Zeus
11-17-2005, 03:06 PM
The first of many creditable Xbox 360 reviews has surfaced at the Game Over column at CNN. They say the Xbox 360 has awesome potential and is good, but you should hold off on buying one from day one!
For gaming's most enthusiastic fans, the question of whether to get an Xbox 360 was answered long ago. It would be the first entry in the next generation and a status symbol amongst their friends. But is there a reason for the rest of the world - gaming or otherwise - to rush stores?
The short answer: Not on Day One.
The Xbox 360 goes on sale Tuesday, Nov. 22 and will cost either $299 for a bare bones machine that will not allow you to play existing Xbox games or $399 for a fully loaded, backward compatible system (by far the smarter buy). It's certainly a sleek piece of equipment, with enough technological oomph to make even the most casual gamer raise their eyebrows. And Microsoft continues to extend its lead in the online console marketplace. But when it comes to must-have games, the Xbox 360 falls short. While there are several good - and even very good - titles that will be available at launch, there's nothing truly great.
Admittedly, tastes vary – so you could easily find a game out this month that's a "must have" for you. (We'll have a closer look at the launch games early next week.) But if you're looking for something that's ground breaking and sets the trend for the system (as "Halo" did with the original Xbox), you're not going to find it.
Microsoft and its publishing partners were smart to offer a diverse lineup of games, hoping to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. Ultimately, though, playing it safe like that works against the system. Most of the launch games offer little more than slight graphic advancements than versions found on other systems (including the original Xbox). Only a couple of titles are exclusive to Xbox 360 (that is, they can't be played on any other machine). And none offer any true gameplay advancements. At best, you'll see a couple of interesting tweaks.
Don't misunderstand these criticisms. The Xbox 360 is a truly impressive machine and shows an enormous amount of potential for the years to come. There are titles in development that seem to have the potential to be true blockbusters – and the clever use of a proprietary online marketplace opens up the possibility of innovation. It's just not happening yet.
Read More: <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2005/11/17/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm" target="_blank">money.cnn.com</a>
For gaming's most enthusiastic fans, the question of whether to get an Xbox 360 was answered long ago. It would be the first entry in the next generation and a status symbol amongst their friends. But is there a reason for the rest of the world - gaming or otherwise - to rush stores?
The short answer: Not on Day One.
The Xbox 360 goes on sale Tuesday, Nov. 22 and will cost either $299 for a bare bones machine that will not allow you to play existing Xbox games or $399 for a fully loaded, backward compatible system (by far the smarter buy). It's certainly a sleek piece of equipment, with enough technological oomph to make even the most casual gamer raise their eyebrows. And Microsoft continues to extend its lead in the online console marketplace. But when it comes to must-have games, the Xbox 360 falls short. While there are several good - and even very good - titles that will be available at launch, there's nothing truly great.
Admittedly, tastes vary – so you could easily find a game out this month that's a "must have" for you. (We'll have a closer look at the launch games early next week.) But if you're looking for something that's ground breaking and sets the trend for the system (as "Halo" did with the original Xbox), you're not going to find it.
Microsoft and its publishing partners were smart to offer a diverse lineup of games, hoping to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. Ultimately, though, playing it safe like that works against the system. Most of the launch games offer little more than slight graphic advancements than versions found on other systems (including the original Xbox). Only a couple of titles are exclusive to Xbox 360 (that is, they can't be played on any other machine). And none offer any true gameplay advancements. At best, you'll see a couple of interesting tweaks.
Don't misunderstand these criticisms. The Xbox 360 is a truly impressive machine and shows an enormous amount of potential for the years to come. There are titles in development that seem to have the potential to be true blockbusters – and the clever use of a proprietary online marketplace opens up the possibility of innovation. It's just not happening yet.
Read More: <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2005/11/17/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm" target="_blank">money.cnn.com</a>