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Tom's Hardware Reviews Xbox Live
VividU writes "Tom's Hardware has a review of Xbox Live." Also includes a bit of a summary of the state of networked gaming on the other 2 major consoles (Coleco and Intellivision). A good read if you're looking to see what's going to keep you glued to your couch in 2003.
What's next - Magnavox Odyssey and the Atari 2600?
The article mentions nothing about pricing though. How much is this going to cost? Also it would be nice to know if they were planing any MMORPG stuff. This whole idea of paying a monthly fee to play a game is a tad on the ridiculous side but I guess they do have to support it.
I bought mine on launch day along with mechassault and unreal. I sold both on ebay. Mechassault is pretty mediocre single player and multi player is any better. You walk in a line and shoot stuff as you get to it. No strategy like outflanking your enemies.
Unreal is the same. You shoot and kill and that's it. I also bought Ghost Recon, but haven't had a chance to play it. Going to try it this week. Otherwise it's a wait for some decent games other than sports.
As far as the service itself, it's pretty good. On my sdsl connection I don't see any lag.
Since we were not asked to participate in the beta test, we can't tell you much about the beta; but things must have gone fairly smoothly, because on November 15th, Microsoft rolled out Xbox Live to the masses.
Poor testing and pervasive bugs have never stopped MS from releasing anything. Looks like wishful thinking on the reviewers part.
Arbitrary sig
My buddy got his for christmas. Setup was simple, and it works great. What I like the best is being able to play games with people other than the two guys I normally beat ;-). Ok, so it's probably the other way around... In any case, it rocks.
I wish MS would allow XBox Live users to hook up to UT games being played by nin-xbox users, though. That would be money.
So it's only just out of Beta and all the decent GameTag's have gone!
So it looks like you're gonna be in a deathmatch up against the invincible Bob8347737.
becasue the Playstation is not going to sell a service that lets you play al your games, you have to subscribe to each individual on-line game.
I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
Personally, I prefer the way Sony is handling online play with the PS2 network adaptor. There is no centralized service for all games, and at least right now there are no subscription fees for most if not all of the current games.
I do own an X-Box... a good gaming console.
But the showstopper for me is two-fold: The lack of a dial-up option (not everyone has a cable modem accessibility yet!), and the fact that, by license, it appropriate for use with "kids under 13".
Both of those are show-stoppers for my household.
So, it looks like the Nintendo would have been a better choice for my household in the long-term: 56k dialup option, and more games for everyone (a better mix of "mature" and "everyone" titles).
Oh well, maybe MS will fix these issues before things really get rolling!
And for those who want to jump out and say "But who wants to buy an expensive PC to play games online, when it only costs $200 to buy an XBox." ..
Well, consindering you NEED broadband to play XBox Live, this basically translates that the person has some fat cash to pay a $50+ monthly fee for internet access. Do these types of people typically have really crap computers? No. MicroSoft has walked into a virtual minefield without looking at marketing demographics first. The people that will keep this afloat are people without broadband and decent computers, which are NOT the people who can actually use it.
And after your first free year, targeted monthly rate for this service will be $10-15/Month. It's not set in stone, but if it is any lower than $10, they will lose money on every single player.
You can see why Sony and Nintendo are taking their time. Leave it to Microsoft to boldly blunder into a market area it is entirely unfamiliar with and die, then work out a program that actually *works*.
SEGA has released a dev kit for all games to get online who uses its SDK which is cross platform compatable with PS2 and Gamecube.. So people who want to play Football on both systems can play each other seamless. They plan on putting up a "Blizzard" type of service where it will be free, etc etc.. Who knows if this will take off. I predict: No. At least not unless the PC dies a horrible death.
Kinda troll-ish, but I just got up, so I'll bite.
It's really not so bad. Other than the weapon select, which unfortunately can be kind of tough in live mode (you have to keep pressing the change button till you get to the one you want), the gamepad is just as easy to use as the mouse, it just takes a little practice. Moving using the joysticks makes the gameplay only marginally slower if at all, and it's a lot easier to do things like making a running jump while selecting a weapon with a gamepad, since all the controls are right at your fingertips instead of all across the keyboard (i know this is configurable).
150,000 people gave Microsoft their credit card number and agreed to be billed a to-be-decided amount indefinitely, until they figure out how to cancel it (which might not be a piece of cake, considering that MS do not seem to understand that with consoles, unlike software or one-off hardware sales, you have to keep the customer happy).
