2002 Atlus
If there was ever a title that prided itself on being quirky, this would be it. In the wilderness of Cubivore you will find predators, prey, and fields of grass. However, as the title suggests, this wilderness is depicted through six-sided boxes. The patches of flowers are a box with a texture of flowers on it. The worms are two flat boxes attached at the middle that squirm along the ground. Even the ripples in the water are squares that extend just as our circular counterparts on earth do.
Features
- Intense fighting with other Animals
- Detailed artificial intelligence for enemies
- Surround Sound
- GameCube exclusive
Looking beyond the quirky design shows a game that could be seen as a cross between a roll playing game and a food chain simulation. You begin your life in the world as a pig. When you first start you have no idea what to do, just like a real infant. As you go you learn to eat and fight. Soon you develop your skills and become honed in the art of combat. When fighting, you eat the meat from other animals, which in turn will make you mutate into other forms. Depending on the color of meat ripped off your prey, you will mutate into different forms.
The interesting aspect of mutations is how there are several types of animals to turn into. Each of the types also has different forms to take depending on how many limbs they have. For instance, one animal with four limbs may look similar to a horse, while another looks like a snake. The strategy is in choosing which form you need at a certain time to make yourself more efficient in combat.
Your goal in life is to become king of Cubivores in the wild. The only way to do this is to mutate into many different forms and find enough raw meat to gain special abilities. In order to become the king you need to overthrow the Killer Cubivore, who is made of a colorless meat and is the most powerful of all animals. Killer Cubivores goons stand as the guardians in each area and are probably the games biggest challenge.
So what does the council have to say about this interesting title?
Jason Nuyens: I am one who agrees wholeheartedly with the argument that gameplay is key. Graphics can heighten an experience and even define it, but gameplay is the genuine foundation on which a game is built. Old NES games, for example, were nothing spectacular graphically but were incredibly fun to play.
So when I boot up Cubivore to see everything made out of cubes and very low-detail textures, I expect that the gameplay is something special. What was there though is a mixed bag, which is disappointing. The problems I had with the gameplay were mostly from a lack of overall polish on the title. The combat engine which lies as the core playing mechanic in the game is somewhat flawed. First, the idea behind combat is that you start with very little in the way of abilities. So when you start fighting in the beginning you have to be two millimeters in front of your prey to target, and cant strafe around them. Heck, even blocking is worthless at the start. The point is that the games fun really kicks in once you get almost all of the power-up abilities. This happens about a couple hours into the game. However, once you get them all, the game strips them from you. Its like one giant tease. You begin to say hey, this is getting fun with the crazy fighting but then they take it all away from you. Sure, its explained in story but its still quite aggravating to get into some very meaty gaming and then have it stripped from you.
The other problem I had was with the comedy (which could be the localization) and camera problems. I dont know what it is with the comedy in games today, but I just dont like where its going. This game has a very relaxing mood to it, so to see it combined with some very goofy comedy at the end of the levels is disappointing. Especially with very culture specific jokes that I would bet serious money were not in the original Japanese version. The camera problems were also pretty bad. As you are fighting, the camera would quickly zoom in and out while requiring you to fiddle with the c-stick every two seconds. It really got in the way of having a good beat-down with the local ruffians.
However, I did enjoy some parts of this game very much. Once I got into the groove of fighting with many different abilities, things got really interesting. You had to dance around your opponents with grace to try and eat them. Not only that but it was delightfully challenging. Fighting with the other cubivores meant having to decide between dodging, biting, blocking, or even running away completely. It truly is an addictive experience once you are head first into the journey.
The graphics are a very subjective aspect of this game so I will not say either way. You know what youre getting before you start to play, so that shouldnt be of any concern. The sound on the other hand is an area that can be critiqued. On the one hand you have the sound effects that are actually quite good. On the other hand you have the music which was promising but ended up disappointing. The music actually seems to be recorded with real instruments and is very soothing. However, not only are some of the tracks extremely short (Im talking about 10-15 seconds) but there are only a handful of them. This is somewhat of a let-down, for it could have made the whole experience more enjoyable if the music had been given more attention. The sound effects however, are nothing spectacular but get the job done just nicely.
All in all, Cubivore is definitely a quirky title that has its merits but falls short in many areas. The biggest sore point is the value of the product in its entirety. Not only is it relatively short, but the gameplay just doesnt have enough polish in it to warrant serious acclaim. A classic case of a title that had serious potential but fell somewhat short of its goal.