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Post by Weasel on Apr 12, 2006 12:11:34 GMT -5
I've just got my latest paycheck from work, and I have more than enough to buy an XBox and all the accessories/games that I want for it. However, before I make any major investments, I have a few questions that I can't seem to find answers from (or would rather hear the answers from a reputable source, i.e. real people, than read about them in a poorly-written FAQ).
So here goes.
1. Do I need to buy a memory card to save my game, or can the XBox save games to the hard drive? Are there any games that expressly forbid you from saving to the hard drive?
2. Is it worth getting an XBox Live subscription if I don't like online games that much? Are there any features that XBox Live would grant me outside of being able to get my head sniped off by some F-bombing 12-year-old?
3. Finally, are there any overlooked games for XBox that I would do well in purchasing? I'm aware of JSRF and Breakdown so far, and I also intend to purchase Shenmue II.
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Post by Gilder on Apr 12, 2006 13:15:28 GMT -5
1. None that I specifically know of, however I haven't played a lot of games on the system
2. Personally, I'd so no especially since you "don't like online games that much" No point if you don't really like it. You'll save money.
3. Lot of under rated Xbox games. Besides the ones you mentioned, there's Phantom Dust, Raze's Hell (just for the bizarre factor), Metal Slug 4 & 5, and if you don't have it for any other system pick up Beyond Good & Evil.
I also can't stress enough about DDR for the Xbox. Ultramix 2 & 3 are two of the best US mixes ever.
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Post by Neo Rasa on Apr 12, 2006 14:19:56 GMT -5
I love my original XBox, there's a ton of great games for it and many of them are $19.99 sealed or less since no one purchased them because they didn't have the EA logo on the cover. Also while Microsoft is going to continue to put out a 360 backwards compatibility update every four months or so, there's definitely enough games on it that they will never bother to make compatible anyway. Plus many of the games run worse on the 360 than they do on the regular XBox since it's all software emulation. Inconsistent framerates, sound glitches (makes Manhunt almost unplayable on the 360 as an example) etc.
The hard drive will cover every save game you could possibly make. Also many XBox games don't even support the memory unit in the first place, so even if you wanted to bring your saves to a friend's place your out of luck.
XBox Live is not worth getting if you don't particularly like online games. Though if you get one of those free time cards that are packaged in some games, you may as well use it to download updates for any games you have (Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, as an example has two extra cooperative levels you can download off of Live). Also note that if you plan on getting a 360 in the next year or so, it's VERY easy to sign up for a Live account on the 360, and then just use that account for your regular XBox as well. It's a tedious process to take an existing XBox account and set it up to work with the 360. So you may as well wait.
As far as overlooked games, there's a ton. I'll stick to ones that are exclusive to the XBox in the US (though it should be known that ANY multi-party game is going to be superior on the XBox with the exception of Spy Hunter and Mortal Kombat: Deception, so if you didn't get stuff like Capcom Classics Collection, Taito Legends, KoF 2002/2003, etc. grab it on the XBox). It's cool that you're already set to get Breakdown and Jet Set Radio Future. Shenmue II is also ported nicely, though there's sadly no option for the Japanese voices. The US dub isn't bad, but it's pretty monotone. Also for some reason you can tap the white button the XBox controller to apply different color filters to the screen. So you can play it in sepia tone instead of in full color or in black and white. Guess they wanted to make it more cinematic that way or something.
Deathrow
Guilty Gear XX # Reload
Gunvalkyrie
Metal Slug 3
Ninja Gaiden Black
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
Otogi: Myth of Demons
Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Phantom Dust
Samurai Shodown V
Some of these are acquired tastes, but I think they're all superb. Ninja Gaiden Black isn't exactly an overlooked item but it's so good it should be in any list of XBox games worth getting.
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Post by wil327 on Apr 12, 2006 14:39:45 GMT -5
The Original Xbox or Xbox Classic, as I have started to refer to it, is still a solid gaming system with a lot to offer.
To answer your questions:
1) I have never come across any game the does not save to the hard drive.
