Xbox 360 Games

In A Nutshell

It’s hard to get into the general nature of the games without opening the whole can of worms about what’s in the hardware itself, but let’s just look at a few important facts.

The Xbox 360 is closely paralleling the path of Sony. It’s a sequel to a popular game platform packed with gaming power. It can play most games built for its predecessor. And with an order of magnitude more processing and graphical oomph than the Xbox, it should add a lot of pizzazz to your games. Even the old Xbox ones, because the Xbox 360 will apply antialiasing - which converts all those jagged, pixelated edges on sharp objects to smooth ones - and play Xbox games in high resolution.

Like the Xbox, the 360 uses DVDs as its medium of delivery. And of course, it will be able to play movies and music, network with your computer, and connect to other Xbox systems for competitive and cooperative gaming madness.

Building games on the Xbox is generally recognized to be simpler than building games for the PlayStation 2 architecture, and the same is probably true of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The Xbox systems are essentially dedicated PCs with hard-core graphics chips and a special gaming operating system.

The PlayStation systems have a unique architecture that programmers and developers are not as familiar with. The flipside, though, is hard to argue with - the PlayStation 2’s success dwarfed that of the Xbox, and few expect the Microsoft to turn the tables completely - if at all - with the Xbox 360.

What’s Changed?

So how will games be different on the 360? It’s largely up to the developers, but we can look to a recent similar generational change for comparison. When the PlayStation was eclipsed by the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox hit the scene, game graphics changed exponentially for the better - but the other factors in gaming, like AI, gameplay, and control only improved a moderate amount. Environments grew bigger, allowing players to roam with greater freedom and fewer annoying loading screens. And, last but not least, console multiplayer gaming arrived in spades, bringing online competition to the plug-and-play scene.

With the Xbox 360, we already can see that games will be delivering more fantastical detail and awe-inspiring visuals to our living rooms. It’s not the quantum leap we got going from the PlayStation to the PlayStation 2, but it’s hard to ignore. We should expect another small increase in other gameplay factors as innovative developers find new ways to play old tricks, and find new tricks entirely. Environments will continue to grow, making feats like load-screen-free games (as in Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland and the Xbox’s SSX 2) more commonplace. And multiplayer will become even more entrenched.

It’s also important to note that the Xbox 360 marks a significant step backwards. With the new Xbox, Microsoft can no longer guarantee that a hard drive sits in every one of its consoles. Although Microsoft has done some things to ensure that the 360’s memory card covers some of the gap, this may prove a significant limitation on innovation. It also prevents game developers from stretching the Xbox 360’s limits by caching data to the hard drive in the form of virtual memory - something every PC does with regularity. And budget gamers won’t be able to play Xbox games on their “Xbox 360 Core System” (aka, the basic version) without adding a hard drive.

What’s New?

Here are some of the hot new titles expected - and some already arrived - for the Xbox 360.

Madden NFL 2006

The Xbox is the sole American console, and this is the most desired 360 title according to IGN. It's gorgeous, with more facial detail than ever. It features online play and a new passing scheme called QB Vision Control that simulates actually being on the field and scoping for targets. It's built on the same solid play and control scheme that made it top dog. Well, that and EA buying out the exclusive NFL rights for five years.

Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland

Like Madden, this is the new scion of a storied and possibly long-in-the-tooth sports franchise. It promises to incorporate a huge chunk of the Los Angeles urban region - with no load times, new tricks, and the option to trot around and pick up either a board or a bike for your trick-laden transport.

Project Gotham Racing 3

This solid arcade racing title from UK’s Bizarre Creations has been a solid performer for Microsoft, delivering arcade thrills and enough simulation-like feel and control to satisfy most gamers. The new iteration promises more high-speed, big-air asphalt excitement on larger tracks with dazzling views of New York, Tokyo, and more, driving the dreamiest horses from Ferrari, Dodge, and Lamborghini. A launch title, it features online play, instant updates when track records are broken around the world, and Gotham TV, a mode that allows anyone to watch you race - wherever they happen to be.

Perfect Dark Zero

Another launch title, Perfect Dark Zero is a prequel to the smash hit Perfect Dark. On a routine bounty hunt, a younger Joanna Dark and her father are drawn into a clandestine war for the world’s future. Espionage? Yes. Suspense? Check. Online play, scintillating graphics, scalable environments, rankings, cooperative play, spy gadgets, vehicles, and scads of futuristic weapons? That would be a big 10-4.

So What’s The Tally?

Overall, this writer believes the Xbox 360 games will bring us more of an evolution than the revolution we saw with the Xbox and PlayStation 2.

But it’ll be an evolution that’s hard to resist.