Microsoft ended months of speculation from analysts and fanboys alike when it released the price for its upcoming Xbox 360. In an anticipated, but pioneering move, Microsoft announced on Wednesday that its sophomore console would launch at two price points. The Core System, which comes packaged with the console, a wired 360 controller, silver-level Xbox Live membership, and a standard AV cable will retail for $299.99 and will provide a basic introduction to the "HD Era"” of gaming.
For hardcore fans, the ultimate 360 package comes at a hefty $399.99. This premium edition comes loaded with the 360 console, a 20 gig detatchable hard drive, one 360 wireless controller, a 360 headset for LIVE gaming, component cables for HD hook-up, Xbox Live silver membership, and for a limited time- a media remote that helps with DVD playback and accessing Windows Media Center files.
Microsoft is touting the premium edition as the "“ultimate" and "best valued"” experience, as the extra ingredients would retail for over $200 if purchased separately.
Although there had been wide speculation that Microsoft would not make the Hard Drive standard in all 360s sold, which is not the case with the current Xbox, the news is unsettling for the future success of the 360. Because developers can't plan games around the hard drive, they will have to rely primarily on the 360 hardward and leave the hard drive as an afterthought. Will this mean that the 360 hard drive will go largely unnoticed like the PS2's current HDD? We can only wait and see.
Another mystery is WHAT will the hard drive will be used for, if it is not used as a developer staple? Obviously storage for music, photos, and downloaded content from Xbox Live will be its primary use, but there is much evidence to indicate that the hard drive will be the only way for gamers to retro-play those "top-selling” original Xbox games on the new hardware. Does this mean that gamers will have to pay MORE to play older games? Will Halo 2 lovers have to fork over 4 bills in order to play their favorite shooter on the next-gen console? No official word yet from Microsoft, but these questions will surely be addressed in the upcoming months- along with an actual release date for Microsoft's new system.
The annoucement this week bothers me. On one hand, I think Microsoft's move to release a version of the 360 at the traditionally accepted price point of $299.99 is a wise one- it doesn't rock the boat with consumers, and it gives consumers a choice to start on the "cheap" and eventually upgrade (although upgrades will ultimately cost more than the premium package). It also gives Microsoft the PR ability to say "we're still offering the next generation at original Xbox prices." Plus, because the PS3 will undoubtedly be priced no lower than $399.99 when it launches (without an included HDD, I would anticipate), setting this pricing structure up gives Microsoft the ability to drop the "premium" package $50-$100 when the PS3 launches- becoming the "cheaper" console. Add that to the statement from Bill Gates that Halo 3 will launch on the same day as the PS3, and you have a potential tide-turner in who's #1.
On the other hand, the lack of the HDD at the lower price takes away one of the major advantages that Xbox owners have come to appreciate- namely no need to purchase memory cards, the knowledge that they could download levels off of LIVE for days, and faster loading times. Without the HDD as a standard feature, it worries me that Microsoft could backslide from being the "powerhouse" console that they're seen as right now. Plus, it also takes away a discernable advantage over Sony who never planned on including a HDD as standard.
Also, if the HDD is going to be the only way I can play Halo 2 until I can afford some premium 360 games, why would I plunk down 400 bones on opening day when I can invest no money and STILL play Halo 2 on my original Xbox? Which only further emphasizes the fact that the HDD should be standard. A 5 gig hard drive with the "core system" and a 20 gig with the "premium" system would put these worries to rest, but the difference between 20 gigs and nothing has me a little concerned as to how quickly the 360 will be adopted. I'm sure (hope?) Microsoft knows the importance of marketing the HDD as more than just a place to store music and photos, so its advantages better be far and above what anyone can think of right now.
As hardcore of a gamer as I am, even I'm balking a little bit at the thought of paying $400 for the ability to play the 360 the way it was intended to be played. I understand the increasing costs of development, advertising, hardware, etc; but as we're attempting to create an industry that reaches closer to the mainstream audience with each effort, why are we pricing the future of gaming at a level that will discourage casual gamers from entering into the market? Shouldn't we be aiming to bring the costs to the consumer down? I mean, one of the reasons why 65% of all American households have a DVD player is because you can pick them up for $35 at Target.
In no way am I advocating such a drastic price slash, but for an industry that is screaming to be taken more seriously than just as niche, we aren't really giving Joe Sixpack a reason to think otherwise when next generation gaming costs twice as much as the TV he has to play it on.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Thursday, August 4, 2005
Conker Live & Reloaded- Review
(Xbox; $49.99; Rated M for Blood, Gore, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Drugs & Alcohol Reference; conker.xbox.com)
(four stars)
Conker, the profanity-spewing, alcoholic squirrel that had Walt Disney spinning in his cryogenic freezing chamber when “Conker’s Bad Fur Day” was released on the N64, is back in a new home on the Xbox. Conker’s world of surly-but-adorable looking animals and colorful metaphors does to stuffed animals what “Team America: World Police” did to marionettes.
The “Reloaded” portion of this game makes reference to the Xbox version of “Bad Fur Day” which has been graphically enhanced and overhauled to compliment the ‘Box’s power. For all the fans who loved the vomit gags, a singing pile of feces, and other juvenile bathroom humor back in 2001, those good times return with polygons pushed to their limit to make rivers of dung look as good as humanly possible.
What was considered edgy back in the day, looks tame compared to the “Grand Theft Auto,” “Hot Coffee” scandal of a world we live in now. Besides a couple of areas in the game that have been tweaked or modified with self-reflective nods to original fans, this version of “Bad Fur Day” is mostly the same as before. Expect tons of load times, and dialogue that seems… to… take…forever… to… get… out. Literally, it was fifteen minutes before I got through all of the opening cutscenes and did a single thing in the game. I just don’t have that kind of time to get into a game that I wasn’t very interested the first time it came out four and a half years ago.
