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I've titled this post "Xbox - an opinion". I was going call it "Xbox - a verdict" but that sounds conceited, and gives the impression that my thoughts are final and correct. That's not the case, so I stress that this is my *opinion*. You may agree, you may not; but don't rant at me about it. I do not care if you agree or disagree, I am simply giving my thoughts in the hope that you find them useful in deciding whether or not to buy one for yourself.
-----
I was looking at screens and videos of Halo on the Xbox all day yesterday, and got a strong urge to buy one.
So, after I got home from work, I went to my local Tesco's and bought one, together with a second controller, Halo and Project Gotham Racing.
I plugged everything in and powered it up. First thing you're presented with is the settings screen - very similar to the PS2's in what it offers, the main difference being that you can set 60Hz mode here, which is then used for all games - pretty cool. My major dislike about the menus and front-end is that it's all in shades of green, but that's just personal taste.
Other minor things I noticed were that (a) the machine is just as noisy as my PS2 (i.e. not very) and (b) there is a constant clickling sound from within - which I assume is the hard disk - but which you don't notice once a game is playing.
First game loaded up was Project Gotham Racing. This is the game that, according to Xbox magazine (not the official one) "makes GT3 look dump".
I can categorically say that this is not the case. The cars are well realised, but they just don't have the polish (no pun intended) that the cars in GT3 have. They're good, accurate models, but somehow don't have that 'real' look to them; they're more 'very lifelike cartoon' than photorealistic. The colours are bold and strong, rather than the subtleties of GT3.
Tracks are well designed, but the scenery again looks a little bland. There's plenty there, but the textures aren't particularly well detailed, with colour used in 'blocks'.
Replays are good, though again not up to GT3 standards. Reflections in the cars are a little blocky, and tend to move quite jerkily overy the surface of the car. And believe it or not, I did see pop-up in certain areas, and jaggies are just as evident here as in GT3; i.e. they are there, but are not significant. In terms of appearance, it probably falls somewhere between Ridge Racer V and GT3.
In terms of gameplay, it's good enough. The handling isn't anything like GT3, but then it's not supposed to be, as this is more of an arcade racer. It falls somewhere between GT3 and Burnout, I'd say. As with GT3, there are only 5 other cars in the race. Driver AI is also similar to GT3 in that cars will hit you if you're in their way - you can turn into a corner nice and smooth, and cars around you don't really deviate from their pre-determined racing line.
I have also found a fairly major bug! Quite frequently, when re-starting a race and having an automatic gearbox, the car suddenly goes into reverse gear and revs the engine without me touching a thing! Then when the countdown reaches "Go!" the car takes off backwards! I have found that some frantic pressing of the left (brake)and right (accelerate) trigger buttons solves the problem, but it gives the other cars one heck of a head start, and many times I've had to re-start the race again immediately.
Over all though, it's a solid arcade racer, similar to MSR on the Dreamcast. The only area this does have an advantage is the sound, because the music is presented as radio stations you can listen to, as in GT3 - but *real* radio stations, such as Capital FM and XFM. But in all honesty, I don't believe the over-all product is a patch on GT3.
Next up is Halo, the reason I bought the machine. The mother of all FPS games, apparently. And it really is rather good. You know how FPS games play, so I won't go into great details. What takes most getting used to is that you can only carry two weapons at any time, adding a significant strategy element to the game. As far as I have played, this hasn't really been an issue, as I've so far only had pistols and assault rifles in various forms; this may well become more of a factor later in the game.
At certain points you must control vehicles - so far I've only encountered the Warthog, and this is proving fairly difficult to control; you control acceleration with the left analogue stick, and steer by rotating the camera with the right analogue stick. Sounds easy, but wait until you try it... it's not!
While Halo certainly is a very good FPS game, I stand by my earlier claim that Edge magazine got it wrong; it's not 10/10 for me. The enemy AI is good - enemies duck for cover behind structures and shields - but it's not perfect; when they do come out, so far they have tended to run pretty much in straight lines and be fairly easy to kill. The main problem comes from the numbers that can attack at any one time. It is a very good game, but so far I wouldn't say that it is significantly better than Medal of Honour: Allied Assault or a few other PC FPS games. It certainly doesn't acheive anything that the PS2 (and probably Gamecube) couldn't do.
