November OXM

[Glockstar]

The Official XBox Magazine - #37 - Nov.2004

TC's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, "Stealth Gameplay Is Redifined - Again!", on the cover.
This is a very nice, very big (6-page), preview... that I just haven't had time to really read yet. One thing I did read, was that CT is being co-developed: the sp and co-op modes are being developed by Ubisoft Montreal; while the online adversarial mode is being done by Ubisoft France. Interesting.

Other previews include: Call of Duty:Finest Hour; Prince of Persia:The Warrior Within (Ubisoft Montreal ;) ); Tron 2.0:Killer App; Area 51; Oddworld:Stranger; Kameo:Elelments of Power; and Mechassault 2; KOTOR II; Demon Stone; Bard's Tale; Jade Empire; The Third Age; and X-Men Legends.

Reviewed are: Nascar 2005; Yager; Second Sight; Outlaw Golf 2; Pure Pinball; Def Jam 2; Tiger Woods 2005; Otogi 2; Terminator 3; Robotech:Invasion; Conflict:Vietnam; Midway Arcade Treasures 2; SW Battlefront; The Guy Game; Cabela's Deer Hunt 2005; Colin McRae Rally 2005; and... Fable.

- On CMR'05 - Despite all the little improvements (like: new career mode, new cars, graphics, and 8-player XBox Live!), the OXM is scoring this one the same as it did the last one... 8.5. (Which, btw, are both down from '03, which they gave an 8.8.) I find that to be pretty curious. Though it is consistent with other reviews that I've read. But, this reviewer finds no real faults with the game. ??? (He wants to hear music while he's racing?!? Pfffffft... you can't knock the game for that! Not this game.) The main thing that's holding this guy back - and a lot of reviewers back too, I think - is that now, more than ever, CMR is a racing SIM. As the reviewer (Herman Luk) notes, "Without an auto-tuning option in the career and championship modes, this racer is made for the hardcore gamer." I can get into that. I think.

If that means that CMR'05 is going to be like ICS (IndyCar Series) '05, then... I don't know... I might be a little put off myself. ICS'05 is the hardest #@$%ing game I have ever played!

- On Fable - I'm not going to get into it much actually, mostly just want to post the reviewer's (Ryan McCaffrey's) "Verdict" - in a nutshell:
8.9/10.0
+ True freedom - it's whatever game you make of it
+ Gorgeous art direction
+ Best RPG music ever
- Too short and too easy
- Clunky targeting system
- Clunky interface

Well... 8.9 means that the game does not get one of the mags "Editors Choice Award"s - which really surprises me. I will definitely agree that the game has some faults, but you're going to have a hard time trying to convince me that the game still isn't one of the XBox's best.

-

Oh yeah, almost forgot... what's on the demo disk... :p ...
* Videos and Features of: Fable (5 parts); SC:CT (3); Blinx 2 (2); The Third Age; Demon Stone; DOA Ultimate; and Godzilla:STE.
* Downloads: a couple of music tracks from Silent Hill 4 (that I haven't listened to yet) are the highlights this month. I don't count the "cheats". (Homey don't play that. :mad: )
* "Playable" ( :rolleyes: ) Demos:
- Area 51
- Bloodrayne 2
- Fight Club (two-player only)
- Kingdom Under Fire
- RS3:Black Arrow
- SNK vs Capcom (one or two-players)
- Otogi 2
- Outrun 2 (playable online)

KUF and Outrun 2?!? How cool!
No... wait... how infuriating! #@$%ing disk!!!

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

The previews for this month's OXM sound great.....except for Splinter Cell. Blah, SC is becoming the new Tony Hawk, WWE and Madden....one coming out every year now. Besides that, I would definitely want to hear about possible improvements to the Xbox version of Demon Stone and how Bard's Tale, Jade Empire, and KOTOR II are coming along. What a minute, no Merceneries info? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I still have a free OXM mag/disk card I snagged from a new Xbox owner. More than likely, I will send it in next month. I figure they will dedicate 2/3 of the magazine to Halo II, and eventhough I will not pick the title up until the slow months of 2005, it should still make for a good read. Then again, I may wait until the issue that has KOTOR II reviewed.

[sw33tjimmy]

area 51???!!!

are they bringing another light gun game out for the box?? I may have to dust off my old madcat blaster. ;)

[Cuddly Knife]

Area 51 has turned into a FPS, sadly, although the game is well done. Too bad it'll get lost in the chaos that is Halo2 and Metroid Prime: Echoes.

Otogi 2 looks like one that I might have to pick up. The demo has me thinking that this is a Ninja Gaiden meets Tenchu game with amazing visuals and more interactiveness with the levels(like breaking stuff).

The Silent Hill tracks are awesome. One song is from a a "preview movie" that they had on the last OXM, and the other is the main theme, which is very cool, because, it totally does with the mood of this particular game.

Outrun is definitely a blast from the past! On the demo, it even has the three songs that were in the original. It runs so smooth. Does anyone know if this game was made using the F-Zero GX engine? It runs so much like F-Zero, only the sense of speed isn't all that high. I still prefer the powersliding in Burnout 3, though...

