First Review of the Xbox 360, Games

Now that I’ve been using my Xbox 360 for a week, I think I’m ready to write my first in-depth review on the system. There’s still lots of bad press about the Core system, and it is a bit of a rip-off. But, considering the uncertainty surrounding the availability of the Premium kits, I wouldn’t have done it any differently. I still think Microsoft is a bit of an ass for even selling the “Core” system, but strongly suspect they’re doing this to recoup their losses on the Premiums. What they make off of the accessories will cover what they’re losing on the Premium boxes (and maybe a little extra) if they’re selling 1 Core for every Premium system. This shortage is likely a way to move the units — after the holidays + a few more months, they may stop selling the Core system altogether (or, if they’re losing too much on it, stop selling the Premium system).

The hardware itself is quite nice. Microsoft did a good job with the basic layout of the system. I think it’s somewhat foolish to advertise these things standing up, though, as I suspect they’ll cool easier laying down - and that’s been the big issue with the new Xboxes. A “lot” (where “lot” = some vocal minority) of people are complaining about freezes, BSODs (black screens…) and out-right failures. Ventilation is key with these machines as they generate and throw a lot of heat. Some people are even claiming that the power supplies are over-heating and should be suspended by string! That’s a bit excessive, I think, but I would probably not put it in deep carpet behind the entertainment system amongst the dust-bunnies where most people would try to hide these monstrosities. My biggest beef about the hardware is the little door on the front that covers the USB ports. You can’t see them in there and have go spelunking with your USB plug to find the hole. Maybe that’s the experience Microsoft wanted us to have…

In fact, the only bug I’ve seen so far has been an inability to send text messages via Xbox Live while playing Project Gotham Racing 3. The machine locks up while sending it. I’ve reproduced this three times and won’t be trying it again. The PC Media Extender stuff is also eluding me for some reason. I’ve tried setting it up a couple of times now and though GAC has informed me that it is “trivial”, it doesn’t seem to work on my PC. Microsoft’s “help” is not terribly helpful in this matter either. Still, I suspect the iPod is the better route to bring music to video games and towards this end, I’ve concocted some Smart Playlists for driving that work just great.

Project Gotham Racing 3

PGR3 is the game that has had me wanting an Xbox 360, even when I didn’t think I wanted an Xbox 360. The early screenshots from the game were stunning and many suspected they were touched-up photos or other fakery. They were not. The game really does look that good. The bridges in New York for example look real - if you look out the side of your car at the bridge whizzing past, you can see Manhattan receding in the background. Quite awesome. Reflections on cars at night are bright and shiny, the whole view is reflected in the cars’ windshields. The only thing missing is the damage model from the previous game. Cars don’t seem to get banged-up and headlights stay on no matter how much you damage them. I have seen some trunks flapping so maybe I’m just not seeing the dents because of all the shiny pretty things.

Gameplay is extra smooth. The PGR series has made a name for itself as being gritty and realistic yet still allowing you to plow into a wall at 200MPH and keep on driving. Cars feel like they have mass. Bizarre Creations have done a fantastic job of constructing a believable physics model for these machines. Different cars have different characteristics on the road that translate through the controller when you’re driving them. PGR3 has taken what has worked in the previous two games and tweaked it a bit. I don’t really see any huge differences between Gothams 2 and 3, but there are some subtle changes. The walls seem to be a bit more forgiving than previous versions. Contact with a wall is not a guaranteed loss of Kudos (the points you get for performing dangerous or impressive maneuvers at ridiculous speeds) as in previous versions. Going off-track on the Nürburgring seems to slow the car down more quickly than it did in version 2. Also, leaving the track gives you some clues to the subtleties that exist in this game in the controller feedback and sound. Different types of grass, sand and ridged surfaces get transmitted to your hands through the controller to give the game a very tactile feel. Some have complained that the wireless controllers are a bit weak in the force-feedback department, but I find them quite good.

I think, so far my only complaint with PGR3 is the lack of cities. The game ships with London, Tokyo, Las Vegas and the Nürburgring. Yes, there are a lot of tracks in each of them and it took an incredibly long time to model what is in there, but… well, I want more! I expect we’ll see more in the shape of booster packs in the months to come, but I doubt we’ll see any of those before the summer. Also, with the textures being of such high resolution, it might be difficult to offer these cities as downloadable. We will see.

The game is such fun to play, the online game is a blast and the visuals are stunning. I can’t say enough good things about it. *****/*****

Call of Duty 2

I was initially not terribly interested in this game. For some reason I have a sort of gaming-block against WW2 video games. There’s something dirty about taking the greatest war in modern history and turning it into entertainment. As such, I never played the first installment on PC despite accolades from friends and reviewers. Also, one of the reviewers (I forget who) described this current game as somewhat “arcade-like” which didn’t sound very appealing to me.

I’m glad I went against my instincts and picked this up. The game begins with you playing a private in the Russian army. A training mission quickly turns into full-on combat and then you’re in it. The action is fast-paced and bloody. You’re deposited in various situations which require you to blow things up, fix things or hold positions. The graphics are stunning, with nice light-bloom effects and rich, smoke clouds and particles. The AI is responsive and even clever on both sides of the war. If you like first person shooters and action games, check this one out.

At least, all of the above stands for the single player game. I tried playing a multi-player game with Boondoggler and immediately saw that there was no way to create a game and add your friends. Seemingly no party mode and no way to invite another friend or player. I’d chalk this up to a new console having a new multiplayer system, but all of this has been solved and done well on the original Xbox (q.v., Halo 2). The one deathmatch I tried playing was choppy to the point of being unplayable.

So, excluding the multiplayer from my rating, I’m giving this a ****/***** for what I’ve seen so far. I could see a final rating going one point in either direction depending on how well the action holds up and if it gets repetitive or not.

Kameo

Yes, I bought Kameo. There was hype. I wanted more eye candy.

First impressions of this title were actually better than I was expecting. The graphics are impressive yet cartoony. The main character is a cute little elf thing who can change into one of twelve different characters depending on the situation.

From what I can tell from the 30 minutes or so we played this game, it consists of various puzzle games and simple, 3D platform-style fighting sections - none of which appeared especially challenging.

Rating pending further play…

Perfect Dark Zero

It promised so much! It wanted to be the next Halo! It isn’t!

Weak dialog, moronic AI and pointless action made the introduction to this game not terribly appealing. I don’t want to play any more after the first level. Maybe I’m missing something. I kind of doubt it.

* / *****

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