And finally, a few words on the controller. It is a little on the large side, and I find it a little painful after prolonged play. It's okay using the analogue sticks (though it feels very odd with them being offset as they are), but when needing to use the A, B, X or Y buttons, I find I have to re-adjust the grip of my right hand, otherwise it stretches the muscle between my thumb and forefinger, which eventually leads to cramp. I get the feeling that they could have reduced the size of the pad by about a third if they'd done away with that bloody great Xbox logo in the middle.
The A, B, X and Y buttons are also too close together for my liking, and I find myself distracted and having to look down at the pad to make sure I'm pressing the right one. When you consider the size of the pad, this seems quite ridiculous. Still, hopefully I'll get used to it.
The 'rumble effect' built into the pad is also not as good as that of the DualShock 2; it is very weak in comparison, and - for example - does not give the same level of feedback in PGR as the DualShock 2 does in GT3.
So, what about the over-all package?
Well, after my first play of both games, I was left feeling a little flat, not really knowing what to think. It certainly didn't 'wow' me as the PS2 did when I first got it. In fact, after an hour, I turned it off to watch some TV, and at one point contemplated returning it.
But after a few more hours playing time, I've pretty much decided against that, although I don't think I'll be buying any more games for it for a while; I'll just have to see what comes along. It *is* a good machine, but I've not yet seen anything that I don't believe could be done on the other platforms.
Others have mentioned that they plan to sell their PS2 to help fund an Xbox. That's their choice, but I would say don't be too hasty. Get some quality play time on some of the games available first, because you may not be as impressed as you think. I am lucky that I could afford an Xbox without trading in; I can tell you in all honesty now that, had I traded my PS2 for the Xbox, I would be kicking myself and regretting it severely.
This is my honest, unbiased opinion as an owner of both machines. Make of it what you will.
-----
I was looking at screens and videos of Halo on the Xbox all day yesterday, and got a strong urge to buy one.
So, after I got home from work, I went to my local Tesco's and bought one, together with a second controller, Halo and Project Gotham Racing.
I plugged everything in and powered it up. First thing you're presented with is the settings screen - very similar to the PS2's in what it offers, the main difference being that you can set 60Hz mode here, which is then used for all games - pretty cool. My major dislike about the menus and front-end is that it's all in shades of green, but that's just personal taste.
Other minor things I noticed were that (a) the machine is just as noisy as my PS2 (i.e. not very) and (b) there is a constant clickling sound from within - which I assume is the hard disk - but which you don't notice once a game is playing.
First game loaded up was Project Gotham Racing. This is the game that, according to Xbox magazine (not the official one) "makes GT3 look dump".
I can categorically say that this is not the case. The cars are well realised, but they just don't have the polish (no pun intended) that the cars in GT3 have. They're good, accurate models, but somehow don't have that 'real' look to them; they're more 'very lifelike cartoon' than photorealistic. The colours are bold and strong, rather than the subtleties of GT3.
Tracks are well designed, but the scenery again looks a little bland. There's plenty there, but the textures aren't particularly well detailed, with colour used in 'blocks'.
Replays are good, though again not up to GT3 standards. Reflections in the cars are a little blocky, and tend to move quite jerkily overy the surface of the car. And believe it or not, I did see pop-up in certain areas, and jaggies are just as evident here as in GT3; i.e. they are there, but are not significant. In terms of appearance, it probably falls somewhere between Ridge Racer V and GT3.
In terms of gameplay, it's good enough. The handling isn't anything like GT3, but then it's not supposed to be, as this is more of an arcade racer. It falls somewhere between GT3 and Burnout, I'd say. As with GT3, there are only 5 other cars in the race. Driver AI is also similar to GT3 in that cars will hit you if you're in their way - you can turn into a corner nice and smooth, and cars around you don't really deviate from their pre-determined racing line.
I have also found a fairly major bug! Quite frequently, when re-starting a race and having an automatic gearbox, the car suddenly goes into reverse gear and revs the engine without me touching a thing! Then when the countdown reaches "Go!" the car takes off backwards! I have found that some frantic pressing of the left (brake)and right (accelerate) trigger buttons solves the problem, but it gives the other cars one heck of a head start, and many times I've had to re-start the race again immediately.
Over all though, it's a solid arcade racer, similar to MSR on the Dreamcast. The only area this does have an advantage is the sound, because the music is presented as radio stations you can listen to, as in GT3 - but *real* radio stations, such as Capital FM and XFM. But in all honesty, I don't believe the over-all product is a patch on GT3.