[sw33tjimmy]

damnit. i would like to get my $30 worth out of this light gun and house of the dead just doesn't quite fit the bill. I'd love a good virua cop game for the xbox. alas, sega's xbox support is normally pretty lame. we either get their tripe or their creme de la creme. Nothing as far as niche titles go.

[theWacoKid]

KUF and Outrun 2?!? How cool!
No... wait... how infuriating! #@$%ing disk!!!

If you're having problems with the disc, boil it for about 30 seconds to a minute. I used to do this every time with OXM because the effin' discs just wouldn't play.

[Glockstar]

If at first you don't succeed...

Well, it took a couple of tries, but I finally got thru the KUF demo. It was hard as hell, but I did it. (And noooo, I'm not talking about the game or the gameplay, I'm talking about suffering thru the p.o.c. demo disk itself.)

There was something about that particular demo that my machine didn't like. It sounded like my XBox was trying to regurgitate it outta there! Lots and lots of chunking, with lots and lots of audio cutting out, and lots and lots of pauses during gameplay. Ugh.

Disk problems aside, I think I can discern and differentiate what's good/bad about the game and gameplay now...

... but I'm going to post those impressions in the KUF thread.

;)

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Hey PJ, you have any problems with KUF on your disk?

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I played a little bit of Outrun 2 too. Like PJ said, it's just like having the arcade game in your house. And I love that! 'Cept while this XBox version plays just like the arcade, it's also got a lot more gamemodes and challenges to play thru! Gooooo Sega!

-

I forgot to mention this in my first post...
They have cut back the price for a yearly subscription of The OXM (with demos), from $29.95 to $24.95. That's big!

They're also giving away a cool little freebie with paid orders: a "Best Of XBox Game Demos, Vol.1" demo disk. (If it runs right...) That's bigger!

[Glockstar]

Playable Demos that are actually playable...
Outrun 2, Otogi 2, Bloodrayne 2, and SNK vs Capcom.

Non-playable Playable Demos...
Kingdom Under Fire, Area 51, and Fight Club.

Playable Demo that I'm not going to waste my time with, either way, regardless...
Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow

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More impressions of Outrun 2...

Played this one online last nite. I had absolutely no problem getting a room to fill up. Of course, it is only 4-players at a time, so... :p Anyways, there were no rooms running when I signed on, so I started one up. And like I said, I/we really didn't have to wait long for that fourth guy to show up - which I think is quite something, considering that we are talking about a demo here. There was occasional lag with an occasional player, but there's no way to tell if it wasn't their fault, or mine, or the demos, or the servers, or what...

You're not allowed to set-up much on the demo - in fact, the only thing that you can really change is the color of your car. There's only one car to choose from online, and only the "one track". If there's not a lot more options in the full game, then I'm not sure if I'll really get into Outrun 2 online. I just don't see the point. There's nothing to do except... finish first. The powersliding doesn't mean anything, except thrills to yourself.

Actually, I'm not so sure about O2, period, anymore. The single-player portion of the demo allows you to choose between two cars (the F-50 and the 360 Spider - out of 8)), eight colors (approx./I think), and three songs. And the mode of play is just your basic checkpoint racing - though there are a few more modes (supposedly) in the full version. Again, you can powerslide, but I don't see that it gets you any more points or any more speed. It's entertaining (the girl riding shotgun always throws her fist into the air and pumps it thoughout the slide - which I always get a kick out of), but that's it - and even then, only mildly so.

The part that's really got me down tho' is that the checkpoint racing is very reminiscent of Midtown Madness 3. And by that I mean that perfection, and perfection only, will get you to your checkpoints in time. And, well, just as I thought with MM3, I think that just sucks! Also, judging from the descriptions of the other game modes, I really don't see that much difference between them. Regardless, the perfectionist-need-only-race requirement for progression in the game - which is supposed to be an arcade/fun racer! - really is enough to upset me. I have to wait for the Big 3 reviews now. If I see that that has changed (or is simply, not the case) then maybe I'll think about spending the $39.99 for it. But if not, then this game can frag off.

[joquito]

I really liked Otogi 1 but the demo doesn't make me want to buy the sequel. The new characters are cool to choose from but the action is sooooo slooow. The game seems so much more tedious than the first. I do like the fact that you worry more about your enemy than the clock. I haven't made up my mind yet on the graphics. I didn't play the demo at home so I can't compare them.

[DrunkenThumbmaster]

I finally got the new OXM. Outrun 2 online is fun as hell I don't see to much depth but if you have a decent friends list to play with the game maybe better (as is any multiplayer game with friends). But the online demo ran perfectly I had no lag and it was generally just fun. The lobby is kind of dumb though you can join again and be waiting in the lobby talking to people waiting for the host to start to game only to realize the others are racing and you'll have to join in on the next race.

Area 51 reminded me a lot of Halo's first mission the demo didn't work good and froze up on me before I could finish. KuF I got to work perfectly but I just thought it was boring.