2) Xbox Live isn't worth it for the original Xbox, only for the 360 in my opinion. Especially, if you don't like online gaming.
3) As for overlooked games:
Samurai Showdown V
Metal Slug 3
Metal Slug 4 & 5
Capcom vc. SNK MVC Chaos
Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
Crimson Skies
As I mostly agree with neo rasa anyway
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Post by Neo Rasa on Apr 12, 2006 14:44:55 GMT -5
Capcom vc. SNK MVC ChaosSNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos?  That game is the pinnacle of underrated. Everyone hated it for tournaments because the secret boss characters were over powered. So instead of just not using the boss characters that required codes to play as anyway the collective fighting game community just didn't play the game. It's like $15 brand new too. Also if you like turn based strategy, you gotta get Daisenryaku VII. No bullshit frills, just days of looking at a hexagonal map deciding which way each unit will be facing as you end your one hour long turn.
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Post by Weasel on Apr 12, 2006 17:14:12 GMT -5
I had no idea that they'd released a Daisenryaku game in the US...from the sound of it, though, I might not be too interested in it. I typically prefer the faster pacing of games like Front Mission over the more in-depth war games.
So what I've learned so far:
* Don't need to buy a memory card (that's plenty of money saved)
* Don't need XBox Live
* Buy as many SNK games as humanly possible
* Sega still rules.
On a completely different note, I've been hearing that Capcom has made a reissue of Phoenix Wright in the US...is this true? I want it really bad...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2006 17:29:31 GMT -5
On a completely different note, I've been hearing that Capcom has made a reissue of Phoenix Wright in the US...is this true? I want it really bad... I waited until the end of March for the reissue, and I got it new for $40. I highly recommend hunting down PW ASAP. ... I don't really have anything to add to the XBOX discussion. Many of the great ones have been mentioned so far... though, I would like to hear a bit more about Deathrow and Phantom Dust, whose existence I was not even aware of until today. |
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Post by Neo Rasa on Apr 12, 2006 21:02:37 GMT -5
Did you ever see the original Rollerball (James Cann, etc., not the remake bullshit) or The Blood of Heroes/Salute of the Jugger (an awesome Joan Chen/Rutger Hauer movie from 1989 directed and written by David Webb Peoples, the scriptwriter for Blade Runner).
If not, I'll explain, basically Deathrow is a sports game. The sport is for all intents and purposes ultimate frisbee. It takes place in the future and involves cyborgs and robots and ridiculous violence and profanity as you crush and maim each other to get a metal "puck" tossed into a goal.
It's seriously the best futuristic sport type game I've ever played. Better than any Mutant League or anything like that. The controls are a little clunky and over-complicated but the tradeoff is that you have a TON of moves and feints and all kinds of melee attacks and passing techniques. It's wonderfully involved and fun. The computer AI is ruthless though so you'll want a friend to play with instead. The single player game is only worth going through so that you can unlock more team members and moves and such to use on your own team.
Phantom Dust is something else. It was made by Microsoft Game Studios Japan, but Microsoft US actually turned down publishing it here, so Majesco brought it over. The character designs are very Shin Megami Tensei-esque. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic (my tastes are very easy to figure out, heh) world where mankind lives underground due to the phantom dust. Something is generating something in the air outside that causes people to lose their memories and, after long exposure, turn into horrible monsters.
The trade off is that this amnesiac miasma outside gives you POWER. So if you go out and study it you can become a magical cyberpunk badass that can walk around outside and blow things up with your mind instead of just being a futristic hobo underground.
You play as one of two guys found in cryogenic tubes by a scouting team exploring the surface. You turn out to be adept at handling magic so you're allowed to join the group within the underground society that keeps trying to explore the outside world and learn about the past/why the dust is there/etc.
The action is totally rad. You assemble a "deck" of "spells." When you're outside in the field you start with no abilities, you get them by running up to regenerating orbs of magical power. The "deck" you have determines what abilities will appear in the orbs. You can have four "spells" equipped at once, one to each face button, as you run around the wasteland surface fighting monsters.
