Which X-Box games should I get?

Felch · February 1, 2003, 20:58

Munch's Oddysee is on its way soon, and I figured I would pick up some other games too. Here's a list of what I was thinking about, and why.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance - I like the franchise, and this is supposed to be the PS2 version plus extra goodies. So it must be decent. Two friends of mine already have Splinter Cell, so I figure I should get something slightly different.
Shenmue II - I hear good things about this. I don't know much about it, but it's supposed to be highly interactive. I figure if I could find it cheap, it'd be worth it.
Blinx the Timer Sweeper - I heard it's a nice twist on platformers, and I think I would like to have a nice chilled out game for when I'm in the mood. If anybody knows of a better platformer, I'm not exactly wed to this one.
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance - I played it for the PS2 and liked it. I figured it'd be worth it for the hack and slash fun.
Toejam and Earl 3 - I loved the first one back on the Genesis.

I'm assuming Asher will respond, but if anybody knows anything about those games, or any better games that are in their niches, let me know. I plan on picking them up off of eBay, so I won't be paying full price for them.

Jaguar · February 2, 2003, 00:26

Gimme an H!
Gimme an A!
Gimme an L!
Gimme an O!

Drake Tungsten · February 2, 2003, 00:50

Stick with the Sega games. They're the only thing worth a **** on the Xbox...

Asher · February 2, 2003, 05:01

Quote:

Originally posted by Felch X
Munch's Oddysee is on its way soon, and I figured I would pick up some other games too. Here's a list of what I was thinking about, and why.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance - I like the franchise, and this is supposed to be the PS2 version plus extra goodies. So it must be decent. Two friends of mine already have Splinter Cell, so I figure I should get something slightly different.

It's a decent port, but the framerate is usually worse than the PS2 version and it doesn't look any better. Konami is completely inept when it comes to the Xbox hardware. Still a good game, though...

Quote:

Shenmue II - I hear good things about this. I don't know much about it, but it's supposed to be highly interactive. I figure if I could find it cheap, it'd be worth it.

Blinx the Timer Sweeper - I heard it's a nice twist on platformers, and I think I would like to have a nice chilled out game for when I'm in the mood. If anybody knows of a better platformer, I'm not exactly wed to this one.

Toejam and Earl 3 - I loved the first one back on the Genesis.

All three of these games fall under the "love it or hate it" category. Shenmue II is supposedly just a fantastic game, but I could never get into it at all. It was really boring to me. Your mileage may vary, though.
Blinx and TJ&E3 are really underrated IMO.
For Blinx, I strongly suggest you rent this game first. It is an innovative twist for platformers, but a lot of people found it really frustrating rather than fun. I quite enjoyed it, I rented it.
TJ&E3 is very similar to the original. It, like the original, is best played in cooperative modes. In fact, I don't think the single player game is even worth playing. But as coop, it's great. Nostalgia for me back to the original games all those years ago. It's also got some downloadable content, like Nerd Jam (nerdy ToeJam), Robot Earl (guess), and some really weird psychadelic levels that are good for variety and for when you're feeling really silly.

As for BG2: I think the Xbox version is identical to the PS2 version.

Other games I enjoy, which you might not since they're in different genres:

Rallisport Challenge - This game I've had a blast with as a multiplayer game. It's fast, it's gorgeous, and it's very wreckless. I spend a lot of my time in multiplayer trying to drive the people I'm racing off the edge of the cliff we're racing on. Even my friends who don't even know what Rally really is enjoy it.

NHL 2K3 - Best damn hockey game, ever.

MechAssault - The single player game is very average, but multiplayer is very fun. Whole bunch of new mechs, maps, and gameplay types are available as free downloads any day now. Don't bother with it unless you've got Xbox Live.

MotoGP - Surprisingly good game. When it first came out, it caught everyone by surprise since it wasn't hyped up at all. It's one of the prettiest games on the system, it's got very tight controls, great AIs, lots of unlockables, etc. Then to top it all off, you can play it online with Xbox Live now. Which was an addition when Xbox Live launched, some 6 months after the game came out.

Amped - I found it to be a really solid snowboarding game. A lot more on the sim side than SSX Trickey, you basically need to work your way up the rankings in the pro snowboarder world. Some of the tasks to do that are to get lots of "photo op" points (do insane tricks at special spots infront of photographers), high score contests, find & smack all the snowmen on the level, impress a pro, etc. Each mode is a bit more deep than you'd think, certain pros prefer certain types of tricks (big air, grinds, etc). It's also a very nice looking game.

Project Gotham Racing - It's an arcade racer with supercars with a ton of tracks. Think of it more of a cross between Tony Hawk and Gran Turismo, since it rewards style over pure speed. You get "kudos" points by driving stylistically, and the longer you hold a chain of moves the higher the kudos values go, etc.

mactbone · February 2, 2003, 10:07

NBA Inside Drive is a really good basketball game in most respects. It has a really nice franchise mode that I think is fairly accurate. The games are modeled pretty good, the only problem I had was that at times it's too easy to hit shots, for example me and my brother would play and sometimes we'd end up with streaks of 12-15 shots made in a row. I haven't messed with the adjustable settings though, so that could help.

I own MGS:2 for PS2 and it is a really good game, so if you don't have a PS2 you should go ahead and get it. I do have to warn you that the entire plot line is so f'ed up that I just didn't care why the hell I was doing anything at the end, I just wanted to wipe out everyone. Lucklily that's about the same time that you get the sword with one of the most bad-ass controls.

JW is right about Halo. Get it if you don't have it already.

November Adam · February 2, 2003, 20:21

Yep I'm with Asher on MechAssault, granted this game shines if your on Live.

Go with SplinterCell, very good game.

I enjoyed T&E, it was quirky, and quite fun, Blinx wasn't too bad, but rent it first. I think it was worth a rent but, not necessarily a purchase.

Actually I'm looking forward to DOA Beach volleyball. Those gals are HOT!

Felch · February 2, 2003, 21:27

Aight, cool cool. I already have Halo, and I agree about it completely.

If MGS isn't any better I won't bother with it. I've got friends who have the PS2 version, and that's fine by me.

MotoGP and Project Gotham Racing sound tight also. I'll look into them. Thanks all.

dudemanjack · February 3, 2003, 00:46

If you like football, Sega NFL 2k3 is pretty fun.

Ivellios · February 4, 2003, 11:56

Just be sure to have Halo, Splinter Cell and Panzer Dragoon Orta