Of those choices I'd definitely say that Gamecube has the best party games. I had some friends over last night and we played Super Monkey Ball 2 until 3 in the morning (I had to work at 9 so I booted them out). It really is one of the best party games of all time IMO. Expect your friends to be skeptical at first but they'll get addicted fast. Wavebirds are especially great for party games aswell because there are no wire crossovers or proximity problems. I bought Mario Party 5 with my Gamecube but wasn't too impressed, IMO the series hasn't progressed at all so I may as well just play my Mario Party 2 for N64. Mario Kart: DD was also dissapointing as the battle mode was a huge letdown, but racing is decent.
Xbox has pretty good 4 player support (and impressive lan play in some games) but not so much in the party game department other than Fuzion Frenzy, which you already have. If you like racing games Project Gotham Racing 2 and Rallisport 2 both sport decent 4 player play, with higher numbers with system link. You need a big screen to really enjoy 4 player racing though, as it can be a little cramped. DOA 3 is also good for team play and would make a solid addition to your collection.
My knowledge of ps2 is much more limited, so I'll trust the resident expert (Des). I assume the eye toy would be decent for goofy fun taking turns, but I'm not sure how long the appeal would last. Requirement of a multitap for 4 players doesn't make it too appealing for game developers to go the extra mile with support for it, though it always is a nice extra to have.
Getting off topic of this generation, the Saturn is a great party game machine. It doesn't boast too many multitap games but the ones that are supported are true gems. Last time I went over to a friends place I took my saturn along and after a mediocre hour of halo we played a bunch of intense Death Tank games.Super Puzzle Fighter was also a hit, even though it was 2 player we simply played tournement style. I can't wait to get more controllers in order to play 12 player bomberman 😎 These games show that 3D games aren't necessarily superior to 2D, it all boils down to gameplay.
As for the whole 'generation' semantics, I consider Xbox/GC/Ps2/DC to be 'current generation', N64/PSX/Saturn to be 'previous gen'. The dreamcast is a bit in between though. It managed to get Psx ports while still porting out to Ps2 (Rez, Tennis 2k2, Resident Evil: Code Veronica) and Gamecube (Sonic, RE)... but it is closer is more regards to today's consoles.
:blah My posts get too long sometimes.
But the most important think to learn from this thread: go buy Super Monkey Ball 2 now! Its one of the top party games of all time, and thats what you seem to be looking for. Come back with impressions...or you could even write a review for SX 😀
---Ammut
Xbox has pretty good 4 player support (and impressive lan play in some games) but not so much in the party game department other than Fuzion Frenzy, which you already have. If you like racing games Project Gotham Racing 2 and Rallisport 2 both sport decent 4 player play, with higher numbers with system link. You need a big screen to really enjoy 4 player racing though, as it can be a little cramped. DOA 3 is also good for team play and would make a solid addition to your collection.
My knowledge of ps2 is much more limited, so I'll trust the resident expert (Des). I assume the eye toy would be decent for goofy fun taking turns, but I'm not sure how long the appeal would last. Requirement of a multitap for 4 players doesn't make it too appealing for game developers to go the extra mile with support for it, though it always is a nice extra to have.
Getting off topic of this generation, the Saturn is a great party game machine. It doesn't boast too many multitap games but the ones that are supported are true gems. Last time I went over to a friends place I took my saturn along and after a mediocre hour of halo we played a bunch of intense Death Tank games.Super Puzzle Fighter was also a hit, even though it was 2 player we simply played tournement style. I can't wait to get more controllers in order to play 12 player bomberman 😎 These games show that 3D games aren't necessarily superior to 2D, it all boils down to gameplay.
As for the whole 'generation' semantics, I consider Xbox/GC/Ps2/DC to be 'current generation', N64/PSX/Saturn to be 'previous gen'. The dreamcast is a bit in between though. It managed to get Psx ports while still porting out to Ps2 (Rez, Tennis 2k2, Resident Evil: Code Veronica) and Gamecube (Sonic, RE)... but it is closer is more regards to today's consoles.
:blah My posts get too long sometimes.
But the most important think to learn from this thread: go buy Super Monkey Ball 2 now! Its one of the top party games of all time, and thats what you seem to be looking for. Come back with impressions...or you could even write a review for SX 😀
---Ammut