Where Conker makes up substantial ground is in the all-new “Live” multiplayer portion of the game. Up to sixteen players can make the fur fly in this straight-forward shoot-em-up. Players are drafted either to the side of the noble squirrel army, or the grizzly Tediz. Multiple classes, each with special weapons and abilities, can be selected to help bring your team to victory in frenzied objective-based matches set on a number of beautiful levels.
Class-based warfare has never looked so cute and bloody at the same time. Though I’m not a fan of the humor in “Bad Fur Day,” as a package, players will get a classic platformer with a rock-solid and fun multiplayer. But parents, please pay attention to the warning label on the front- no matter how deep you could swim in Conker’s big blue eyes, this title is clearly intended for mature audiences only.
Batman Begins Review
Begin the Begine
(Xbox, PS2, Gamecube; $39.99; Rated T for Language and Violence; batmanbegins.ea.com)
(three and a half stars)
Poor Batman, what a tough life you’ve lead: Parents gunned down in front of you as a boy, living a life of regret, tortured constantly by nightmares…
Worst of all, you’ve never had a decent video game made about you.
What would seem to be a franchise ripe for success in the digital realm has been harder to crack than the Da Vinci, Omega, and Windtalker codes put together. No developer has yet been able to do justice to the Dark Knight’s vigilante justice.
Enter EA, the most powerful third-party developer in the industry with their shot at the cape and cowl and adapting Chris Nolan’s phenomenal “Batman Begins” for the home console.
Overall, Bat-Fans can be satisfied. It’s a solid game that any audience can play- it’s not going to win game of the year, but it’s nowhere near the debacle of previous Bat titles.
Playing like a poor-man’s “Splinter Cell,” “Begins” takes an appropriate stealth approach- treating Batman as a hero with normal human vulnerabilities, who has to rely on shadows and the element of surprise, rather than charging head-first into gun fire. Afterall, old Bats is no Superman, so no matter how helpful his bullet resistant Bat-suit is, taking too much gunfire will leave him as dead as his mom and pop.
“Begins” encourages players to make Bats do what he does best- namely, scare the living guano out of bad guys. Because criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot, players will use their environment to cause enemies to lose their cool- thereby shooting less accurately, fighting poorly, and ultimately giving up the goods under interrogation.
And just when you’ve had enough of Bataranging, smoke-bombing, and fisticuffs, it’s time to hop into the Batmobile and give chase on the streets of Gotham in a very “Burnout”-esce (another EA game) style of play.
The top notch graphics, all-star cast (Christian Bale reprises his role, as do Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, and the others), and solid film-footage-to-game transitions all make for a AAA title. Where the game fails is its simplicity and rigidity. Using the element of fear to your advantage is an original concept and begs for various uses, but the title plays incredibly linearly, giving players only one possibility of progressing through the different environments. Without giving the player the option to become creative in scaring foes silly, you never really feel like you are Batman, but more like the Batman the developers want you to be.
Here’s to hoping the follow up follows in the footsteps of the more open-ended “Splinter Cell.” Until then, it is an unfortunate irony that Sam Fisher is more Batman than the Caped Crusader himself.
(Xbox, PS2, Gamecube; $39.99; Rated T for Language and Violence; batmanbegins.ea.com)
(three and a half stars)
Poor Batman, what a tough life you’ve lead: Parents gunned down in front of you as a boy, living a life of regret, tortured constantly by nightmares…
Worst of all, you’ve never had a decent video game made about you.
What would seem to be a franchise ripe for success in the digital realm has been harder to crack than the Da Vinci, Omega, and Windtalker codes put together. No developer has yet been able to do justice to the Dark Knight’s vigilante justice.
Enter EA, the most powerful third-party developer in the industry with their shot at the cape and cowl and adapting Chris Nolan’s phenomenal “Batman Begins” for the home console.
Overall, Bat-Fans can be satisfied. It’s a solid game that any audience can play- it’s not going to win game of the year, but it’s nowhere near the debacle of previous Bat titles.
Playing like a poor-man’s “Splinter Cell,” “Begins” takes an appropriate stealth approach- treating Batman as a hero with normal human vulnerabilities, who has to rely on shadows and the element of surprise, rather than charging head-first into gun fire. Afterall, old Bats is no Superman, so no matter how helpful his bullet resistant Bat-suit is, taking too much gunfire will leave him as dead as his mom and pop.
“Begins” encourages players to make Bats do what he does best- namely, scare the living guano out of bad guys. Because criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot, players will use their environment to cause enemies to lose their cool- thereby shooting less accurately, fighting poorly, and ultimately giving up the goods under interrogation.
And just when you’ve had enough of Bataranging, smoke-bombing, and fisticuffs, it’s time to hop into the Batmobile and give chase on the streets of Gotham in a very “Burnout”-esce (another EA game) style of play.
The top notch graphics, all-star cast (Christian Bale reprises his role, as do Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, and the others), and solid film-footage-to-game transitions all make for a AAA title. Where the game fails is its simplicity and rigidity. Using the element of fear to your advantage is an original concept and begs for various uses, but the title plays incredibly linearly, giving players only one possibility of progressing through the different environments. Without giving the player the option to become creative in scaring foes silly, you never really feel like you are Batman, but more like the Batman the developers want you to be.
Here’s to hoping the follow up follows in the footsteps of the more open-ended “Splinter Cell.” Until then, it is an unfortunate irony that Sam Fisher is more Batman than the Caped Crusader himself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)