Xbox 360 at X05: The Full Verdict

Not only does Xbox 360 actually exist, it also has games to die for. The real theme of X05 was tangibility, as our hugely detailed verdict report explains.

Page: 1  2  3 

Page 2

It was the same with the Project Gotham Racing 3 demo later in the conference; although the big, HD screen used for the presentation was a stunning one, it somehow didn't show certain detail brightly enough; it was hard to see some of the windscreen dirtiness on PGR3's cars from the in-car view (a detail which makes everyone who sees it smile).

The volume of high quality stuff at X05 was superb

That, combined with the relatively unplanned nature of the live gameplay demonstrations, which showed only one section of a level or one race track, and which were all abruptly ended to keep things ticking along, was a slight drawback in the slickness department, but for many the demos were generally still sufficient, and the opportunity to see more of certain titles after the conference and throughout the next day threw aside lingering doubts about software quality.

Top Brass

The speeches of the three main executives focused on familiar messages; Robbie Bach was first on stage and talked about turning "thought leadership" into market leadership, the message with which he ended his speech at this year's Xbox E3 conference. Talking about the early-adopting hardcore of gamers that helped build the business for Xbox so much, he clarified, X05 is "all about the games" and that's one sentiment that can't really be argued with; no previous X event has had this breadth and richness of software - and with so much playable for the first time. Bach commented, "we do have the best line-up in videogames history."

Key Xbox execs and development in the front row

The next executive to speak was J Allard, who cut to the chase, "as you already know, Xbox 360 is complete, and the hardware is in manufacturing. Software is complete and is in the hands of the very best game creators in the world. Here... you'll be able to see what a great line-up [we have]." One thing Kikizo really liked about this event, aside from the line-up itself, was that everything WAS final. The hardware being used for the demonstrations at the conference was final hardware - not dev kits - and the same was true with every playable demo pod on the floor the next day. The software was running on actual Xbox 360s, which made things feel more tangible than PS3 can manage at this stage or, it would seem, until any time next year.

Robbie Bach discussed market leadership strategy

Sure, Tokyo Game Show saw the likes of Hideo Kojima and Yuji Naka playing PlayStation 3 demos in real-time. But who knows exactly what hardware those live visuals were running off? You can bet they weren't final retail box PS3s. Here we have final units (which are, day two gossip revealed, being manufactured at the rate of ten thousand units per day) and that's why perhaps the real theme of X05 was "tangibility" that really shouted, "here it is - it's real and final - get playing, because it's on shelves in a few short weeks. Make your own minds up."

Allard went on to demonstrate many of 360's Xbox Live new capabilities in some detail. There's no doubt whatsoever that the entire front-end of Xbox 360, including the integration of Live and all its community aspects, is second-to-none, perhaps even flawless, when you consider the impeccable reputation of Xbox 1's Live service and the apparent world of improvements, innovations and new ideas cemented into 360's Live.

Allard's extensive Xbox Live demo impressed

Allard touched on customisation and community management features, so depending on whether or not another player is known, you can invite him to play accordingly; he explained about expanding the Gamertag with the Gamercard and Gamerscore, detailing players' full-fledged reputations. You can drill down to see things in great detail and it all just seems very, very thorough and well designed, and all wonderfully presented at the same time.

A "live" discussion over Live between J Allard and "Kaiser", a colleague back in Redmond, did seem a little suspect, but frankly, Allard's natural cool shined through, and the demo was firm. To finish up, Allard introduced Bizarre to do a real-time PGR3 demo in Tokyo, to begin the conference's main focus on Xbox 360 software.

The Zen of Gaming

Peter Moore was next up, and typically bullish with an immediate dig at PS3. "As we enter the home stretch of the launch period, it is vital to reflect back on May of this year, when at E3 in Los Angeles, we chose to show you visual assets of actual gameplay, rather than videos that would have been more at home a little further north on the Hollywood freeway." But the man, as we explained earlier, makes a valid point.

Moore had a massive software line-up to show off

Moore, as at E3, had the privilege of introducing the key software that many had been anticipating at the event. After a lush new Kameo trailer, he introduced a new trailer for Gears of War, which was followed a live demonstration of the game from Cliff Bleszinski at Epic Games. The demo was perhaps a little unsuitable; since the developer had already shown shooting-related areas of the, ahem, FPS back at E3 and TGS last month, it decided to focus on a slower area of non-shooting gameplay this time, in a level that was very dark for the most part.

Having seen both the E3 and TGS demos he referred to first-hand, it was tough to see how much of the media at X05 - which for the most part would not have been to E3 and certainly not to TGS, would have found this stealthier demonstration as meaningful. Nonetheless, Gears of Wars is still clearly shaping up to be a killer first-generation 360 title, and perhaps even stronger than Perfect Dark Zero (which Microsoft is now undoubtedly pushing much harder) on the whole. Having said all that, if the purpose of the evening's gameplay demonstrations was to demonstrate diversity and unique game experiences, then this still served well, because the atmosphere in this gameplay segment was cutting and tense, as you shall see in our video coverage.

Next, Moore introduced Crackdown, a stylish and vibrant new action game from Real Time Worlds, a company founded by Grand Theft Auto creator, David Jones. Next, Silicon Knights showed up with the latest iteration of a title that has been in development since before it debuted at the announcement of GameCube at SpaceWorld 2000: Too Human now looks gorgeous, but like many of its fellow Xbox 360 migrant software, will have to work hard to fully take advantage of everything its latest - and final - host platform has to offer.

It's those custom Xbox 360s we mentioned earlier.

BioWare was next, with the debut showing for an all-new RPG set in the future - Mass Effect already looks fantastic, judging by the trailer; a convincing future world populated by attractively designed characters and enemies oozes atmosphere and frankly seems destined for blockbuster status, especially considering BioWare's ample reputation.

Infinity Ward demonstrated a level of Call of Duty 2, an exclusive Xbox 360 sequel for which the development team (and the budget) has been tripled from the first game, owing obviously to the first title's success. Taking place at the end of the British campaign in Western Europe, the demo saw a stormy, nighttime level in which the player is on a mission to liberate a town from the Germans. As many attendees agreed the next day with the opportunity for COD2 hands-on, this is simply one of the strongest titles in the Xbox 360 launch portfolio. Near-flawless 60fps visuals - better than any other game at the show with the exception of the equally perfect Dead or Alive 4 - highlighted a title that is visually impressive.

Amsterdam can do booth babes as well, you know

Moore continued the thirdparty segment of his presentation by reeling off a list of titles coming in the six months after launch, including Quake IV, Saints Row, Top Spin 2, and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. He also listed games coming to the system beyond that period, citing that they are all "looking and playing the best on Xbox 360", including Ghost Recon: Advanced War Fighter, Alone in the Dark, Pro Evolution Soccer 6, Sonic the Hedgehog, Final Fantasy XI and Resident Evil 5.

The Biggest Announcement?

But arguably - and bizarrely - the biggest announcement of the event could have been somewhat non-game-related, as Moore announced that the upcoming Halo: The Movie will be executive produced by Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings and King Kong fame.

A video speech by the award-winning filmmaker revealed he has been a big fan ever since Halo came out, and that he would play Halo 2 with Fran Walsh (who is also working on the upcoming Halo movie) during the making of King Kong. This also seemed an appropriate time to showcase the newest Ubisoft trailer for King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, which looks very strong, even though many recent demo builds of the game have been quite difficult to get the most out of.

Page: 1  2  3 

NEXT PAGE >>