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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!
« on: June 17, 2026, 10:59:04 am »
06 - Die Hard: Vendetta [DE] (GameCube)
https://vgcollect.com/item/205981
Hardware: Nintendo Wii + GameCube Accessory
Playtime: about 11 Hours
Wow, in quite short time, Episode 3 of Bizz playing GameCube-FPS on Wii ... after suffering through Medal of Honor: Rising Sun, I took on the last of the 3 GameCube-FPS I own - Die Hard: Vendetta.
Whenever I came across a Die Hard game, I wanted to try it out at least. Growing up in the 90's, I loved the Die Hard movies, and man, did I enjoy the light gun shooter on PS1! So when this particular game came out in 2002, I instantly kinda checked it out, in fact, a friend owned it, so I watched it a little bit. I wasn't that deep into gaming back then, so I kind of ignored Die Hard: Vendetta, because it looked like an average shooter at first glance. I revisited it now in 2026.
At first I cursed on this game the same way I did with the previous, but this time, after laying down my CoD-esque way of storming through every stage mindlessly with cannons blazing, and instead playing the game the way it seems to be intended, I really drew a lot of entertainment out of it.
The german version of Die Hard: Vendetta was released on GameCube in 2002 by publisher NDA Productions, a subdivision of Vivendi responsible for europe and asia, and also saw releases on other platforms of the time, the PlayStation2 and Xbox. Developer Bits Studios, former B.I.T.S. should later rename themselves Playwize Games. I for myself know them best as the originators of the R-Type shoot-em-up series, that I grew to like over my years as retro gamer. According to some data on the internet, Bits Studios seemed to have worked on a Die Hard title for N64, which ultimately never came to reality, as well as a Game Boy Color Jet Force Gemini.
Sadly, this version of the game was released during a time when censorship of games was strict in Germany, so many
features regarding visual violence were cut out entirely or altered. Most of these things could've been left in the game, if one decided to release it 18+, but they didn't, which I don't understand given the material at hand.
Die Hard: Vendetta comes with an awesome plot imo: John McClane works as a normal street cop in a fictive city - which obviously resembles Hollywood - as he get's called to a hostage situation within an arts museum. What unravels during the further game is a cinematic story including the son of a well-known former villain, the comeback to a famous movie location and appearances of a few beloveth side characters of the movies as well (Carl MF Winslow!). Actually, the plot of this game would make a great Die Hard movie, which I guess was intentional by it's creators. Of coure it get's personal - again - and John'll have to kick multiple ass.
Most players might start into this game expecting it to be a straight up action first-person-shooter, and will probably get humbled the same way I got humbled - McClane still is a cop, so on many occasions during gameplay, you'll have to sneak, arrest, interrogate or rescue people. There are some sections where you simply blaze away groups of terrorists, but in between those intense firefights, you mostly try to stay undetected by enemies and grab them from behind to not risk them shooting any hostages - which they'll do ... fast. Once you get into it, Die Hard: Vendetta plays like a sort of rougelike-shooter, it's hard to explain. Most missions also include various types of riddle-segments, where you have to figure something out or to find something, to progress further - some of which are quite headbreaking. After the martyrdom of playing MoH: Rising Sun, this is yet another shooter expecting me to wait, sneak and think, instead of just aiming for faces and pulling the trigger. But Die Hard: Vendetta does this way better I think. By the end of the game I was seriously enjoying it. As with almost all 3D-games on GameCube, controls are a substantial part of the game's difficulty, I must admit.
For a non-Nintendo franchise GameCube-game, the visual presentaion of Die Hard: Vendetta is quite good. Building-textures, NPCs, items to interact with, everything looks sophisticated and detailed. As goes for the weapons you can use, although you don't have many to choose from. Missions and locations vary in size, but are also build really detailed and unique. Every mission features a totally unique location, from an arts museum to Hollywood strip, Chinese Cinema, film sets, warehouses, subways etc., which makes playing this game often feel like literally playing a Die Hard movie.
The cineastic soundtrack of Die Hard: Vendetta adds even more to the vibe of playing an action blockbuster. It's composer and conductor, Frank R. Favre (God of War: Ragnarök; The Punisher), did a great job in writing tense pieces for every mission, that - though not very memorable - complete the all-in-all action move / Die Hard'y experience perfectly. There's also a lot of fan-pleasement included with our ol' buddy Ludwig Van's "Ode an die Freude" playing during John's "Hero-Time"(bullet-time)-sprees.
Starting off confusing, after getting into Die Hard: Vendetta, I totally enjoyed it, just like watching one of the movies. Having played a few Die Hard games now, I can say that none of them gave that all-around vibe of the movies better than this one - especially for fans of the franchise, this is a must play.