It's basically an online deathmatch game, but the controls, gameplay system, and the world itself is so enthralling that it elevates it to an entirely new level of greatness that, personally, I feel stuff like Halo 2 and the other big Live games can't even hope to touch. The controls are very tight, you can basically do any move you want even while jumping in mid-air. It uses a no-nonsense Ocarina of Time style lock-on system so the camera is NEVER an issue. The environments are riduclously destructable. You can jump down two stores and leave a small crater in the ground, then jump up to avoid a projectile while firing a psionic laser at an overpass to bring it down on top of whatever attacked you. The game moves at a smooth 60FPS with tons of stuff going on at once, it's technically flawless.
Graphically, the design is easily on par with something you'd see in a Megami Tensei game, and the gameplay system has the depth to actually warrant going through the single player scenarios to learn more about it. Also they use these super high resolution textures and some kind of pre-light bloom light bloom effect when you're in the headquarters talking to people. It doesn't help the models but the actual HQ wouldn't look bad on a 360. It's really amazing to see what they've done with the hardware.
This game isn't too hard to find and it's dirt cheap. Buy ASAP.
The only problem is that sooner or later you'll do all the single player scenarios. The gameplay is pure action so don't expect any real RPG elements beyond building your deck, despite how intruiging and developed the game world is. There IS still a small but dedicated group that plays this online still so you will be able to get a game sooner or later. I guess given the depth of the game, the group is mostly pretty mature, so you'll have a good time.
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Post by Neo Rasa on Apr 12, 2006 21:09:54 GMT -5
Also to clarify, there are SNK games other than the ones I listed available on the XBox, just some of them came out on the PS2 so I left them off. Here's all the US SNK XBox releases, they're all rad to the max:
King of Fighters 2002 / 2003
King of Fighters Maximum Impact Maniax
King of Fighters Neowave
Metal Slug 3
Metal Slug 4 / 5
Samurai Shodown V
SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos
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Post by Weasel on Apr 12, 2006 21:59:55 GMT -5
I'm certainly going to snag copies of KoF: MIM, Neowave, and Metal Slug 3. I love SVC Chaos as well (had the chance to play the neogeo version once - I sucked at it, but it was great fun pitting Terry against Ken).
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2006 6:53:10 GMT -5
Sounds awesome, Rasa. I'll consider picking both up in the near future, and... perhaps articles could be written for the two? They sound right perfect for HG101, and we DO need a bit more coverage on sports games... UNIQUE sports games, no Madden whatsoever! ;D
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Post by Weasel on Apr 13, 2006 16:45:05 GMT -5
Well, I'm going to make my grand trip to the game store this Saturday. I'm probably going to be stopping at both Target and GameStop in search of games. With my budget, I can't imagine I won't be able to afford most of what I'm looking for (XBox, games, DS games). I'll be sure to keep an eye out for your recommendations (especially Panzer Dragoon Orta and Stranger's Wrath).
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Post by Sac (a.k.a Icaras) on Apr 16, 2006 5:24:22 GMT -5
If it wasn't for Shen Mue and Ninja Gaiden, I would have no interest in the Xbox at all. Those two games, awesom though they be, aren't enough to make me want an X-Box (My PS2 and GameCube are enough for the current generation consoles for me, except for maybe a DC)
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Post by shido on Apr 16, 2006 7:48:46 GMT -5
If it wasn't for Shen Mue and Ninja Gaiden, I would have no interest in the Xbox at all. Those two games, awesom though they be, aren't enough to make me want an X-Box (My PS2 and GameCube are enough for the current generation consoles for me, except for maybe a DC) Same here (except I want Panzer Dragoon Orta too) |
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Post by Weasel on Apr 16, 2006 10:16:53 GMT -5
So I got my XBox yesterday and so far I'm satisfied. The system came bundled with Forza Motorsport, and since I couldn't find any of the games I was looking for, I decided to grab a few more mainstream games - Halo, Fable, and Medal of Honor.
As for Phoenix Wright...still didn't see it there, so I got Super Mario 64 instead.
Next time I'm going to try EB Games instead of Target.
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