Topic: Games with kickin' Surround Sound?

[UncleBob]

Well, my Father-in-law (who is really cool) got us a Surround Sound system for Christmas.  It's nothing major, but it is nice.

Well, while looking through my GameCube games, I noticed that very few of them feature surround sound...  So - what games should I look for?  Anything in particular?

[Renny]

Metroid Prime 1/2
Rogue Squadron 2/3
Burnout 2
Metal Gear Solid

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Add: (revised! Thank kenny)

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
1080: Avalanche
Conflict: Desert Storm II
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Mario Power Tennis
Super Mario Sunshine
StarFox Adventures
Beyond Good & Evil
P.N.03
Soul Calibur II
Tales of Symphonia
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
Pikmin 2

I haven't confirmed F-Zero GX yet.  I'll have to fire that up...

Tales of Symphonia supports DPLII, tho I've heard no practical/significant use of it.  Some spells sounds do "surround" you.  HOWEVER, the music seems to make use of the surround channels (could be just the natural effects of DPLII), making it sound "cooler", "nicer", and "grander" to my ears.  

[Berto2K]

There is no DPLII logo on GX's box.  Too bad as it would make awesome use of it.

[kennyb27]

I believe both Mario Power Tennis and Super Mario Sunshine support DPLII.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

By golly, YOU'RE RIGHT.  I completely forgot about those.

Mario Power Tennis uses the surround channels at weird times.  It's hard to tell what's meant to be frame of reference for the listener.  Still sounds nice.

Mario Sunshine's audio can have that soothing ocean feel, like Wind Waker.

Capcom's often-bashed P.N.03 also uses DPLII surround well.  Very helpful for locating enemies and dodging lasers you can't see.

~~~~~

Wave Race: Blue Storm, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, and the ports of Ocarina of Time & Majora's Mask utilize the old Dolby Pro Logic surround method.  

[Gullcatcher]

Speaking of new surround systems, my little brother just got one, and wanted to set up his Playstation 2, and Gamecube to it. Does he need to buy special cords, or would the standard cables work? I've no experience with surround, any help would be fantastic!  

[MaleficentOgre]

don't rogue leader and rebel strike use surround sound
woops, didn't see those up there. I don't have it so I never know which games use it.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Rogue Leader was the first 5-channel DPLII game.  Rebel Strike has better 5-channel DPLII usage, and I believe is the first 7-channel DPLIIx game.

~~~~~

Gullcatcher:  If the receiver has multiple Red/White (RCA) stereo inputs, both the PS2 and GameCube can be hooked up with the regular cables.  If there is only (1) RCA stereo input available (common with "home theater in a box" packages) you need to buy an A/V switchbox so the PS2 and GameCube can share that stereo input.

Surround sound on earlier PS2 games is iffy.  Some games only had surround support via Dolby Digital format, and required the Toslink/optical cable connection to the receiver.  Metal Gear Solid 2 required Dolby Digital for surround, BUT, surround sound was ONLY available during cutscenes (weak!).  Later on, PS2 games began to ditch Dolby Digital in favor of Dolby Pro Logic II.  I don't know what's the earliest PS2 game to use DPLII, but I know for sure that Final Fantasy X-2, SOCOM II, and Castlevania: Lament of Innocence support DPLII.  Btw, "Dolby Digital support" does not necessarily mean "surround sound support".  Dolby Digital is an audio format, like MP3, and could be plain old high-quality 2-channel stereo sound.  It could be high-quality 1-channel mono sound if some [audio technician] wishes.  Surround sound is supported when things like "Dolby Digital Surround" or "Dolby Digital 5.1" are specified.  On the other hand, DPLII support IS surround sound support.