Does this worry anybody else? It worries me, because it confirms Microsoft's long held belief that the retail market is ready for software-as-a-service, and that people really are dumb enough to pay upfront for the device, and pay ongoing amounts for the functionality.
You know those friends you have who tease you because you spend $X a month on computer bits that you don't really need? Well, they're about to enter your world, only they don't even get to build a collection of little anti-static bags as a bonus.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
What an idiot.
Its not a Hardware upgrade, but it warns you that it is updating the bios and to not reboot during the process.
I have 2 xboxen. One at home and one at work. Both are launch xbox with NO problems playing live.
FUD
Perhaps he meant that he needed a DSL/CABLE router so he could actually use it? Those are typically around $100 ...
Wow, that really sucks. Apparently an X-Box isn't an X-Box. Unless of course your brother had it modded, in which case I have no sympathy for you.
mstyne: real name, no gimmicks
Cripes, that is a needlessly long rewiew... Did the man have a quota of pages to fill? Here's the summary from another person who has been with Live since Beta-
:p
If you have any sort of hardware knowledge at all (ie; are a regular reader of Slashdot), connecting Live will be cake, unless you have a real exotic network configuration, since the process is pretty well automated. A keyboard is seriously need to fill out the registration info, but doing so can still be done in under 10 minutes without one.
Live itself works well, but is still rough around the edges. The interface for some options is not the same as others from game to game. It's even non-existant in some cases. Live is in serious need of standardization in all honesty. Other than that, it's pretty smooth playing in most cases, though the occasional laggy player will dampen your gaming experience.
Live titles are kinda slim pickins right about now, the majority of them being sports related. Ghost Recon, Unreal Championship and Mech Assault are strong contenders, though each has it's own interface issue. Be that as it may, I suspect MS is working on the problem and I've heard up to 80 Live enabled games to be availible around next Christmas. Likewise, the downloadable content isn't in any sort of quantity yet, though some is there. I'd be surprised if it didn't increase as Live matures.
Verdict: If things stay the way they are now, I can't justify another year ofLive, especially after having grown up in a PC gaming environment. But I don't think they will stay the same. They've been getting plenty of feedback from the boards and it's still in it's infancy. Aside from playing select games from a limited collection, I think the biggest draw right now is reserving you Game Tag. Waiting at this point certainly won't hurt, that fact aside.
Wow... And that was less than a page too...
You need a FREE iPod Nano
Anyone else that read the article think it was written by a 13 year old? Lots of little chopped up sentences, vocab of about 100 words...
This same thing happened to my little cousin (14 years old). He actually bought an Xbox on launch day and this year bought Xbox live only a few weeks after it launched. It told him to call microsoft with code 522 error. When he called they told him the older Xbox'es needed a "Hardware upgrade". I wanted to find out exactly what this "hardware upgrade" entailed so i called them after he told me about it.
apparently the first gen models had an unflashable (via software) TSOP. the so called 'hardware upgrade' was in order to allow for onboard, software-based TSOP flashing and upgrading. not sure if they actually replaced the chip or merely changed the TSOP circuit, but we were pretty angry about it.
the byproduct of years of oppression by the white man
Are you making things up? I purchased an xbox within the first week of their availability and have had 0 problems with Live. What is the hardware upgrade called?
If that doesn't say something, I don't know what will. What say you? And no, it is not selling like hotcakes. 150,000 is a very very poor number. Compare that to the first two days of Zelda in Japan, the second largest console market just behind USA, which sold 450,000.. Yes, in TWO DAYS. That is "hotcakes" for Japan. For the USA, nearly double that and you might be getting somewhere.
150,000 was within the first week. Microsoft has stated they will reach 600,000 very soon. 150,000 was also US only.
Since then Xboxlive has launched in the UK and is gearing up for launches in other nations.
I could care less about Japan, i'm not going to compare my gaming habits against those countries that have no similarities to the US or US consumers.
Hotcakes is a complete sellout of every kit that was manufacturede. THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED. You have to realise that almost 25,000 to 50,000 people were online already through the BETA program BEFORE THE LAUNCH
Nope, we've got DSL hooked up to our home network.
See, almost all the good console games come from Japan
:)
Nintendo owner
Sorry, but your "gaming habit" is being produced by the very people you think have "no similarities to the US or US consumers". Capcom, Sega, Namco, Konami, etc etc are all based out of Japan. If you want to ignore it, then so be it. But I would think that is entirely ignorant. Without Japan, there is no console industry.
