What Games Should You Buy With Your Xbox 360 (Part II)
date posted: 06:25 PM Mon Nov 21st, 2005
last revision: 06:27 PM Mon Nov 21st, 2005
The Xbox 360 releases tomorrow. The number of hours between now and the release of Microsoft\'s new system are almost countable with the ten fingers of your hand; it\'s just that close.
If you\'ve pre-ordered your system and are lucky enough to actually get one, you\'re going to want to leave the store tomorrow with your Xbox 360... and at least one game. Because what good is a brilliant new system if all you can do is stare at it, and maybe download a few game demos from Xbox Live. The question is, what games? Microsoft was kind enough to finally release a full list of titles that will be available at or before launch day, and we\'ve decided to take a look at what options you\'ll have on that very first day. A number of them are out on the shelves this very moment. Cool, eh?
This is Part II of this article.
Part I can be found here, and covers other games that will be launched with the system.
- [color=\"yellow\"]Perfect Dark Zero:[/color]
Joanna Dark is back and she\'s, well, younger. In the prequel to the hugely successful Perfect Dark, superstar developer Rare comes to the table with a game that feels a little like the original, a little like Halo, and a whole lot like real good. Exhibiting that signature Rare style of graphics and colorful presentation, the new Perfect Dark turns in a bit of the grit for a dose of hipness, and that\'s probably the most questionable move they made: The younger, teeny-boppier Joanna Dark is still growing on us. But the array of gadgets, weapons, and strategic possibility is enough to keep us coming back. The online multiplayer is amazing, even if we can\'t find enough people online yet to fill those matches (we are playing the weekend before release after all). And the online cooperative story mode alone is enough to pick this one up for anyone who has a friend with an Xbox 360 in another state. Microsoft has managed to publish yet another major first-person shooter, and everyone is going to be playing Perfect Dark.
- [color=\"yellow\"]Amped 3:[/color]
If you\'re into snowboarding games, you won\'t find another option until SSX makes its debut, and even then you aren\'t going to find a more \"realistic\" snowboarding sim. So for the hardcore riders out there, this is pretty much the only choice. The good new is: It\'s good. And it\'s huge. So it should keep you busy for awhile. But beware: It\'s not THPS 3 good, and non-snowboarding gamers may want to rent before you buy.
- [color=\"yellow\"]Condemned: Criminal Origins:[/color]
Condemned is a creeped-out thriller that puts you in the boots of an FBI officer framed for murder. The city is being overrun by junkies and addicts who are getting more and more violent by the day. Plus, a serial killer is stalking the urban wasteland, which makes for some seriously messed up scenes of carnage. Most of the time you\'re underarmed and underpowered; you\'ll have to rip pipes and boards off the wall to clock drugged up psychos. Solve the mystery and clear your name using state-of-the art electronics to gather evidence. It\'s like CSI meets Manhunt, and it should tide over the gore-hounds until something creepier this way comes (Dead Rising anyone?).
- [color=\"yellow\"]GUN:[/color]
People have been complaining that the Xbox 360 version of GUN doesn\'t look \"next-gen enough,\" but we say, \"Fie on ye, c*cks*ck*rs! There\'s gold in them thar hills!\" GUN is one of the greatest action games we\'ve played, and although the 360 version doesn\'t look that much better than the Xbox version, the unique Wild West setting and story are enough to make GUN stand out of the crowd. If you don\'t care about getting the highest polygon models or fanciest texture effects, but you lust for a great action/adventure/RPG that is not like every other game you\'ve played this year, then GUN is the game for you. And the rest of you can all s*ck c*ck like you like it. (Oh, did I mention this ain\'t no cute little cowboy story?)
- [color=\"yellow\"]NBA 2K6:[/color]
NBA 2K6 isn\'t exclusive to the Xbox 360, at least not in the classic sense of the word. Though the Xbox 360 version features additions in terms of graphics and gameplay, there are versions of NBA 2K6 on the Xbox and PS2. This 2K Sports\' title isn\'t going to offer many surprises. Reviews of the current-generation versions of the title have been in for months and put NBA 2K6 squarely in the B-level range; aside from completely reworked graphics and character models, the same game will basically appear on the 360.
- [color=\"yellow\"]NHL 2K6:[/color]
Much like NBA 2K6, NHL 2K6 is an Xbox and PS2 title that receives extra 360 treatment and reappears on Microsoft\'s new console. And again, much like NBA 2K6, you shouldn\'t expect many surprises. While new features and players have been added, including a new method to guard your goal and a more refined implementation of the new rule-set, NHL 2K6 is fundamentally the same game you played when it came out earlier in the year. Of course, that means that 2K Sports has taken a solid game dynamic and transferred it to a new system, beefing it up as they went. Is it bad? Absolutely not, but there\'s also no chance of it being an unexpected break-out title.
- [color=\"yellow\"]Project Gotham Racing 3:[/color]
Project Gotham Racing 3 is easily the most anticipated racing title coming to the Xbox 360. Bizarre Creations has been scoring big points leading up to the Xbox 360\'s launch by maintaining a running developers blog. The blog has been kind enough to grace readers with 3D screenshots, images of massive crowds, and nearly photo-realistic environments. Hardly a month has gone by this past year without the development team for PGR3 showing us something cool. If you\'re a racing fan, PGR3 is almost guaranteed to be a safe bet, based on the success of past games in the franchise. In many ways, PGR3 is what people think of when they think of \"next-generation\" gaming. Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing 3, Kameo, and King Kong are among the top titles Microsoft expects to help sell the 360.
- [color=\"yellow\"]Quake 4:[/color]
id Software is known for pushing the envelope, either with classics like Doom II or with graphics engines like in Doom 3. Now, Quake 4 will appear on the Xbox 360 using the Doom 3 engine to deliver a beautiful and deadly FPS. While some games are about story and pacing, Quake has always been about explosions and blowing things up. This time, though, Quake 4 has a more developed storyline capable of actually interesting you, even though the action will probably be high intensity and defined by the number of bullets that fly through the air. If it follows the footsteps of its PC counter-part, Quake 4 is destined to be good but not great. If Perfect Dark Zero falls through, this will be the game that many FPS fans will turn to.
- [color=\"yellow\"]Ridge Racer 6:[/color]
While Project Gotham Racing 3 might be on the expected top-dog of realistic racing simulators, Ridge Racer 6 offers racing that\'s potentially a little less anal, and is willing to bend the rules slightly to produce a more entertaining experience. The Ridge Racer series has always managed to produce an entertaining race with a multitude of tracks and cars, and now you can do it again on the Xbox 360, complete with a new nitro system.
- [color=\"yellow\"]Tony Hawk\'s American Wasteland:[/color]
THAW, as the skater punks call it, marks the first time Tony Hawk is playable on Xbox Live. Although this edition also packs a lot of other features, such as BMX bike riding and a seamless recreation of Los Angeles, the game has failed to capture the attention of the public on current-gen systems. THAW is mostly the same on Xbox 360, with some buffed up graphics, but is another that isn\'t going to win any awards in the Xbox 360 beauty contest this year. Still, if you\'re a major skateboarding fan or Tony Hawk enthusiast, then THAW is a completely solid play. And did we mention it\'s finally on Xbox Live?
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