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Retro|Spective 190: The Final Tour of Xbox

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    #31
    I played through Buffy, that much I remember, and I recall getting Chaos Bleeds too and feeling like it was the inferior game but I couldn't tell you why.


    As for the other game...


    GunValkyrie
    Developed by Smilebit, the game takes place in an alternate past where Brexit was never needed and the British Empire now dominates the Earth. In a plot that would make you think it was a crossover with EDF, insects invade the planet and mankind must fight back. Originally intended for Dreamcast and that fact possibly explaining the insanity of the control scheme, GunValkyrie was anticipated as part of Sega's initial push on the Xbox platform and for its looks. The game utilised dual analogue controls in a manner that makes sense on paper with the left stick controlling boost and forward/back momentum and the right your directional aim but with the manner its handled feeling odd likely due to the original intention for the game to be controlled by controller and lightgun at the same time. The game did garner solid reviews but fell foul of general audiences and with it one of Sega's very first new IP launches post hardware died soon after the machine that should have hosted it.




    Was this a worthwhile ride of the GunValkyries?

    Comment


      #32
      In reality no-one played it did they?
      My time with GunValkyrie wasn't extensive, I firmly mostly recall the controls being a real issue which is why I'm very curious to try it again as written down the controls seem to make sense particularly by modern standards so it'd be interesting to discover if they still feel so bad.

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        #33
        One for Quality Chimp with the Stuntmanesque

        Chase: Hollywood Stunt Driver

        Just like the better known title on PS2, this game see's players take on the role of stuntwoman Chase as she completes vehicle action scenes for four Hollywood movies.



        Did you try the game looking for some action?

        Comment


          #34
          Originally posted by Neon Ignition View Post
          In reality no-one played it did they?
          Got it on day-1 and loved it, but I didn't finish it. The controls really do make your hands cramp up after a while.

          Comment


            #35
            In an awkward but still good Kid Icarus Uprising way or a this is really bad way?

            Comment


              #36
              Originally posted by Neon Ignition View Post
              In an awkward but still good Kid Icarus Uprising way or a this is really bad way?
              OH NO

              IIIIIT BEEEGIIIINS




              Putting aside the debate of whether "a good game with bad controls" is just "a bad game"...

              Yeah, you have to do a lot of clicking down the sticks, and this was back in the PS2/Xbox/GC era when clicky sticks were a relatively new thing and still not widely used. Very few PS1 games used it, and on the PS2, people hadn't quite figured out yet that you should only use them for sparingly used features.

              I remember platforming bits of GunValkyrie where I was pressing the L3+R3 over and over again, because I think that's how you boosted? It's been a long time, but I just remember it was unwieldy.

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                #37
                From today we're going to step things up a gear and hopefully bring up Xbox exclusive memories more easily by casting an eye over three games instead of one:


                Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon
                For some reason the Xbox seemed to attract several beat em up games in an era that had mostly left the genre behind. This title wasn't well received but curiously was and remains exclusive the format despite not being tied to MS at all. Whilst this period of time saw several martial arts games come to market this was a highly anticipated one that failed to make a mark.





                Carve
                A racer with tricks in a similar vein to Nintendo's WaveRace series, this game featured eight racing styles and hailed from Argonaut but like so many Xbox only titles ended up with a mixed response.





                Conker: Live and Reloaded
                A slight stretch of the exclusive term given its N64 origins but the online component was new and despite some embarrassing censorship the game featured a still impressive standard of visual overhaul. Unlike the others here, this remake was well received even though sales never reached the level required to see the planned sequel through its development.




                Did you find any of these worthy of splashing out the spondoolies?

                Comment


                  #38
                  I'm absolutely blown away by how few of these I've actually heard of.

                  I'd actually like to pick up an Xbox at some point to delve into all this stuff. I do dimly remember that Bruce Lee game coming out but I've definitely not heard of Carve at all. Games like that are hard to come by these days so I'd like to give that atry at some point.

                  Also, for some reason I never made the connection that Live & Reloaded was a remake, not a sequel. That's another one I'd like to try as I've never played Conker (except for Pocket Tales on GBC).

                  Comment


                    #39
                    Originally posted by Neon Ignition View Post

                    GunValkyrie
                    Developed by Smilebit, the game takes place in an alternate past where Brexit was never needed and the British Empire now dominates the Earth. In a plot that would make you think it was a crossover with EDF, insects invade the planet and mankind must fight back. Originally intended for Dreamcast and that fact possibly explaining the insanity of the control scheme, GunValkyrie was anticipated as part of Sega's initial push on the Xbox platform and for its looks. The game utilised dual analogue controls in a manner that makes sense on paper with the left stick controlling boost and forward/back momentum and the right your directional aim but with the manner its handled feeling odd likely due to the original intention for the game to be controlled by controller and lightgun at the same time. The game did garner solid reviews but fell foul of general audiences and with it one of Sega's very first new IP launches post hardware died soon after the machine that should have hosted it.