GameCube has had DPLII games since the beginning, tho the first 2 games were Rogue Leader and Eternal Darkness -- a 7 month gap.

~~~~~

Dolby's official Pro Logic II page, with surround setup diagram  

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Dolby's "official" DPLII game listing

It's incomplete and questionable:

"Dolby Pro Logic II
2002 FIFA World Cup
Backyard Baseball
Backyard Football
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg
Call of Duty: Finest Hour
Catwoman
Crash Nitro Kart
Dakar 2: The World's Ultimate Rally
Def Jam Vendetta
Def Jam: Fight for NY
Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure
Drome Racers
Enter the Matrix
Eternal Darkness Sanity's Requiem
FIFA Soccer 2004
Freedom Fighters
Freekstyle
Gladius
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
Hunter: The Reckoning
I-Ninja
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing
James Bond 007: NightFire
Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Madden NFL 2005
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
Metroid Prime
Minority Report
MVP Baseball 2004
NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup
NBA Live 2005
NBA Street Vol. 2
NCAA Football 2005
Need for Speed Underground
Need for Speed Underground 2
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
NFL Street
NHL 2004
NHL 2005
Phantasy Star Online Episodes I & II
Pikmin 2
Pitfall: The Lost Expedition
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc
Reign of Fire
Shrek 2
Sonic Adventure DX Director's Cut
Soul Calibur 2
Spawn: Armageddon
Spider-Man 2
SSX 3
Star Fox Adventures
Star Wars: Rebel Strike Rogue Squadron III
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
Star Wars: Rogue Leader
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Street Hoops
Super Mario Sunshine
Super Monkey Ball 2
The Haunted Mansion
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Urbz: Sims in the City
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
Tony Hawk's Underground
Tony Hawk's Underground 2
True Crime: Streets of LA
Turok: Evolution
Vexx
Wario World
XIII
Total number of Dolby Pro Logic II: 84

Dolby Surround
2002 FIFA World Cup
All-Star Baseball 2002
All-Star Baseball 2003
Backyard Football
Batman: Vengeance
Big Air Freestyle
Blood Omen 2
Burnout
Casper: Spirit Dimensions
Driven
Hitman 2
Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer
Lost Kingdoms
Lost Kingdoms II
Luigi's Mansion
Madden NFL 2003
Madden NFL 2004
Mario Party 4
Medal of Honor: Frontline
NBA Live 2003
NCAA Football 2003
NCAA Football 2004
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
NHL 2003
Spider-Man: The Movie
SSX Tricky
Street Racing Syndicate
Super Monkey Ball
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger
Virtua Striker 2002
Wave Race: Blue Storm
X-Men: Next Dimension
Total number of Dolby Surround: 34"

Some strange things I want to point out are Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2 are listed to have surround support here, but have no indication of it on the game packages, manuals, or in-game options.  I'll have to test those as well.  If only I wasn't in my room all-day capturing Resi video.

[UncleBob]

Hey!  Thanks for the lists and advice guys!
I haven't had much chance to play with my new setup gaming-wise (between movies - still gotta watch T2 - and Simpsons Season 5 - there's just so little time).  Soul Caliber II sounds *awesome* in surround sound.  I need one of those new fangled TVs with that glowing ambient light stuff (heh, yeah, right...) - SCII would really be quite cool then...

Anywhoo, Strangly enough, my Super Monkey Ball box totes a "Dolby Surround" logo on the back... Although, as you said, the SMB2 box does not.  Weird...

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

I dropped a customer service question to Dolby about that.  Probably won't get an answer for a while.  I guess there really are games that have surround capability, but for whatever reason the publisher decided not to tout it as a feature.  Pikmin2 was listed, but P.N.03 isn't, and it's a year older.  It probably costs SOMEONE $$$ to get that DPLII logo displayed on the box & in the game bootup.  

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Ok, here's an update.

Super Monkey Ball 2 and F-Zero GX do "have" surround sound.

SMB2 -- Some musical instruments are extended to the rear channels.  Some sound effects fill all the channels ("come from all sides") and others are given added echoes and a sense of space.  In the little river-racing game, the running water can be hear from all around you.  Overall, not extensive use, but a nice surprise.

Fzero -- Similar to SMB2.  Music is extended to the rear channels (great for listening!).  Sound effects aren't very clear in the sense that everone's moving so @!&^$# fast that they reduce to "i can hear things in front of me" or "i can hear things behind me".  Part of this is practically all the craft sound the same, and there's so many of them.  Additionally, the engines are hardly loud in default 3rd person camera views.  But in the cockpit/first person view, your craft's engine does provide a nice roar, and can be heard from the rear channels.  But I think it drowns out the sounds of your opponents engines.  Surround sound effects are present, but their impacts are subdued thanks to the high-speed nature of the game.

Resident Evil, Resident Evil Zero, and the US and JPN Resident Evil 4 demos DON'T use surround effects.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Matt@IGN mentioned in his limited impressions of his review copy of Resi4 that the final game does support Dolby Pro Logic II.

*oh the joy*

[Myxtika1 Azn]

What's a good, cheap surround sound system that I can get?  I want to get one because my crappy tv has only one audio input, and it's already messing up due to me swapping systems all the time.  Is there a good, reliable website out there?  What about local stores like Best Buy or Circuit City? Thanks for any help.

[kirby_killer_dedede]

Metroid Prime 2 sounds absolutely amazing with surround.

[SgtShiversBen]

Hey Prof., the thing with DPII is that basically anything will have surround sound.  With mine, even though it's almost two or three years old already, it gives the demo to RE4 some PRETTY DAMN GOOD sound.  Especially when you have encounters, the sub and the speakers just go all out.  But about the surround, the demo does seem to put it out.  One of the villagers threw a hatchet at me and the thing went from my front surround channels to the back and the crashed.  It's intense.

[Renny]

I tried the JPN demo with DPLII but didn't get much. I'm sure that version didn't have any. It would have sounded out of phase in stereo.

IRT Myxtica: What is your approximate budget? If you're thinking about an all-in-one, you couldn't really label any of those cheap things as good. The best ones could be called acceptable.

And for the time being, get a simple AV switch so you aren't putting needless strain on your RCA posts. Best Buy link.

Edit: Some of you are anal pricks so I had to change something.

[SgtShiversBen]

Yeah now you can get a pretty good one for a reasonable price.  I think the one I go is now around 200$ including speakers.  At the time I got it it was around 500, but yeah.  Don't go to Wal-Mart expecting something great.  The best place I can think of you getting one would be either Best Buy, Circuit City or Ultimate (if you want high end).  Also don't get Sony, Toshiba or any company that makes multiple product because usually those are ass.  Try for something around the lines of Harmon Kardon, Pioneer or Yamaha, (yes I know they do the exact same thing, but their beginning expertise were in sound).  Also you can't go wrong with Bose.  Don't buy into the MONSTER CABLES are the best, that's only if you have high end everything.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Sgt., when I tried both Resi4 demos, I didn't get any meaningful surround from them.  You're right, DPLII's natural function is to yield surround-sound-effects to any stereo source, but it's not guaranteed since it depends on the incoming audio; meaning it's selective about what it wants (and doesn't tell you how it decides) to output to the rear channels -- unless you're using a DPLII game that specifically defines the rear-channel output.

Hearing about that one hatchet example isn't enough to satisfy me.  I'm inclined to say it was a lucky case where DPLII decided to use rear output (just like I was pleasantly surprised to find out that "A Link to the Past" and "Seiken Densetsu 3" had 5-channel output when using the ZSNES 'surround sound' feature).  I was looking for, umm, "true" DPLII support in the Resi4 demos, expecting to hear practically everything in the rear channels, relative to the proper camera angles.  I'd run up to villagers, turn my back to them, and walk away a bit, listening for their phrases, footsteps, etc.  I'd also approach the river/cliff in the start of the demo, turn my back to it, and walk away to hear the water fade-out.  In both cases, the sounds came from my front channels.  Thus, I concluded DPLII wasn't supported.