6 games finished in 2026, let's see how few/many may follow …
https://vgcollect.com/item/205981
Hardware: Nintendo Wii + GameCube Accessory
Playtime: about 11 Hours
Wow, in quite short time, Episode 3 of Bizz playing GameCube-FPS on Wii ... after suffering through Medal of Honor: Rising Sun, I took on the last of the 3 GameCube-FPS I own - Die Hard: Vendetta.
Whenever I came across a Die Hard game, I wanted to try it out at least. Growing up in the 90's, I loved the Die Hard movies, and man, did I enjoy the light gun shooter on PS1! So when this particular game came out in 2002, I instantly kinda checked it out, in fact, a friend owned it, so I watched it a little bit. I wasn't that deep into gaming back then, so I kind of ignored Die Hard: Vendetta, because it looked like an average shooter at first glance. I revisited it now in 2026.
At first I cursed on this game the same way I did with the previous, but this time, after laying down my CoD-esque way of storming through every stage mindlessly with cannons blazing, and instead playing the game the way it seems to be intended, I really drew a lot of entertainment out of it.
The german version of Die Hard: Vendetta was released on GameCube in 2002 by publisher NDA Productions, a subdivision of Vivendi responsible for europe and asia, and also saw releases on other platforms of the time, the PlayStation2 and Xbox. Developer Bits Studios, former B.I.T.S. should later rename themselves Playwize Games. I for myself know them best as the originators of the R-Type shoot-em-up series, that I grew to like over my years as retro gamer. According to some data on the internet, Bits Studios seemed to have worked on a Die Hard title for N64, which ultimately never came to reality, as well as a Game Boy Color Jet Force Gemini.
Sadly, this version of the game was released during a time when censorship of games was strict in Germany, so many
features regarding visual violence were cut out entirely or altered. Most of these things could've been left in the game, if one decided to release it 18+, but they didn't, which I don't understand given the material at hand.
Die Hard: Vendetta comes with an awesome plot imo: John McClane works as a normal street cop in a fictive city - which obviously resembles Hollywood - as he get's called to a hostage situation within an arts museum. What unravels during the further game is a cinematic story including the son of a well-known former villain, the comeback to a famous movie location and appearances of a few beloveth side characters of the movies as well (Carl MF Winslow!). Actually, the plot of this game would make a great Die Hard movie, which I guess was intentional by it's creators. Of coure it get's personal - again - and John'll have to kick multiple ass.
Most players might start into this game expecting it to be a straight up action first-person-shooter, and will probably get humbled the same way I got humbled - McClane still is a cop, so on many occasions during gameplay, you'll have to sneak, arrest, interrogate or rescue people. There are some sections where you simply blaze away groups of terrorists, but in between those intense firefights, you mostly try to stay undetected by enemies and grab them from behind to not risk them shooting any hostages - which they'll do ... fast. Once you get into it, Die Hard: Vendetta plays like a sort of rougelike-shooter, it's hard to explain. Most missions also include various types of riddle-segments, where you have to figure something out or to find something, to progress further - some of which are quite headbreaking. After the martyrdom of playing MoH: Rising Sun, this is yet another shooter expecting me to wait, sneak and think, instead of just aiming for faces and pulling the trigger. But Die Hard: Vendetta does this way better I think. By the end of the game I was seriously enjoying it. As with almost all 3D-games on GameCube, controls are a substantial part of the game's difficulty, I must admit.
For a non-Nintendo franchise GameCube-game, the visual presentaion of Die Hard: Vendetta is quite good. Building-textures, NPCs, items to interact with, everything looks sophisticated and detailed. As goes for the weapons you can use, although you don't have many to choose from. Missions and locations vary in size, but are also build really detailed and unique. Every mission features a totally unique location, from an arts museum to Hollywood strip, Chinese Cinema, film sets, warehouses, subways etc., which makes playing this game often feel like literally playing a Die Hard movie.
The cineastic soundtrack of Die Hard: Vendetta adds even more to the vibe of playing an action blockbuster. It's composer and conductor, Frank R. Favre (God of War: Ragnarök; The Punisher), did a great job in writing tense pieces for every mission, that - though not very memorable - complete the all-in-all action move / Die Hard'y experience perfectly. There's also a lot of fan-pleasement included with our ol' buddy Ludwig Van's "Ode an die Freude" playing during John's "Hero-Time"(bullet-time)-sprees.
Starting off confusing, after getting into Die Hard: Vendetta, I totally enjoyed it, just like watching one of the movies. Having played a few Die Hard games now, I can say that none of them gave that all-around vibe of the movies better than this one - especially for fans of the franchise, this is a must play.
6 games finished in 2026, let's see how few/many may follow …
there're some invisible paths in this dungeon.
