2002 was a good year for Gamecube. Though it hasn't outsold its two rivals, the system was host to some of the most artistically brilliant games of the year, most of them right out of Nintendo's very own game war machine. Titles like Resident Evil (1 and 0), Super Mario Sunshine, Eternal Darkness and of course, Metroid: Prime showed us once again that Nintendo can do no wrong. This year has begun very well with one of the most anticipated games of the past two years, Zelda: The Wind Waker making Xbox loyalists sneak into stores the world over in, overcoats and dark sunglasses, to buy Gamecubes.

The rest of this year should also go well for the 'cube with the new F-Zero and Wario World heading our way. Although Wario has starred in his own games on handheld systems, he's never been seen in 3D in such a massive adventure and he doesn't enjoy anywhere near the celebrity of philanthropic counterpart, Mario. But he's determined to win over the general public with Wario World 4, a wild adventure that looks but doesn't feel like Mario's Sunshine. Graphically, WW 4 will be on par with Mario but the question is whether or not the game will use space as well. Sunshine's 3D'ness was put to the test with multi-storied levels, loads of climbing and water powered levitating. Wario, on the other hand, is hefty and not nearly as agile, nor does he carry a waterspraying whatchamacallit or even a vacuum for that matter. It's yet to be seen how Nintendo will implement their signature gizmo/item based exploration/upgrade based gameplay on Wario World.

Still, Nintendo keeps the game's details locked behind tight lips and doorways. Wario's evil past comes to haunt him when all of his jewels and plundered shiny things are turned into monsters by a mysterious black gemstone in his collection. Knowing Nintendo this should lead into some great action but we just don't know what that will be yet. Recent delays on the title suggest to me that Nintendo is refining and rethinking certain aspects of the gameplay. Too little has been revealed about the game - it seems as if they are creating its personality. Giving it that essential Nintendo-ness.

With a June 23rd release date, Wario World isn't far off. Let's just hope that it will be all that it should be.