My initial impression and review of Xbox 360 games was, shall we say, a bit tepid. After a few more weeks, I wanted to update the record: Im having a lot more fun.
All my rentals are back at Blockbuster so I gave my two racing games, "Project Gotham Racing 3" and "Burnout Revenge", another shot. I must have passed some learning curve threshold because after complaining about both of them I am suddenly having a lot of fun with them both.
PGR3 is still quite hard for me. Maybe it would be easier with the steering wheel thing but controlling the cars is tough and since I am not that much of a "car guy", I wont be putting a lot of effort into getting better. However I have been winning races and having no trouble advancing into the game now. (My very first impression had me stalled after buying a bad car and not being able to advance.)
Im a big flip flopper when it comes to Burnout. My initial reaction was to mock the game for being childish and silly but now I'm loving it. Much more than PGR, I WANT to play this game. It's fun. Im even getting into the music and having a gay old time driving around cities and smashing cars.
Overall, the Xbox360 is improved by XboxLive. I cant point to any specific thing but being online all the time has changed my experience in subtle but positive ways.
I like the way they have a profile and give you points for playing more. I like that things are updated instantly with online scores. I like that PGR3 shows me how truly terrible I am at the game by comparing my times with everyone else playing the game. I havent tried to play anyone online but the solo experience itself is much improved with the online features. Nice job, Microsoft.
Based on downloading a few demos, the XboxLive Arcade experience has been mixed. Being able to download demo's is terrific. Being able to play a few casual games on the Xbox is also terrific. I've played Hexic HD more than any other game so far.
The negatives have been playing some of the retro games, like Gauntlet and Timepilot. Timepilot is one of my favorite old games but it just doesn't feel right with the Xbox controller joystick. I've heard that Microsoft may sell a controller specifically for these old arcade games, which I hope they do. Gauntlet on the other hand is just plain terrible. The game has not aged well. I find the graphics and gameplay to be inferior to the level of $20 casual games today. Oh well.
November 2006 promises to be a big month. I will probably purchase "Gears of War" and give that a try, although I suspect I will still prefer my FPS games on a PC. And if I am REALLY lucky, I will be able to purchase a PS3 and give that system a go but given the shortage of units, that probably wont happen for a few more months.
