The Natives will be quite clear when communicating their needs and desires to you...

There's something to be said about marching to the beat of your own drummer. When Japanese developer Param first tried its hand at a pseudo god-sim, the results were mixed. Doshin, released for the ill-fated 64DD add on for the Nintendo 64 in 1999 was seriously hampered by the limitations of the hardware it was crammed on. Not content to give up on the intriguing concept, developer Param chose to give the game another go on the far more muscular GameCube. The quirky title marries a deceptively simple premise with engaging gameplay and well-done graphics. The end result is a surprisingly addictive game that offers a solid console approach to a sim-style premise.

Doshin's story stays true to the 64DD game's premise and follows a mysterious yellow giant, whose free and easy attitude towards nudity is but one of his many charms. Wearing nothing a benevolent smile and an unkempt tuft of hair on his head, the big guy pops up out of the ocean one fine day and happens upon an island chain. After a brief bit of exploration, he comes across some of the locals and, before you can say "save me, o mighty one" winds up hanging out and helping the needy little guys. Given his immense size, proportionate strength, and other special abilities, Doshin is clearly just what the doctor ordered for a pack of natives just starting out in the world.

...and they'll reward you with all sorts of love when you enact their will.

While moving about performing god-like acts does get complicated, Doshin's control scheme is easy to pick up and features a pleasing twist. You'll move the big guy with the analog stick, use the A button to pick up items, and B to jump. The Z button will toggle an onscreen map of the islands on and off. X and Y will let Doshin warp patches of land. The X button will raise patches of earth while the Y button will cause the land to sink. The d-pad will let you adjust the camera distance, while the yellow c-stick lets you adjust camera distance. The right trigger lets you take snapshots of your exploits that will be saved to your memory card and be reviewed in a gallery in the game. However, of all the things you'll be able to do as Doshin, it's easy to imagine that most gamers will enjoy the left trigger's function, which transforms the benevolent Doshin into a far more "fire and brimstone" incarnation called "Jashin." Doshin's mellow yellow form gives way to a deep red form that features an angry scowl on his face, gargoyle like wings and gives the world a much darker feel--the sky turns a dark red when you turn into Jashin. The change into Jashin offers more than just cosmetic changes to the game; when it occurs, all of your abilities are far more focused on destruction. A single press of the A button results in a heavy slap that sinks the ground while holding the button down yields a fearsome volley of fireballs that level anything in their path. Jumping with the B button will send Jashin high into the air courtesy of his wings and result in a ground-rattling stomp upon landing. Jashin's ability to raise or lower the earth is far more powerful than Doshin's and affects a much wider area as well. You'll find that as you go through the game the ability to switch between Doshin's two forms is something that will have to be managed carefully if you hope to be a successful deity.