~~~~~

Yes, Metroid Prime 2 = Home Theater Happiness *_*

[Renny]

I agree with Ben till the Bose part. Please don't buy Bose. Every time you buy a Bose product, another platypus dies.

I'd recommend getting seperate pieces, saving if you have to. For ~$800 I got:

Onkyo TX-SR500 receiver
JBL N26IIs for mains
JBL N24IIs for surrounds
Philips DVD795SA  for a quite low-end SACD player, good DVD/CD
Dayton 300-632 subwoofer (aka the Tiny Mighty MkII)
Plus mostly Acoustic Research cables; cheaper than Monster but good build quality

Some of it is refurbed/barely used, none of it was full MSRP. Obviously not audiophile stuff, but for my budget it's pretty damn good.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Reminder: Resident Evil 4 has KICKIN' SURROUND SOUND.

Just ask Reggie.

[Myxtika1 Azn]

Well, I've ordered and will soon be receiving a Sherwood Surround Sound Receiver (RD-6500)

Anybody know anything about it?  It was on sale for $119 and I couldn't pass up the chance.

[Uglydot]

I got this

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002472IM/qid=1107975505/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/104-8416971-9799159?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846

For Christmas, works fantastically with al my GCN games.  Metroid Prime 2 is a totally new game to me now.

[Myxtika1 Azn]

I've received the Sherwood A/V Receiver today and cannot get it to work.  I bought a Kinyo Gamezone 5.1 a while back and have been using that.  What I'm trying to do now is to use speakers and subwoofer that came with the GameZone on my new receiver.  After 2 hours of messing around and browsing the web, I still have not found what I'm looking for.  The back of the receiver has  "6-CH Direct Input"  ports, can somebody tell me what that means?  The back of the Kinyo system has a place labeld 5.1Ch and a port for me to plug a cable into.  Am I supposed to connect that to the "6-CH Direct Input" ports on the receiver?  Or do I have to buy all new speakers and a subwoofer?

Somebody please help.