(which might not be a piece of cake, considering that MS do not seem to understand that with consoles, unlike software or one-off hardware sales, you have to keep the customer happy).
XBL has proved to work well. Most of the reviews on it are positive, and everyone I know who has it (personally and through forums) is loving it so far, and XBL has become a selling point when purchasing a game for most of us. I highly doubt that many folks are cancelling it already, but feel free to prove me wrong and provide a link.
that people really are dumb enough to pay upfront for the device, and pay ongoing amounts for the functionality.
Do you have a basic understanding of the XBL service? Do you understand why a subscription fee is required? Do you understand that all you have to do is pay this fee and you can play any XBL enabled game without extra cost? If not, then I suggest you RTFA. That's like complaining that you bought your cable modem, why should you have to pay ongoing fees to get online?
It should be noted that apparently the basis for this entire parent post is that you have to give a credit card to Microsoft.
"If an Xbox game (which requires T&L or shaders) is well-programmed, then it practically doesn't even need the Pentium III."
Uh?...what the hell? So, in the best case scenario, the processor of the XBox is an accessory? What an idiot the thg reviewer...
Sony is launching an integrated service next year to compete with Xbox Live!'s approach (buggered if I can find the link, sorry). It supposedly will allow for disparate games to connect players to each other. Sony has obviously just watched Xbox Live! and are now copying them in some respects.
(Incidentally - someone tell me why the Xbox's built-in Ethernet is such a big 'advantage'. I don't get that. You have to buy the Live Kit to use it anyways, right? Why couldn't they have put the adapter with that and saved some buyers - or themselves - a few dollars?)
Anyways - I like Sony's decentralized approach better than Microsoft's Way, even putting aside the fact that it is MS for a second.
The Internet doesn't 'help me' find other players either, I can do that fine by myself, as usually the game has a browser of sorts built-in. This will become a bigger bone of contention with the likes of EA, who spend a ton of money maintaining their own server farms.
Really, there are two kinds of online game that are evolving on both the console and the computer, and I see Sony's approach as better for both:
1. Regular Multiplayer Games. Sometimes you can play multiplayer on one site/system (console), otherwise it's just the usual find-a-room-and-start-shooting exercise. These games are not developing as a monthly pay service; the multiplayer online aspect is just another feature of the game. They are sold as traditional games, one-time fee. You won't get charged for using these, much like you're not charged for Quake or Warcraft. For these games, Sony's approach is more advantageous, as it truly can remain 'free'.
2. Massively Multiplayer Games, which are a different animal altogether. Users of these games do tend to exclude other games in favour of whatever their fix is. These games will get away with monthly charging as the entirety of the game exists only in an online form (The Sims, and lets not forget Sony has bagged Everquest as well).
So Xbox Live is better for the kinds of games (#1) that people don't want to pay a monthly fee for, and yet that's what they are doing. In the case of MMORPGs, users are likely spending almost all their time with that, and don't need a lot of cross-game referencing.
Now, with Sony's Live! clone, I bet they toss in a bunch of trojan services to keep you hooked. Any bets on downloadable movies/music? The PS2 is exactly the kind of 'computer' you want for real DRM...
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
Hey -- don't laugh, I got a 2600 and 150 games for Christmas this year. Back in my day that would have cost around $5000 during my gaming age. (I.E. -- only something the rich could afford. You can have it all now for about $100.) Plus as an added bonus -- the games are actually fun to play. And I don't have to site through 5 minutes of FMV to get to the action.
(+1 Funny) only if I laugh out loud.
My biggest problem with FPS on consoles is that they don't allow full custimization of controls. I find that there is a setup I like except I want to swap the L trigger for the up D-pad (dreamcast Unreal, And something simmilare for the PSone QuakeII). Is there fully custom controls in this?. I will say that with the auto aiming (close to a hit hits) and the control pad the game is playable. You still can't whip the view around so quick if you are getting toased from behind though.
Is there not to be mouse and keyboard support for the Xbox? If there is that kind of invalidates the whole mouse==uber argument.
Is the TV a disadvantage in this type of game? (less resolution, slower interlaced refresh, Less crisp picture) I am just curious.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
The UK has an open beta.. anyone can join. Just as good as a luanch
http://www.xbox.com/uk/live/now.htm
now what was that you were saying??
Ok.. Its updating the dashboard, wich when your running the update it says it can screw up your xbox if you reboot during the process (similar to a bios update)
however, NO one needs freaking new xbox to get on xboxlive. that is FUD
you have to subscribe to each individual on-line game.
