Am I being fanboyish, or is the 360 looking amazing?

[Dobie]

OK, so TGS and X06 are over, and now that the cards are on the table, there is a whole SLEW of impressive looking stuff coming up for the 360 very soon. Maybe I'm easily impressed, or turning into an MS fanboy, but there are some seriously sweet titles hitting between now and December. Granted some of these are third party, likely multi-platform, but why should I buy a second console for them? The long-range list looks even better, but I'll keep that one short...

MUST Buy (out now or within six months)

Gears of Freakin' War
Rainbow Six: Vegas
FEAR
Call of Duty 3
PSO Universe
Doom (arcade)
Lumines Live! (arcade)
Mutant Storm Remix (arcade)
Gyruss (arcade)

VERY Interested (Out now or six months)

Viva Pinata
Alan Wake
Stanglehold
Test Drive Unlimited
Tony Hawk Project 8
Saints Row


Long Range Titles of Interest (six months or more)

Halo 3
Halo Wars
Too Human
Mass Effect
Fable 2
Forza 2

So I'm a bit of an FPS dork. But I've looked at a lot of these games, and I WANT them. My wife is going to kill me if I buy them all, but the 360 is shaping up VERY nicely for the holidays. I have no idea how I'm going to find time to play through all of them either.

[Dangerboy]

I wouldn't say so. It's interesting to point out that a LOT of PS3 'exclusives', like Assassin's Creed, have had their real time demos all done on a Xbox 360, and other games that claimed could only be achieved on the PS3, like Fight Night Round 3, look better on the 360.

It also helped that Microsoft actually showed most of their product for what it really was, not fake demos and FMV rubbish (Forza aside).

After watching the X06 and laughing at Peter Moore's subtle jabs at Sony ("300 cars, on disc") and then hearing Ken Kutaragi's "We don't care" comment, it's obvious the pressure is getting to Sony, and not in a good way. Despite the really rough start (which will still be better than Sony's), Microsoft pulled off an almost flawless follow through, acquiring exclusives on nearly all fronts. Just look at how much other companies are borrowing from their Live / Arcade set-up.

I'm getting a Wii first simply because I want something new, but when I finally get one of the big boys, it's 360 all the way.

[davidbrit2]

Meh, wake me up when we've got some Sega Rally Revo info. ;-) I'll definitely be getting Forza 2, though.

[gepeto]

For me I would say so. The 360 is coming into its own. The xbox arcade is amazing I am starting to see the 360 a 3 seperate unit one for the games one for the arcade one for online chatting. Even though I have mame I feel fine supporting the remakes at 400 points a pop. The whole live network is about as good as it gets for right now.

I love all systems but I really think that they are so far ahead in the online infrastructure. That whatever sony or nintendo offers won't even be close.

The funny thing is that I initally blew off the xbox arcade but now I find myself playing it more. The video chat is a great feature. The demo downloads. Overall I would give microsoft a A- for working with what they have.

[jajaja]

Check out Lost Planet too That game looks sweet!

[business]

I’ve got to agree with you. The 360 does seem to have the strongest line up this year, especially with taking a few of those 'PS3 exclusives' away. But you also have to remember that the 360 has had about a years head start on its competitors.

On a side note, I was never interested in Assassins Creed until I watched that X06 video. Sweet god...

[Griking]

I wouldn't say so. It's interesting to point out that a LOT of PS3 'exclusives', like Assassin's Creed, have had their real time demos all done on a Xbox 360, and other games that claimed could only be achieved on the PS3, like Fight Night Round 3, look better on the 360.

Actually Assassin's Creed isn't even a PS3 exclusive. It's being released for the 360 pretty much at the same time, at least according to one of the magazine's in my bathroom.

[NE146]

Well it friggin better.. it's been out the longest!

We already had the initial shovelware direct ports with "sharper graphics" (hello Gun). So now it's ABOUT TIME we start seeing some stuff that really start taking advantage of the system. The developers have had their time. So bring it out already I say it's not soon enough though :P

I'm ready for the Christmas flood for all consoles. Bring it on!

[omnedon]

I can buy DOOM again? I have it for PC, 32X, 3DO, and on my Xbox 360 already with my DOOM 3 Collector's Edition.

So I can buy it again for Live Multiplayer? Please can I? Please? I want to buy it again and again!

:/

[Dobie]

Yeah, I forgot about Asassin's Creed. Another one that looks extremely interesting. The demo they did on that one at X06 looks great. I can't wait to play a bit of it and see what its all about.

I think my favorite feature by far is the Arcade. Online multiplayer is something I've dreamed of since I was about eight years old. Too bad Capcom screwed up Street Fighter--that one sold me on Arcade alone, but its just too laggy to be fun online. But Doom was executed perfectly. I REALLY hope they put out Duke Nukem 3D too. That and Gyruss would complete my "most loved games ever" checklist for arcade. The game selection so far is almost like MS is in my head, asking me what I want to see on arcade. Creepy.

[ubersaurus]

Seriously, there's a number of games already out that I'm wanting to pick up when I get a 360, but you know, Gears of War, the two Halo games, Spinter Cell 4(and now that 5 is an exclusive, I'm down with that), Lost Planet, Blue Dragon, Sylpheed, Gyruss, Fatal Fury Special, and the ever burgeoning improvements to the backwards compatibility(by the time I get a 360, they'll probably have all of the games I play the most on there), the 360 looks like it didn't squander that early start.

The Wii is going to get a different crowd together, but PS3 is going to have to impress, and impress fast, after it launches to compete.

[Joker T]

Yeah Xbox 360 is looking amazing, no doubt in my mind.

