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E3 - Microsoft, EA Go Live, Halo 2 Dated, Xbox Videophoned
Thanks to Yahoo! for reprinting a Microsoft press release revealing its major videogame-related announcements ahead of this year's E3 Expo in Los Angeles. Major among them is Electronic Arts' official support of the online Xbox Live service, long-awaited and previously rumored, so that "by the end of the year, 15 of EA's online-enabled console titles will be playable on Xbox Live." In addition, Bungie's much-anticipated Halo 2 is confirmed for Xbox release on November 9th, just as new hands-on multiplayer previews are appearing online, plus alleged Xbox Gran Turismo-beater, Forza Motorsport is announced, and a multi-person videophone service for Xbox Live is showcased, as well as an Xbox Live Arcade service featuring "casual games people love to play with their families... [including] 'Bejeweled'... and arcade favorites such as Namco's 'Dig Dug' and 'Galaxian'." Update: 05/11 06:26 GMT by S : There are also new Halo 2 screenshots via Bungie.net.
So anything from the company they paid so much for? Any word of a Perfect Dark sequel, a new Banjo game or a Conker follow up? Or hell, even something original? I was holding out hope that they were holding out for this E3.
God, I loved that company back in the days of the N64. What the hell happened? I'd like to blame it on Microsoft, as they are generally responsible for all things evil in the world, but the company hasn't really released a good game for this generation of consoles. I can see why Nintendo decided to take the money and run.
Or you can buy any of a number of $20 USB webcams and hook it up to a Pentium II box and a screen for less than 50 bucks, total.
Xbox is no longer a value proposition for open source camps. It was a nice hobby, but honestly, there's a lot better things that people can be spending their time and money on. Leave the system to its games (which are pretty damn good now).
I wouldn't say neglected, just being brought into the fold. It was kind of like when force feedback debuted a few years back. At first it was a novelty, but then developers were like "Hey, we can use this to augment x, y, and z experience". Now you can't walk two feet without stepping over a controller with built-in force feedback.
If it's done *right* (and very few games have done this), single can complement multiplayer perfectly. A very good example is Project Gotham Racing 2 on Xbox. At first I was like "Eh, another racing game..." but as soon as I saw that you were always online, even when playing single player, I slowly became impressed with the design. No matter where you are in the game, you can always check out other players replays, how well you handled a track compared to others, or just play multiplayer. It's incredibly addictive because there's always an element of competition to draw you back.
That's why Nintendo's stance (avoiding online) seems so odd. They claim it's not ready for primetime. Clearly it is. Nintendo has made great efforts to introduce extrasensory experiences to their games (the Rumble Pak was the first really successful force feedback, the Game Boy/GameCube link is a nice touch [even if it forces people to buy more stuff]) but they're totally missing the ball on this one. They should be looking at it as yet another tool to augment gaming, rather than letting MS and Sony dig their heels in. Once they're in, neither company is going to let go easily.
Disclaimer, I don't own an xbox or xbox live, but I've played it a bunch. I've played a few games on Xbox live like Crimson Skies, Splinter Cell, RTCW and so on. I was skeptical at first, but it won me over quickly. The online buddy list and game invites work flawlessly, and very rarely do I see lag in game. Despite the drawbacks of live chat during game "dude I'm so stoned" "no way dude, so am I!" "PoWNED!", it actually works over DSL without a hitch. I see xbox LIVE as MS's iTunes Music store.
I read at -1 So you don't have to.
Yeah, GT's AI is pretty dull, but it's always felt like an extraneous feature to me, anyway - GT is all about mastering the driving system and adapting to the courses with a variety of vehicles, all of which have their own 'flavour'. This is the area GT has mastered and very few other games have approached. I daresay I could do without the other drivers in GT quite happily - in fact, I often play against my own time trial ghost, which I think is a lot more fun.
Similarly, the lack of damage is often mentioned in relation to GT, but again, it isn't important to the core of the game. Now there are great driving games which feature interesting AI and good damage simulation, but none of them, most people will agree, match up to GT as a driving experience.
To some gamers, GT will always seem a little dull, a little joyless - it depends what you're looking for. I appreciate being able to load up Project Gotham and launch into a kudos-grabbing show-off session, and I'll even head back to Destruction Derby 2 on the PSX for some auto carnage every now and again. But I also keep coming back to GT3, because when I'm heading through the shade of those trees, preparing to tackle the upcoming corner accoring to the specs of my car, I know that there's no other game like it. Forget the other cars, forget the fact that you can clip a barrier and not show a dent; it's all about your driving, and it has that covered completely.