Next up is Halo, the reason I bought the machine. The mother of all FPS games, apparently. And it really is rather good. You know how FPS games play, so I won't go into great details. What takes most getting used to is that you can only carry two weapons at any time, adding a significant strategy element to the game. As far as I have played, this hasn't really been an issue, as I've so far only had pistols and assault rifles in various forms; this may well become more of a factor later in the game.
At certain points you must control vehicles - so far I've only encountered the Warthog, and this is proving fairly difficult to control; you control acceleration with the left analogue stick, and steer by rotating the camera with the right analogue stick. Sounds easy, but wait until you try it... it's not!
While Halo certainly is a very good FPS game, I stand by my earlier claim that Edge magazine got it wrong; it's not 10/10 for me. The enemy AI is good - enemies duck for cover behind structures and shields - but it's not perfect; when they do come out, so far they have tended to run pretty much in straight lines and be fairly easy to kill. The main problem comes from the numbers that can attack at any one time. It is a very good game, but so far I wouldn't say that it is significantly better than Medal of Honour: Allied Assault or a few other PC FPS games. It certainly doesn't acheive anything that the PS2 (and probably Gamecube) couldn't do.
And finally, a few words on the controller. It is a little on the large side, and I find it a little painful after prolonged play. It's okay using the analogue sticks (though it feels very odd with them being offset as they are), but when needing to use the A, B, X or Y buttons, I find I have to re-adjust the grip of my right hand, otherwise it stretches the muscle between my thumb and forefinger, which eventually leads to cramp. I get the feeling that they could have reduced the size of the pad by about a third if they'd done away with that bloody great Xbox logo in the middle.
The A, B, X and Y buttons are also too close together for my liking, and I find myself distracted and having to look down at the pad to make sure I'm pressing the right one. When you consider the size of the pad, this seems quite ridiculous. Still, hopefully I'll get used to it.
The 'rumble effect' built into the pad is also not as good as that of the DualShock 2; it is very weak in comparison, and - for example - does not give the same level of feedback in PGR as the DualShock 2 does in GT3.
So, what about the over-all package?
Well, after my first play of both games, I was left feeling a little flat, not really knowing what to think. It certainly didn't 'wow' me as the PS2 did when I first got it. In fact, after an hour, I turned it off to watch some TV, and at one point contemplated returning it.
But after a few more hours playing time, I've pretty much decided against that, although I don't think I'll be buying any more games for it for a while; I'll just have to see what comes along. It *is* a good machine, but I've not yet seen anything that I don't believe could be done on the other platforms.
Others have mentioned that they plan to sell their PS2 to help fund an Xbox. That's their choice, but I would say don't be too hasty. Get some quality play time on some of the games available first, because you may not be as impressed as you think. I am lucky that I could afford an Xbox without trading in; I can tell you in all honesty now that, had I traded my PS2 for the Xbox, I would be kicking myself and regretting it severely.
This is my honest, unbiased opinion as an owner of both machines. Make of it what you will.
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PC Format has a great article on how to make your own x-box. Wonderful stuff, did anyone read it, though being in the Sony forum I doubt it.
LondonLad wrote:
A week on from the launch and there does
> seem to be a hell of a lot of XBoxes on the shelves! U couldn't say the same for
> the PS2 on their launch!
PS2 was launch with very few numbers. Xbox has launched with alot more than what the PS2 had. Xbox has a plant in Hungary that makes 15,000 Xboxes a day. So stores shouldnt run out at all.
A week on from the launch and there does
> seem to be a hell of a lot of XBoxes on the shelves! U couldn't say the same for
> the PS2 on their launch!
PS2 was launch with very few numbers. Xbox has launched with alot more than what the PS2 had. Xbox has a plant in Hungary that makes 15,000 Xboxes a day. So stores shouldnt run out at all.
I agree tottally about the frame rate factor. The graphics look really good but Amped and Halo seemed to keep slowing loads very much like you would expect in a four player game. Amped was frequintly suffering from slowdown (Just like Forula one (SCEE)but more constant) and Halo at on point seemed to almost pack up.
I recently went to an event in new zealand where they showed the Xbox Gamecube and PS2 together.
