphics are excellent. Some people may take a glance at The Wind Waker and dismiss it as a kid's game with outdated graphics. If you look closer, though, you'll see that its visuals are truly amazing. The animation is fluid, especially in the characters' facial expressions, and the whole game feels like a cartoon that you get to control. The depth that was added to Zelda still surprises me at times. We all loved abusing those chickens in A Link to the Past, didn't we? Well, now you can pick up pigs and toss them around, beat them up, then even throw them over your deck into the ocean and watch them desperately swim to the shore. Great stuff. Pokemon Sapphire (GBA)

I got one of the new Pokemon games along with my shiny new platinum GBA SP a few weeks ago. I've never played a Pokemon game before, but it's starting to grow on me. It's standard RPG stuff with a bit of a twist. Right now my best Pokemon is a Combusken, which will hopefully be turning into the much cooler Blaziken very soon. If nothing else, Sapphire (or Ruby) can keep you very entertained on the bus or between classes (or in my case, under the counter at work).

· · ·TNL Staff