If you play online games in dial-up-friendly genres (i.e. anything other than Quake III clones), the PlayStation subscription scheme may actually be less expensive than Xbox Live. Here's how: Assume that the user is currently with EarthLink ($20/mo dial-up). Assume that the user is perfectly happy with the speed of web surfing and e-mail offered by v.90 dial-up Internet access. Then:
PS2 subscriptions: If each game is $5/mo, then you can subscribe to four games for $20/mo. In addition, some publishers will probably offer free online play for some of their games.
Xbox Live: The upgrade from $20/mo dial-up to $40/mo MSN Broadband is $20/mo, and Xbox Live (which sits on top of MSN Broadband or any other standard broadband connection) is currently $4/mo, for a total of $24/mo. Some publishers will charge an extra fee on top of the basic Xbox Live fee, but it appears that a larger percentage of Xbox games' online function will be included in the Live price than PS2 games' online function will be included in the retail price.
Will I retire or break 10K?
It's an umodded Xbox.
Wha? Wasn't this a review of Channel F?
"What we have here, is a failure to communicate." - Cool Hand Luke
His comment did not say that X-Box Live was poorly tested or filled with pervasive bugs. He was merely pointing out that you can not draw the conclusion that things must have gone fairly smoothly from the premise that Microsoft is rolling out the service, and it is evel less certain given Microsoft's history of rolling out products that have been poorly tested or filled with bugs.
Basically, XBconnect is a piece of software that will run on a Windows PC on your local network. Put the Xbox on the local network, and the Xbox will see the XBconnect client as another Xbox. Thus you can use the "System Link" feature that is built into many games, used for playing multiplayer games with 2 or more Xboxen (I believe up to 16)
The great thing is that the XBconnect client interfaces through the Internet to find other players, but makes it appear to your Xbox that they are on your local network.
It is a way to play multiplayer games on the Xbox for free!
I've used it for Halo, and Unreal Championship, and had good results. The lag is usually minimal, and although sometimes not perfect, I'm sure the true Xbox Live suffers the same fate.
It's worth a look, especially if you already own a Windows PC, and a router. All you have to do is hook up your Xbox via ethernet.
Of course *if* more Sony titles begin requiring a subscription fee, then all of this could change, but right now that's a big IF to make a solid conlusion about the "Value added" of a product.
(The devboxes also contain twice the amount of RAM, other than this, there are no differences)
it's in my head
Been playing PS2 SOCOM U.S. Navy Seals online for a week with no subscription required. Took just minutes to set up and join an ongoing session (and there was a long list of games in progress and locales to choose from). No problems and right into play. The game was $60.00 and included a headset. Seals is DVD/ProLogic Surround, and with the PS2 connected to a home theater, the sound and interactivy is impressive, not to mention the game play itself. Being able to talk to other players via the headset adds to the realism.
Please stop spreading misinformation/FUD. You're just repeating something you heard elsewhere.
Everyone knows MS is looking to profit from subscription based services. That doesn't mean there aren't other business models and options out there, and it doesn't mean that fee based gaming is the only way to play. There are many, many choices...not all require monthly fees, and fees never guarantee you'll be happy with the experience.
Hate to break it to ya, but there are bugs in games for all platforms. Rogue Squadron II, for example, has some irritating ones.
I, for one, like the idea of being able to get fixes online for my games, because I know no game ever ships in a perfect state.
What is to stop them from charging 400 bux, and me getting stuck with a crazy bill, forcing a cancel?
What, you mean other than losing their entire market share they've been trying so hard to build up?
MS isn't going to suddenly lose all business sense.
The live fee is to pay the bills for the datacenters they built. As far as the games I agree with you. Only one I really liked was Max Payne. Splinter Cell is so so and I'm going to give Ghost Recon a chance. I'm waiting for SW Knights of the Old Republic.
As far as the graphics, my Geforce 4 in my PC will spank the x-box any time.
The entire thing smells "ADVERTISEMENT" from one end to the other.
C'mon Taco, did you actually read it? It doesnt discuss performance, ease, game play (not the vague candy coated statements in the not-reviews at the end), interaction with others or antyhing else that would have been a review of xBoX Live. This is so unlike you to oversensationalize an advertisment as "a good read". (You all can decide for yourself whether that is sarcasm or not).
This article discusses:
Some other things to note?
