Super Smash Bros.: Melee

The Good
First off, the graphics are top-notch. Not the best the GameCube will ever see, but definately top-notch. Special effects, like fire and such, look especially nice. And most characters have very detailed textures. So, graphics. Good.

The sound: Well, although the sound effects aren't something you really notice while taking part in a clash of video game characters, it has all the sounds you'd want including Mario's high-pitched shouting to Mewtwo's demonic grunts. The music, however, is something you'll notice. It's all your favorite music pulled straight out of Nintendo classics, like Metroid, Mario, Zelda, you-name-it, remixed and pumped into one game. It's every Nintendo fan's dream.

The single-player, while being a bit on the short side, still has a lot to do after a month of constant playing. There's the normal modes, Classic mode(Where you compete against every character in random battles, ranging from three characters against one giant character to just normal one on one), Adventure Mode(Which takes you through classic side-scrolling levels, with little fights inbetween) and All-Star Mode(A mode that's only enabled when you've unlocked all the characters, where you have to fight one on one, one on two and one on three matches with all the characters in the game). Then there's unlockable characters, bonus stages(like Sandbag Run and Target Practice) and Event Mode. Event Mode has you do specific missions, of sort, where you, for example, have to kill 128 tiny Marios. And if that's not enough, there's roughly 300 trophies of classic Nintendo characters and objects scattered around all of the modes, so get ready to do some collecting. As you can see there's enough to do in the single-player alone.

But that's not what'll keep you coming back to the game in a year. That'll be the multi-player portion of the game. Two to Four-player battles against your mates which almost always end up in heated discussions over how good a judge the computer was on that KO, and the throwing of controllers at opponents. Be ready to take a pause on your friend-ship, cause once you pick up the controller, you'll be pulling all the dirty tricks in the book in order to win. When it really heats up, opponents will start pulling your controller out of its plug, rendering you immobile, making you the perfect pray. Don't worry, not every game you'll be having will have this level of sportmanship. In time you, and your mates, will grow up and start fighting like men(or women.)

The Bad
For one, there could be more extras. It's nothing to complaing about, really. But the single-player portion of the game will be done in two months.

If I have to find any other flaw with the game, it's that most of the unlockable characters are pretty similar to the default characters. Mario is almost identical to Dr. Mario, and although Luigi can jump higher, there's not much different between them, except for strength. Still, I'd rather see my favorite characters in there, and have them be copies, than not see them at all. Put Wario in and have him identical to even Kirby, and I wouldn't care. (Well, having Wario identical to Kirby, as far as moves go, would be ridiculous, so scratch that idea.)

The Bottom Line
Trust me, this is the best multi-player game you'll get on the GameCube. We tried TimeSplitters 2, Mario Party 4, Super Monkey Ball. But it all ended at the same station. Super Smash Bros. Melee.