                    Was this a worthwhile ride of the GunValkyries?
                    Right so..... GunValkyrie. I played it. A lot. It hurt my thumb. That stupid click to boost. It could so easily have been a different button. If there was an option to change it, I'm now going to look really stupid. It was good fun though.

                    Comment


                      #40
                      In b4 Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus

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                        #41
                        Originally posted by Asura View Post
                        In b4 Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus
                        Oh that looks tremendous. I’m definitely going to have to pick up a machine for some of this fantastic early 2000s trash gaming.

                        Comment


                          #42
                          Originally posted by wakka View Post
                          Oh that looks tremendous. I’m definitely going to have to pick up a machine for some of this fantastic early 2000s trash gaming.
                          People loved it and I was always mystified. It was by the Mortal Kombat guys but then I never thought they were the best fighters either, even if they were fantastically fun games.

                          Comment


                            #43
                            Another three titles for today:

                            Crimson Sea
                            A hybrid of the hack and slash genre with the third person shooter, Crimson Sea hailed from Koei and had players using a mixture of short range attacks with long range gun attacks that mixed blasting with Warriors series style battling. The game was well received and spawned a sequel however that game would release solely on the PS2 instead.





                            Dead or Alive 3 / Dead or Alive Ultimate / Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball
                            It's easy to forget that the DOA series, now so famous for milking every dime it can, was once limited to just the Xbox platform and for its third game and celebration of the first two it still is. Whilst Ultimate is a straight forward affair, the third game was an early visual showcase for the system. For many, whilst XBV represents the series at its basest level, it's also still the best entry in that subseries too.





                            Deathrow
                            A futuristic sports game with a single player campaign and online play, Deathrow is effectively a mixture of basketball and hockey with a dark theme and violence and swearing layered on top. The game was well received on release but failed to get traction with the public leading to it winning the 2002 IGN Award for Best Game No-One Played




                            Did you find any of these to have excellent Execution?

                            Comment


                              #44
                              We're moving on to the next four games trapped on the original Xbox:


                              Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller
                              Whilst also on the PC, that version is close to long gone as it has never been released on a digital store front meaning players have to locate the original disc release. The games main home was the original Xbox where the third game relocated the action to Las Vegas as the series continued its drive toward ever flatter and less loop routed action as opposed to the clear magic sauce formula of the original game. The third game explored the city itself as well as some of the desert surrounding the neon city and brought back the Crazy Box. Players could also explore and expanded version of the first games location and a night version of the second games making this the most complete package in the series. Players could also unlock all the previous games drivers, the game being the end result of an attempt to make an online entry in the series that would have seen multiple players pitted against each other at once with full night and day cycles at work also that would affect the passenger frequency and routes available - that project known by the prestigious name of... Crazy Taxi Next





                              Dino Crisis 3
                              The tale of famous thirds continues, this time with Capcoms attempt to update its dino themed Resident Evil style series. Yes, as Capcom continues to avoid the obvious move of making a remake of the series, here lies its last attempt at the franchise which saw players take on the role of Patrick and Sonya in the future, aboard a spaceship filled with escaped genetic mutation dinosaurs. The series had taken an action focused approach since the original to distance itself from RE and this meant that players often struggled with the camera system, issues like this plagued reviews leading to a subdued response for a game launching solely on a console with a limited audience and so this was the last of the series.





                              Group S Challenge
                              Developed to try and cash in on the racing sim craze, this was published by Capcom and featured 87 licensed cars. The list of modes and options were very atypical so without something to make it stand out it failed to win over Xbox owners, a task that wouldn't be accomplished for another two years when Microsoft would launch its own Forza Motorsport.





                              Jet Set Radio Future
                              Next year this sequel will hit the milestone of being twenty years old and still remains an Xbox exclusive with most modern players now accessing it via backwards compatibility on Xbox 360 consoles as no updated version exists and compatibility further than this has been blocked by Sega likely for licensing reasons. Following on from the more heavily ported original, the sequel simplified the tagging system and opened the environment up more along with the decision to drop the originals staged time limits. Following objectives the game more closely matched the originals design with the sensibilities of 3D platformers. The game remains a fan favourite with several studios having expressed interest in a third game of some sorts in the years that have followed but Sega has always shut such efforts down having no interest in pursuing the franchise further.





                              Which of these games were so fun they made you understand the concept of love?

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                                #45
                                Yet another one I've never heard of here - Group S Challenge is new to me, but looks like another one of those dull Gran Turismo ripoffs like Driving Emotion Type S.

                                JSRF is a game I've wanted to play for a long time, as I'm a big fan of the original but I've never gotten to play this entry.

                                Crazy Taxi 3 has always vaguely intrigued, but I disliked the second entry so much that it's never been a big draw. Is it worth playing? It sounds like, much like 2, it misses the point of what made the first one good. I'm intrigued by the sound of the online game it was originally intended to be, I wasn't aware of that.

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