Is it just me, or did the article really stink and was the /. post over sensationalized?
- Rob
WebMaster:
BinFeeds
XXX Thumbnailed Image Newsgroups but
the ps2 broadband adapter is awesome.. I have already done the lan-party 5 player Twisted Metal Black and Tribes Arial Assult on a local LAN. 5 players locally. setup is brain dead... and if you get the el-cheapo gameshark usb keyboard it's even more brain dead to setup and use.
oh and playstation online playing costs NOTHING.. unlike the Microsoft X box.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
1) Xbox's centralized service will mean less profits for the big fish (EA) who want to get more profits from servers they already have. Sony's decentralized plan helps EA get all the revenues from its game.
2) The PS2 doesn't require a fee for every single online game you play. Many (infact, most) are free.
3) Rumors are not overriding the set-in-stone-by-MS-themselves $10 monthly fee MS is planning on charging.
Go read a few gaming sites before speaking on things you don't know much about.
If you have broadband in your house, chances are you have a router and a spair port. Here, i'll make your life a little bit easier if you're confused about what's out there.
Netgear RP614 Router (4 Ports) = $44 bucks. Dig around for the other rebate and you can even get it for $30. It beats SMS, Linksys and 3Com's $200 dollar routers into the ground with it's ease of use and superior performance.
Of course AOL users aren't really on top of the Microsoft's priority list when it comes to Live. Even my grandmother has a router in her tiny house. She's pushing 92.
As you can see, the connectivity is a non-issue.
--
Evan "Still buying NES carts and Saturn discs"
"$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
Well XBL only costs $50 for the kit. Basically that buys you a headset and a year subscription to the service. Since the hardware is already in the machine, the pricing difference is rather trivial. Except for when you have to start actually paying for games on the PS/2, then you will soon be paying more than I did for XBL on the whole.
About the MMORPG, Everquest: Online Adventures is due out pretty soon. I have played the beta and it's shaping up prety well.
I know more than you drink.
I've been playing PS2 games online for free since before the Xbox came out. No service, no problem! With THPS3 & 4, the service is built it and free. Only games like PSO or Everquest cost money.
How is that possible? The XBox came out November 15, 2001. The PS/2 network adapter was only released recently.
Overall, I like Sony's online gaming policies better. You see, Xbox doesn't come with online gaming built in, it is a $50 add-on, and that's only for 1 year. That's kind of deceptive to me. MS forbids developers from doing their own online game systems, so no-cost systems are impossible on Xbox.
Completely untrue. Microsoft does not force companies to use XBox live at all. Also, the network adapter is built into the machine -- there are ways to use it without XBL.
I know more than you drink.
is for online play.
There is only ONE online game on the GameCube. Phantasy Star Online Episodes 1 and 2. Tom seems to think this is two games, and he also seems to think there are other games available for the GameCube which have some sort of online support.
Not true at all. Right now the only thing you can do with the modem and BBA for the GameCube is play PSO Eps 1&2. "Very little software is available for the Nintendo 56K/Broadband adapter offering other than the Phantasy Star Online I & II, which are the premier titles [sic] " would be better worded as "Nintendo does not have an online strategy, as emphasized by the fact that the only online title is a port of the Dreamcast's MRPG PSO by Sega itself."
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
Another point I read recently is that without the broadband/56k adaptors readily available for the gamecube as yet, nobody has had the tools and such to easily incorporate online capabilities into GCN games. Apparently some company has written a netcode kit for the GCN and sold it back to Nintendo, who now release it with their developers kits. hopefully we'll see some online games soon, then.
Never fight naked, unless you're in prison...
Enjoy the holidays.
No, but being an owner of an XBox I have never heard of this before (and I read the reviews, browse the forums, etc), and this being Slashdot it wouldn't surprise me if someone was spreading FUD.
Please, mod this guy down... There is no such thing as a BIOS (TSOP) upgrade for the Xbox from software. If there was, you wouldn't need a modchip, you could just flash whatever BIOS you wanted on your TSOP and play backups of games.
XBox Live updates your dashboard to a newer version when you install it. The only thing that would prevent this from working properly is if you modded your XBox and replaced your dashboard with something else.
"When the president does it, that means it's not illegal." - Richard M. Nixon
"Another point I read recently is that without the broadband/56k adaptors readily available for the gamecube as yet,"
Why do people believe these myths? I work in a video game store, and I also look around at a lot of stores. PS2 network adapters (Sony official and 3rd party) arrive and sell fairly regularly, as do Nintendo ones. We don't have any shortage at all. There are plenty on shelves on stores in my city.
