360 Loves Me, It Loves Me Not...

It's been awhile, but I've finally managed to sit my butt down and update this blog. I can't claim that I haven't had the time, I've just been spending it on my Nintendo DS (Ouendan, Under the Knife, Jump SuperStars, Castlevania, Advance Wars -- DS, you rock my world!)

Actually, I *have* been eager to jot down my thoughts on the impending launch of the Xbox 360; the only problem is that my thoughts seem to change from day to day. From the system's disappointing rollout at E3, to its so-so showing at TGS, and finally its "hey, it's pretty cool" hands-on demos at X05, Microsoft really seems to enjoy building up some last-minute drama.

"360 isn't nearly as powerful as PS3!" / "Wait, maybe it is!"
"Perfect Dark Zero is god-awful!" / "Hold on -- PDZ could be really good!"
"Nothing looks next-gen." / "Holy s***, PGR3 in-car cam!!!"

Three-siddy's roller-coaster ride to retail is enough to drive you to drink.

I may be Editor-In-Chief of a PlayStation magazine, and a lifelong Nintendo nut, but I'm as excited as anyone about this launch. Microsoft has made plenty of mistakes since they entered the games market, but they've had some incredible successes, too. I've had a few chances to go hands-on with the 360 recently, and I am completely impressed with every aspect of the system -- especially the front-end navigation. It's just a smartly-designed set up; Microsoft *really* gets this. After the adequate-at-best PS2 front-end, and Sony's weak first effort to build an online gaming community, it's hard to imagine the PS3 getting as much stuff right as the 360 has. Media integration, online services, a front-end OS -- this stuff is just too far up Microsoft's alley.

But hey, I'm sure that I'll be raving about the PS3 once Sony has had a chance to really wow us with it.

Something that really gets me excited about the 360 launch is the idea that, on day one, the entire country will get to experience the launch *together* through Xbox Live. This is the first time in gaming history that an online community like this has been in place at a console's launch, and it's really going to add to the fun. People will rip their 360 out of the box, put in PGR3 or PDZ, go online and start chatting with other new 360 owners about how they like the system and which games are the best. How cool is that? You can be the only person on your block to pick up a 360, and you'll still get to feel like you're part of something bigger. It'll be like one giant launch party.

To date I've been able to try out four 360 games, and they've been a mixed bag, at best. At E3 I tinkered with a very limited demo of Need For Speed Most Wanted, which consisted only of a short straight-line drag race. Nothing to write home about, but that was my first time using the new 360 controller, which is *very* nice. Here lately, I've gotten to play NBA Live and FIFA, neither of which impressed me. I have to admit that I really know nothing about soccer, but even technologically it did nothing for me. The latest movies and screens of NBA Live had me drooling, but the build I played was a huge disappointment. There may still be time for a few last minute tweaks, but I don't see any way the game can be polished up enough to satisfy hoops fans.

The last game, though, was *awesome* -- Condemned: Criminal Origins. While the graphics aren't "OMG MGS4" quality, this is the first 360 game I've played where I got to "ooh" and "ahh" over the pretty visuals (especially on the 720p widescreen LCD I was playing it on). It's a very simple and straightforward horror/action game, but done incredibly well with solid play mechanics and incredibly spooky lighting and pacing. This game went from a "why bother?" to a "must preorder" just five minutes in.

I'm hoping to try out as many launch titles as I can before November 22nd, especially Microsoft's big three: Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing 3 and Kameo. From everything I've seen, heard and read, Kameo is another title that's come from nowhere to really impress. I can't believe that I'm as hyped as I am about this game after playing StarFox Adventures. It seems that Rare may be about to make a big comeback, especially if PDZ can deliver. Lots of differing opinions on that, but after scouring the web (and working my contacts) for every scrap of info and media I can find, my gut tells me that the game will be a lot of fun. Of course, I'm also one of those gamers that thinks the Halo series is highly overrated (the single-player modes, at least); I'd rather play TimeSplitters. So, maybe PDZ is more up my alley than most Xbox fans.

If Microsoft can deliver enough units at launch (and through the end of the year) to at least satisfy its most hardcore fans -- and if key launch window games like PDZ, Kameo, PGR3, and Oblivion can deliver the goods -- then 360 will be off to a great head-start over its next-gen competition. While I don't prefer Microsoft over its competition or vice-versa, I think it would be great for gaming if Sony got put back on its heels a bit.

Here's hoping for another Super NES versus Genesis showdown!
--Chris