After last months average issue NGC are back on top form with their latest issue. The first thing that will strike you about the issue is the front of it. The Mario Sunshine-based cover is nothing short of beautiful. It could just be the most eye-pleasing NGC cover yet. It really is delightful.

Another thing you'll notice about the front is the free gift. It's the big brother of the Best NGC Free Gift Ever, the ever-so-practical N64 Game Rack. The black Game Rack can hold 8 of the GameCube (or PC, DVD, PS2 or Xbox for that matter) disc covers. Quite handy. Here's hoping they'll do another one soon, I've already run out of space on mine :)

It's obvious that this issues main attraction is the PAL review of Mario Sunshine. It may not be as long, but it is certainly as praiseful and elegantly written. The review touches on things I've sort of felt about SMS, but haven't really been able to put in words. Suffice to say, it's one of the best reviews the mag has ever had. Oh, and the score remains the same as the import one. There's also a "shine-grabbing" guide to the first half of the game which should come in handy if you're a bit stuck. Personally, I don't intend to use it. At least with CUBEs guide, you could thuck it in the bin if you wanted to. And yes, I did.

The other big review is, of course, Timesplitters 2. While not giving it quite as high a score as CUBE did (honestly, who expected NGC to? Eh? Exactly) it certainly sells the game a whole lot. Strangely, they didn't have a lot to say about the multiplayer, prefering to focus on the fluidy of play, and the obvious talent Free Radical Design have shown. Definitely worth a read. Other reviews include an expectedly so-so score given to Turok Evolution, though the review doesn't slam it as much as some others. Super Monkey Ball 2 is reviewed on import, and NGC seem to prefer the original. Still, it does get a good score, though not as good as CUBEs. Smugglers Run gets a better-than-average review, while Magical Mirror, Tetris Worlds and (less so for this one) MX Superfly get scathing reviews. Oh, and UFC Throwdown didn't fare up too well either.

The main previews are Resident Evil Zero, Zelda and Starfox Adventures. All these games are looking pretty darn sweet, and NGC don't half hype the fact that Starfox is reviewed in the next issue. Can't blame them to be honest. Also up for the preview treatment are Metroid Prime, Batman, Die Hard Vendetta, Ace Golf, Micro Machines and some others. Strangely, they claim Die Hard Vendetta has been delayed into next year. Now, the mag is written abit in advance and so maybe they're basing it on a few weeks ago when IGN claimed DHV had slipped. Of course, a swift call to our contact at the games developers saw the rumors rested. I sincerely hope they're wrong, and think they are.

The news section is on ECTS, and how it's becoming less and less important. It includes a rather unsettling jibe at the games jouros who attended the show, putting "journalists" in inverted comas when they mentioned them. The article is nothing we haven't heard before, but still decent enough. News also has Rare leaving, Medal of Honor coming and new details on the GBAs Final Fantasy Tactics game. The "Big Q" is on the so-called price-war and whether or not Nintendo will lower their GC price in respondence to Sonys and Microsofts cuts. They reckon we'll see a price drop by Christmas, I have to agree with them there. Lastly, the issue is rounded off by a humourous idea of what GameCubes broadband adaptor will look like. Well, possibly.

Features are a little thin on the ground, but this is otherwise a fantastic issue, knocking CUBEs recent one out of the park. Buy it.

Cube-Europe Score: 9/10