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
It was possible to play THPS3 well before the Sony network adapter was released. You can use various USB Ethernet adapters and USB 56K modems to do so. There is a faq here and also numerous other sites which explains how and what hardware does and doesn't work. I know a number of people who were going that route due to the difficulty in finding the Sony adapter in stock. I originally had read the FAQ last year and according to the revision history it was created Oct. 18th 2001. The AC was correct that is was possible to play online with the PS2 before the Xbox launched. It was also possible to play online with the Xbox before Xbox Live if you used GameSpy Tunnel to play SystemLink games over the internet. The Xbox does have an advantage though in being able to find copies of the Xbox Live and the games that can use it. The Sony network adapter and SOCOM are difficult to find in stock at both B&M and online stores.
Then why don't you hook up your computer to your widescreen TV and your surround sound?
Because the screen layouts for PC games aren't designed to look good in 480i. Try to play a PC game through your TV out card or a scan-converter, and most of the time, the text comes out so small it's unreadable. Console games since the NES use the equivalent of about 18 point text for readability on a TV; some PC games have text as small as 10 points in speech balloons, status bars, menus, etc.
Will I retire or break 10K?
I was looking to buy a console this Christmas, and was leaning towards the PS2. I'm not a particular fan of Microsoft, though I'll use their products if they're good (for example, Mac Office 2001). Anyhow, I haven't really kept up with the console market, and XBox Live really was the reason I changed my opinion and picked up an XBox -- my first console since an original NES. I've had a great experience with it these past 3 weeks.
After catching up with the market and playing my new toy, here's a reflection of my rationale for choosing the XBox and XBL:
- I have a cable modem, and I would refuse to use anything but a broadband solution
- I don't want to deal with annoying inconsistencies in multiplayer setup between game titles. XBL has a relatively consistent set of terminology between games.
- I really do appreciate the Microsoft "single source" approach, for now. I don't have a problem paying a nominal monthly fee for a better overall experience (which is what I feel I'm getting thus far).
- The variety of XBL games available is WONDERFUL. I picked up NHL 2K3, Unreal Championship, and MechAssault. (I also grabbed Splinter Cell, which alas is single player, but still great).
- The voice communicator is a nifty add-on, and works relatively well.
As for the quality of games:
- MechAssault is my fav, best experience since MechWarrior 2. It actually has some elements of strategy involved with assault compared to other shoot-em-up's. The single player missions are fun too. Well worth the buy for me -- but I know some friends that don't think much of it because they just don't like the shoot-em-up genre.
- Unreal Championship is tons of fun, just what I would expect if I were playing it on a PC or Mac, though the graphics aren't as good as a high end PC, and sometimes lag gets a bit much
- NHL 2K3 is very rich, graphics aren't as good as EA's but the gameplay is really great. I have a learning curve to get through, unfortuantely.. advanced modes can be tough for newbies to sports games (which I admitedly am)
- and (non-XBL) Splinter Cell is one of the best adventure games on the market right now, IMHO.
What don't I like? Well all in all, the price was rather steep after buying 2 extra controllers, an advanced AV kit, 4 games, XBL, and a console (which had 2 games bundled). That put me back around CDN$800 after taxes. Games run around CDN$70/each at Best Buy. How the hell can parents afford to give this to their kids?
XBox really seems to have been well executed. I have no troubles supporting Microsoft in this product arena, provided they continue to make a great product. It remains to be seen if the market at large will make it a profitable platform, though hopefully it will -- it will keep Sony, Nintendo, et al competitive.
-Stu
I think they should charge a published fee that requires opt-in rather than an obfuscated opt-out, and that that should be for access to Microsoft's game servers, not to any sort of multiplayer content. Funnily enough, I thought that this would actually help to sell XBoxen, but what do I know, I'm not one of the guys that tried to bring us Microsoft Bob.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Yeah, okay. They are not available in Australia until March or something. At all. Where are you? you seem to be in the only place in the world that has 'em. ;)
Never fight naked, unless you're in prison...
here
If we don't fight for ourselves no one will.
We have lots of network adators for PS2 and GameCube units. Every gaming store in town (Saskatoon) gets about 10 or 15 a week for the PS2, and a smaller number for the GameCube. Demand is exactly satisfied. It's fairly similar everywhere, since Electronics Boutique has a very good distribution network here.
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.