Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest (GameCube) review "Looking for something new? Looking for something different? Looking for something that will make you tilt your head to the side while looking at your television screen, like a confused puppy? Then Cubivore is the game that you should play. While it is very hard to find this game for rent, I say it is a safe buy, and now I will explain why I think that it is. "

Looking for something new? Looking for something different? Looking for something that will make you tilt your head to the side while looking at your television screen, like a confused puppy? Then Cubivore is the game that you should play. While it is very hard to find this game for rent, I say it is a safe buy, and now I will explain why I think that it is.

In the wonderful world of Cubivore, the concept is an extremely complex one. Quite a few gamers, as well as writers, have stated that this is the type of game that you MUST read the Instructions to understand what to do, and how to do that what to do. Hell, I'm even confusing myself now. Anyways... The point being, if you want to succeed whilst playing this game, you will have to face the facts of being thrown into the game, head-on, and learning along the way. A lot of readers may be turned off by the thought of this, but no need to worry, it's not as hard as it sounds.

Starting up the game, you're presented with a Cubivore that is made out of the GameCube logo. This is very cute, but deadly. From here, you have your choice of three files to choose from on your Memory Card (it takes up 13 blocks of memory), and once you make your decision, you will be prompted to name your Cubivore creature. After this, you are told the basic story, which goes like this...

The world is on ends meet. There is a substance called ''Wilderness'' in this game's world, or lack thereof. Long ago, there was tons of Wilderness, around every corner, and in every single creature that roamed the beautiful land. The Wilderness was represented by color, so if a Cubivore has color, it means that they contain Wilderness. And the colors are represented by a thing called ''The Will To Live.'' Let us hope that you, my readers, have that in yourselves. *Hallmark Moment(tm)*

But one day, all of the Wilderness disappeared... Creatures lost their color, as did the land, and it all revolved around the King of All Cubivores, whom had a substance called Raw-Meat. His henchmen, the Boss enemies, also hold this element. The game's evolution revolves around mating. You need to get with some pretty little girl Cubivores, and create a child. But hold on, Marvin Gaye, it's not that simple! You see, to mate, you will need one of the essences of the land: The Raw-Meat.

''But how am I going to destroy those big, scary Cubivore bosses that have the Raw-Meat that I desire so?'' You ask? You will have to kill creatures of those whom have Wilderness. Yes, I know, it's sadistic to kill a creature that is happy to live, isn't it? But after killing these creatures, you can eat their pieces off by lounging at them, and ripping them apart. I can just see your face right now. You're probably blinking, staring blankly at the screen, thinking ''I thought this game was supposed to be rated 'E for Everyone'?'' Well, we can put it this way: The game has suggestive themes, such as brutal murder and several different terms for... *ahem* ''Getting Your Groove On.''

While I do not suggest children that do not know the way of life (Reproduce and Die) play this, I truly do believe that everyone else SHOULD play this. Sure, it can be disturbing to see the head of your former self laying on the ground, rotting, after you mate with a female Cubivore, and I do not really understand WHY you become your son after you mate, but it works for a very fun, long-lasting thrill ride that eventually will get repetitive, but note that I did say ''Eventually,'' and not ''Instantly.''

Keep in mind that you have to kill the enemies before you can go munching on their corpse to get their traits and ''abilities,'' and each enemy has a different set amount of HP, or in this case known as a ''Stomach.'' The more full your stomach is, the more Hit Points you can obtain. Your stomach can also grow throughout the game, so take note of this. You can also alter your appearance in different ways than just eating your enemies, such as power ups. These things can give you scars on your face , Grow Horns and grow Bumps on the back of your head. All of these things, mind you, are good things that will raise certain aspects of your character, such as Defense.

As I stated before, you have to mutate to succeed in this world of a game. In fact, you have to have a certain amount of mutations before you can even go up against certain bosses and the like. By eating different combinations of different colored creatures (Yellow, Red, Blue, Grey, and Purple), you can combine into different, more powerful creatures. Be careful, however, as you can decrease your strength in evolution by getting different types of creatures. You are what you eat, as they say. There are also two different shades of Cubivores, as well, which are Pale and Dark. The Pale versions are the weaker of the two, and the Dark are the more advanced version.

The graphics speak for themselves. Heck, this was supposed to be a Nintendo 64 game, for crying out loud. When the Nintendo 64 died, this game, much like Doshin The Giant and the ever-so-popular Animal Crossing, was brought over to the Nintendo GameCube, so the graphics are not supposed to be wonderful. Much like with Animal Crossing, though, if you complain about the graphics, there is obviously something wrong with a shallow gamer like yourself. In fact, read the title of the game: Cubivore. And that sums it up. In presentation, this game is BEAUTIFUL. Lush, N64-styled backgrounds and settings that are surrounded in a world where EVERYTHING is cubed; even the sun and moon! It's a running theme that most will find adoring.

Sound-wise, we're talking quite possibly a masterpiece. In a game like this, believe it or not, the soundtrack is a required feature that will echo throughout the entire game as a standing stone which is perfection. The music in this game helps maintain the pace of the game itself, and while it grows repetitive and redundant at times, it still enjoys its purpose, and it gets the job done highly above average.

Really, the worst part about this game is simply the camera control. Very slow and tiresome, the camera control could have seriously been worked on before the release of the game, especially with the long delay from the Nintendo 64 version. The rest of the game feels like puzzle/simulation perfection, yet we never see camera problems in simulation games, so what gives? I suppose something is not too bad when you consider the camera the main focus on negative, however, look at Super Mario Sunshine, as well. Littered, I tell ya.

In conclusion, the game is very confusing, and even after playing this for quite some time, I still have questions that should be answered. However, the fact of the matter is that the game is extremely fun, and even somewhat addictive. This game is a title that will be overlooked for years, and despite the fact that the developers could have explained how to play better (as well as added a Training Mode), and/or fixed the camera problems, it is still leaps and bounds above 80% of the gaming industry. It could have been a bit better, but it is still a very solid gaming experience that I would recommend to gamers worldwide.

Community review by zoop (February 05, 2004) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.