I am a PS2 owner but have nothing against other consoles
I was trying out Halo and to me it seemed to run slow like it was poor frame rates or something and nowere near as smooth as on a PC. it had very nice coulours and shading but the jaggies were still evedent and the fact that it seemed to be in slow motion, not vastly but enough to be noticeable
they were also showing a fighting game unsure of what game it was but it had alot of jaggies and when there was camera movement the edges of all the background textures seemed to be showing the wire frame underneath, it looked very good when it wasnt moving about and looked almost 3D but as it moved quite often it was very off putting.
with the Gamecube rihgt next to it you could see how much smoother the movement and flow of characters on screen seemed to be, even though they used more of what i call candy colours it still looked very impresive with less noticeable jaggies if any and what looked like better frame rates
(and this is from a person that has never been a nintendo fan!)
i think on the whole i was more impresed with the GC than the XB
i am very much looking forward to having a go at Munchies Oddisey maybee that will change my mind
I am a PS2 owner but have nothing against other consoles
I was trying out Halo and to me it seemed to run slow like it was poor frame rates or something and nowere near as smooth as on a PC. it had very nice coulours and shading but the jaggies were still evedent and the fact that it seemed to be in slow motion, not vastly but enough to be noticeable
they were also showing a fighting game unsure of what game it was but it had alot of jaggies and when there was camera movement the edges of all the background textures seemed to be showing the wire frame underneath, it looked very good when it wasnt moving about and looked almost 3D but as it moved quite often it was very off putting.
with the Gamecube rihgt next to it you could see how much smoother the movement and flow of characters on screen seemed to be, even though they used more of what i call candy colours it still looked very impresive with less noticeable jaggies if any and what looked like better frame rates
(and this is from a person that has never been a nintendo fan!)
i think on the whole i was more impresed with the GC than the XB
i am very much looking forward to having a go at Munchies Oddisey maybee that will change my mind
I recently went to an event in new zealand where they showed the Xbox Gamecube and PS2 together.
I am a PS2 owner but have nothing against other consoles
I was trying out Halo and to me it seemed to run slow like it was poor frame rates or something and nowere near as smooth as on a PC. it had very nice coulours and shading but the jaggies were still evedent and the fact that it seemed to be in slow motion, not vastly but enough to be noticeable
they were also showing a fighting game unsure of what game it was but it had alot of jaggies and when there was camera movement the edges of all the background textures seemed to be showing the wire frame underneath, it looked very good when it wasnt moving about and looked almost 3D but as it moved quite often it was very off putting.
with the Gamecube right next to it you could see how much smoother the movement and flow of characters on screen seemed to be, even though they used more of what i call candy colours it still looked very impresive with less noticeable jaggies if any and what looked like better frame rates
(and this is from a person that has never been a nintendo fan!)
i think on the whole i was more impresed with the GC than the XB
i am very much looking forward to having a go at Munchies Oddisey maybee that will change my mind
I am a PS2 owner but have nothing against other consoles
I was trying out Halo and to me it seemed to run slow like it was poor frame rates or something and nowere near as smooth as on a PC. it had very nice coulours and shading but the jaggies were still evedent and the fact that it seemed to be in slow motion, not vastly but enough to be noticeable
they were also showing a fighting game unsure of what game it was but it had alot of jaggies and when there was camera movement the edges of all the background textures seemed to be showing the wire frame underneath, it looked very good when it wasnt moving about and looked almost 3D but as it moved quite often it was very off putting.
with the Gamecube right next to it you could see how much smoother the movement and flow of characters on screen seemed to be, even though they used more of what i call candy colours it still looked very impresive with less noticeable jaggies if any and what looked like better frame rates
(and this is from a person that has never been a nintendo fan!)
i think on the whole i was more impresed with the GC than the XB
i am very much looking forward to having a go at Munchies Oddisey maybee that will change my mind
I recently went to an event in new zealand where they showed the Xbox Gamecube and PS2 together.
I am a PS2 owner but have nothing against other consoles
I was trying out Halo and to me it seemed to run slow like it was poor frame rates or something and nowere near as smooth as on a PC. it had very nice coulours and shading but the jaggies were still evedent and the fact that it seemed to be in slow motion, not vastly but enough to be noticeable
they were also showing a fighting game unsure of what game it was but it had alot of jaggies and when there was camera movement the edges of all the background textures seemed to be showing the wire frame underneath, it looked very good when it wasnt moving about and looked almost 3D but as it moved quite often it was very off putting.
with the Gamecube rihgt next to it you could see how much smoother the movement and flow of characters on screen seemed to be, even though they used more of what i call candy colours it still looked very impresive with less noticeable jaggies if any and what looked like better frame rates
(and this is from a person that has never been a nintendo fan!)