MS has exclusive rights to Bioshock and Kane and Lynch too.

[jajaja]

MS has exclusive rights to Bioshock and Kane and Lynch too.

Bioshock is also comming to PC. Its also listed as TBA for PS3.

[jajaja]

EDIT: PC is Windows and also MS, didnt think of that hehe. But Gamespot lists it as TBA for PS3.

[Anthony1]

I think Microsoft is doing reasonably well with their 360 right now. I'm not going to write home to Mom about it or anything. But they are doing what they need to do. The nice thing is, they are providing a little bit of everything to everybody. Still, if you get down to it, it's still very heavy in first person shooters, racers and sports. Luckily, I actually enjoy all 3 of those genres, but I must say I'm starting to get tired of all the damn FPS that keep coming out. Take F.E.A.R. for example. I tried the demo, and it's a decent FPS, but it just seems like I've played this type of game so many times, I'm kinda getting tired of it. It's a good thing Gears of War is from a 3rd person over the shoulder perspective, or I might start to get tired of that as well.

But they are trying to get certain games out there, to cover just about anybody. Even though some of the Japanese RPG games are a little mediocre, at least they are trying. The new RPG's coming from Japan look pretty cool. The Arcade games are pretty damn sweet, that's definitely something that's working for them. They even are catering to the hardcore home theater enthusiasts. The HD-DVD add on for $199 with King Kong is a nice deal. The 1080p support might technically be nothing more than lip service, but it's still the kind of thing that excites the home theater set. (even though you need a 1080p TV that can accept 1080p via it's VGA input to be able to use it) The kid type games are coming with Viva Pinata, Sonic and eventually Banjo Kazooie. I just think they need to ease up a little bit on all the damn FPS. There are just so many of them, that if they don't bring something new to the table, then they are just clogging up an already overly clogged genre. I guess some people never get tried of playing those games, but I'm starting to get a little bit sick of them.

[Slate]

Hey, You don't have dead rising or condemned criminal origins on your list! Those two games are AWESOME! And sure, while condemned is short, It kept me interested from beginning to end. I lost all hope for sega, And when i played condemned, It showed me that they are still alive and kicking.

And dead rising.. How can you go wrong? Sure, the save system only allows one save per profile, But that doesn't stop it from kicking ass. I have played through it 3 times, and Sure, while the storyline is short, You are guranteed to be coming back for more.

[jajaja]

Are there any typical kiddie games out for 360 yet?

[Princess-Isabela]

I wouldnt call it a kiddie game per se but definetely Kameo stands out from the crowd as the family game more than others - and its a mighty fine game, as usual from Rare.

[business]

Are there any typical kiddie games out for 360 yet?

Kameo is a kind of kiddy platformer, right?

[Slate]

Are there any typical kiddie games out for 360 yet?

Kameo is a kind of kiddy platformer, right?

Sort of. There is also Lego Star Wars II, Wich i have running in my 360 right now, As i type this.

[Anthony1]

Yeah, Kameo and Lego Star Wars II are the only 360 games I play with my kids. Funny thing is, they played the Sonic demo, and that's all they want to play on it anymore, even though it's a super short demo. A port of Cars is coming soon, I think there is a 360 version of the new Rayman coming and of course Sonic and Viva Pinata.


Of course the biggie is Banjo Kazooie. I'm guessing we won't see that till Thanksgiving 07, so it will be a long wait for that puppy. I'm super happy that we will be getting Banjo on the 360 though. From the moment Microsoft bought Rare, I immediately thought about a new Banjo. Banjo was one of my favorite N64 games of all time, if not "the" favorite on the system period. For some reason I still like the kid type games, games like Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank and Sly Cooper and stuff like that. That's one thing the PS2 really had over the Xbox. PS2 easily had the best 3D platformers of any system. It will be interesting to see how many of those PS2 3D platformers end up making an appearance on the PS3. The Ratchet guys are finishing up Resistance and Naughty Dog is working on their Indiana Jones with Dave Perry or Jason Rubin game, and I'm not sure what the makers of Sly Cooper are doing.

But it's good to see some kiddie games hitting the 360.

[Lord_Magus]

I've been thinking of getting a 360 for a while, but I still can't find more than 1-2 games which would justify its purchase. :/

From all the ones listed above, the only game I'm very interested in is Bioshock, and that's only because I'm a huge fan of the System Shock series. Other than that, nothing I see in the other games has managed to wow me yet (other than some pretty graphics here and there).

Live Arcade is cool and all, but it hardly justifies purchasing the console for it, and I'm probably the only person left on this planet who couldn't care less about online gaming. I might pick up a 360 eventually, but for these holidays it looks like its gonna be Wii all the way

[GM80]

Kameo is a kind of kiddy platformer, right?

I'd say it's more similar to the N64 Zelda games than a platformer. Quite enjoyable. It held my attention throughout the entire storyline, although I wasn't interested enough to go back and get 100% and "A" ratings on all the levels. I'd give it a B+ as a fantasy adventure game

[njiska]

MS has exclusive rights to Bioshock and Kane and Lynch too.

Bioshock is also comming to PC. Its also listed as TBA for PS3.

Yeah and VF5 was listed as TBA for the 360 for the longest time.

At X06 it was annouced as exclusive to X360 and Games for Windows.

[njiska]

MS has exclusive rights to Bioshock and Kane and Lynch too.

Bioshock is also comming to PC. Its also listed as TBA for PS3.

Yeah and VF5 was listed as TBA for the 360 for the longest time.

At X06 it was annouced that Bioshock was exclusive to X360 and Games for Windows.