the revolution has yet to actually start
So, following my eye exam where they drowned my pupils in foul yellow liquid to test for glaucoma, I dropped by Gamestop to check out the cheap Gamecube games for something to play with my family over the holidays. Nothing doing, but I did try out the Xbox 360.
The kiosk was pretty slick, with a nice flatscreen HDTV to play the games on. The demo disc was also very slick, and had all sorts of demos and such to try out. I selected King Kong, based on my love of giant monkeys, and proceeded to play the Kong vs. T-Rex duel. The game itself is pretty awesome. There's no meters or score or anything, just the onscreen action so as to maintain a more cinematic feel. I like that a lot, and it really felt as though I was beating the hell out of that lizard. The controller was constantly shaking, I don't know if that was by design or just from the speakers, but it helped the experience.
So the game itself was pretty neat. But there was nothing about it that made me think I couldn't get a similar experience on my Gamecube. I mean, the game is coming out for that, too. The graphics actually looked a little jaggy and over-rendered, and it glitched up a lot (a demo, to be sure, but being as this is a disc that is designed to show off the system, you'd think they'd put more time into it). It really just didn't wow me, although I am definitely interested in trying King Kong for the GC now.
I also was not a big fan of the controllers. After the size issues with the original Xbox controller, Microsoft apparently decided to swing in the complete opposite direction and made a controller that is perhaps too small. I didn't find it very ergonomic or comfortable, but that may well have been the fact that I was playing on a kiosk with specially-mounted controllers that did not allow for flexibility in movement.
The sad fact is, for all the media hype, I just wasn't wowed by the system. Maybe King Kong wasn't the best game to try out, but I feel that if it's on the demo disc, it must show off the system to the degree that Microsoft wants. Hence, it is fair game for me to criticize the system on its merits. I'll probably check out a few other games when I get a chance, just to give it another chance.
I saw people camping outside Wal-Mart last night for their 360s. For some reason, they found it necessary to camp outside a store that is open 24 hours and comprises roughly 3 city blocks. They had their girlfriends with them, apparently, and they looked really bored. Luckily, Pang assured me that if I ever wanted to camp out for something she would camp out with me. I love her.
The kiosk was pretty slick, with a nice flatscreen HDTV to play the games on. The demo disc was also very slick, and had all sorts of demos and such to try out. I selected King Kong, based on my love of giant monkeys, and proceeded to play the Kong vs. T-Rex duel. The game itself is pretty awesome. There's no meters or score or anything, just the onscreen action so as to maintain a more cinematic feel. I like that a lot, and it really felt as though I was beating the hell out of that lizard. The controller was constantly shaking, I don't know if that was by design or just from the speakers, but it helped the experience.
So the game itself was pretty neat. But there was nothing about it that made me think I couldn't get a similar experience on my Gamecube. I mean, the game is coming out for that, too. The graphics actually looked a little jaggy and over-rendered, and it glitched up a lot (a demo, to be sure, but being as this is a disc that is designed to show off the system, you'd think they'd put more time into it). It really just didn't wow me, although I am definitely interested in trying King Kong for the GC now.
I also was not a big fan of the controllers. After the size issues with the original Xbox controller, Microsoft apparently decided to swing in the complete opposite direction and made a controller that is perhaps too small. I didn't find it very ergonomic or comfortable, but that may well have been the fact that I was playing on a kiosk with specially-mounted controllers that did not allow for flexibility in movement.
The sad fact is, for all the media hype, I just wasn't wowed by the system. Maybe King Kong wasn't the best game to try out, but I feel that if it's on the demo disc, it must show off the system to the degree that Microsoft wants. Hence, it is fair game for me to criticize the system on its merits. I'll probably check out a few other games when I get a chance, just to give it another chance.
I saw people camping outside Wal-Mart last night for their 360s. For some reason, they found it necessary to camp outside a store that is open 24 hours and comprises roughly 3 city blocks. They had their girlfriends with them, apparently, and they looked really bored. Luckily, Pang assured me that if I ever wanted to camp out for something she would camp out with me. I love her.