i think on the whole i was more impresed with the GC than the XB
i am very much looking forward to having a go at Munchies Oddisey maybee that will change my mind
I am a PS2 owner but have nothing against other consoles
I was trying out Halo and to me it seemed to run slow like it was poor frame rates or something and nowere near as smooth as on a PC. it had very nice coulours and shading but the jaggies were still evedent and the fact that it seemed to be in slow motion, not vastly but enough to be noticeable
they were also showing a fighting game unsure of what game it was but it had alot of jaggies and when there was camera movement the edges of all the background textures seemed to be showing the wire frame underneath, it looked very good when it wasnt moving about and looked almost 3D but as it moved quite often it was very off putting.
with the Gamecube rihgt next to it you could see how much smoother the movement and flow of characters on screen seemed to be, even though they used more of what i call candy colours it still looked very impresive with less noticeable jaggies if any and what looked like better frame rates
(and this is from a person that has never been a nintendo fan!)
i think on the whole i was more impresed with the GC than the XB
i am very much looking forward to having a go at Munchies Oddisey maybee that will change my mind
Your Honour wrote:
For me the XBox
> controller is great. It's like a DC controller which I found really
> comfortable.
I agree with you on this point - for some reason I loved the Dreamcasts controller; found it very comfy and easy to control the gameplay!
I went into my local town yesterday (Ilford) to take a look at the XBox. Although I have defended the PS2 and will continue to do so, to be honest, I was quite impressed iwth the new console! - box was ok, liked the controller and thought some of the games looked wonderful. Yep, PGR looked just the way I like my racers!
However, I have to admit, wherever I went, the majority of people were still milling around the PS2 - only one or two took interest in the XBox! A week on from the launch and there does seem to be a hell of a lot of XBoxes on the shelves! U couldn't say the same for the PS2 on their launch!
Regardles of how good the spec, graphics, games are on the XBox, I think the PS2, crucially, got in there first and have now gained a committed following. With the GamsCube soon featuring (at half the price of the XBox) I think Mr Gates has a real battle on his hands!
Just cuz the console may be superior doesn't mean it'll produce better games and win the console war. Take Dreamcast - surely a more impresive console than the PS1, yet, as it transpired there was only one winner there!!
One reason I bought the PS2 over the XBox? - I suspect the XBox will come down in price by the winter!
For me the XBox
> controller is great. It's like a DC controller which I found really
> comfortable.
I agree with you on this point - for some reason I loved the Dreamcasts controller; found it very comfy and easy to control the gameplay!
I went into my local town yesterday (Ilford) to take a look at the XBox. Although I have defended the PS2 and will continue to do so, to be honest, I was quite impressed iwth the new console! - box was ok, liked the controller and thought some of the games looked wonderful. Yep, PGR looked just the way I like my racers!
However, I have to admit, wherever I went, the majority of people were still milling around the PS2 - only one or two took interest in the XBox! A week on from the launch and there does seem to be a hell of a lot of XBoxes on the shelves! U couldn't say the same for the PS2 on their launch!
Regardles of how good the spec, graphics, games are on the XBox, I think the PS2, crucially, got in there first and have now gained a committed following. With the GamsCube soon featuring (at half the price of the XBox) I think Mr Gates has a real battle on his hands!
Just cuz the console may be superior doesn't mean it'll produce better games and win the console war. Take Dreamcast - surely a more impresive console than the PS1, yet, as it transpired there was only one winner there!!
One reason I bought the PS2 over the XBox? - I suspect the XBox will come down in price by the winter!
To be honest i thought the controller was very poorly designed. As the buttons aren't in a (+) shape then u find when u go to press the bottom button...then the tp....you miss it completely and have to look down. So far games wise i only played Amped which i thought was terrible....very much like MTV snowboarder. PGRacing which like u say wookie isn't a patch on GT3. Fast paced but dull graphics and horrible handling. However....i do think DOA3 is very good. Excellent graphics (Like GT3 but with people)and the same great gameplay as DOA2 on PS2. The thing is though i don't think i would buy a Xbox for £400 (With the essentials) when the PS2 is sitting there with games just as good if not better. A hell of a lot of them, and also they and the console are a lot cheaper. Again like wookie this is my opinion but then again i'm sure i'm not the only one who thinks this.
Tekken Tag was also a joke compared to DoA2!
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