No DVD and no internet - tough break for us Cube owners, eh? Especially when our friends and their loudly-whirring PS2s and devilishly ugly Xboxes seem to do both so easily in comparison. DVDs we can not feel quite so badly about: a DVD is relatively cheap nowadays, and even the bargain basement models feature better playback than the PS2 �plus you don't have to reset the internal clock every time you turn it off, I'm looking at you, Microsoft.

But the internet...now that's a kicker. While these friends of ours are kicking off their shoes and blasting each other with Halo 2 and Star Wars Battlefront, 'Cube owners get the infinite delights of Phantasy Star Online...Oh dear. While there's no denying that it's at the heart a great and deeply rewarding game, it's so difficult and costly in terms of time and money to get to that heart as to make it mostly unpalatable for a lot of gamers.

However, I'm inclined to agree with Nintendo's stance on the whole issue: the mass market is not quite ready for the online gaming scene, and if you can't do it properly and offer the best service possible, then why do it at all? It would be useful to say here that in a converse way, Nintendo's take on the mass-market appeal of online gaming is more than slightly baffling. That is to say, Nintendo are increasingly becoming a niche brand in this generation of home consoles, happiest when pandering to their loyal fanbase, the company effectively eschews the mass market in order to appeal to hardcore gamers �surely this hardcore target audience is the most vocal in demanding internet gaming? Just a thought, and we'll leave that little avenue for now, but it certainly gets you to thinking.

I think Nintendo can really be forgiven for the confusing take on internet connectivity when you consider that in the light of what is probably one of the finest achievements on the 'Cube: multiplayer.

Okay, so split screen isn't great when you COULD have the TV all to yourself playing some guy called Duane from Utah (Likes: Candy, Trading Cards. Dislikes: Showering, Leaving his bedroom) over a broadband connection, reaching out so to speak, to our brothers and sisters across the great ocean. Or you could be crammed around this tiny 14" portable that's seen better days with three other people, each vying for the best seat on your clapped out sofa. Squealing in impotent rage as ANOTHER green shell sends you spinning off the track, raising your fist in triumph as you rack up the last kill you need to win the game.

Forgive me for saying, but bowls of crisps, fighting over controllers and a small cramped room that's getting sweatier by the minute are all far more appealing images than sitting on my own in a dark room (it burns us, my precious!) jabbering to another guy sat alone in another dark room somewhere a million miles away.

You see, multiplayer is all about the atmosphere you share with other gamers; the laughter, the tears, the triumph, the defeat. All of these should be shared up close and personal, they seem to have so much more value when you can glance at the beads of sweat forming on the brow of your best friend. He knows he's beaten, it's just as much fun though to watch him desperately try and get out of the corner you've forced him into, as it is to beat him outright in the first place.

That's what multiplayer gaming should be al labout �the social aspect of gaming. After all, you don't go down the pub to have a laugh and a drink with some guy you can only hear and that lives over the other side of the world. You go to the pub to have a few beers, swap dirty jokes and soak up the atmosphere with your friends. And the same is essentially true for gaming.

Furthermore � and this will doubtless raise a few eyebrows - the Gamecube has the best multiplayer titles available on any format. Period.

Not convinced? Have you heard of Mario Kart? Perhaps Mario Party? F-Zero? Donkey Konga? Heck, even Animal Crossing is best enjoyed when you're guiding a good buddy around showing them the sights and sounds of your village. The 'Cube has positively got it going on in the multiplayer department; the four controller ports in the front announce to the world that the more truly will be the merrier on the Cube. And that's the way it will always be.

Whenever you have a party it's always the classics that get dragged out: anyone for Super Smash Brothers Melee? Two years on and there's no better four-player fighting game available on any of the other formats, nothing comes quite as close in terms of all-out carnage and wild giggles and whooping that wakes the neighbours at 4 a.m. It's genius, just like Mario Kart and Super Monkey Ball. Maybe someone will want you to pull out Halo 2 for a quick blast, but ultimately you'll go back to the purple box under the TV, it's just that much easier.

Throw in a GBA and link cables to the mix and you've got yourself a whole new party to play with. Pac Man VS is a classic example of the simple but powerful use of the GBA and 'Cube in tandem. If you've not played it, it's a must have as it comes bundled with the enjoyably flawed R:Racing for under �20, you can't argue with that kind of value. And then there's Pokemon: say what you will about the cynically-made coliseum for the 'Cube, no-one in their right mind bought it for the stapled-on RPG, it's all about seeing those little critters from Ruby and Sapphire in 3D for the first time. True, the GBA link-up has not really been put to good use by most manufacturers, but the potential is certainly there and can easily be capitalised on in the next generation of hardware.

So there you have it: some guy who pronounces "Dog" as "Dawg" or you, a bunch of mates, three bowls of crisps, enough Pepsi to cripple Coca-Cola for life and a small purple box of joy. You decide.

And by the way, Mario Party at my place, 6pm.

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