Angry Outlaw #49 Creating a Vintage Classic of Microsoft's Original Xbox
So in the past we have had Atari Flashbacks, Nintendo Classic editions, and Sega's attempt, and Sony's being the latest attempt, but before we get ahead of ourselves tell me what company is being left out? You can already know that just by what concept I have deiced to do today and challenge myself how this could happen in two different packages in one for realistic try, and a running gag collection with that said let's do this.His the meanest outlaw in all of america, he does not hold on anything or anyone, he'd rather stick it up there's and go screw a limp wang, then talk about the dreaded terror of furious strength in full power of rage there is stopping the angry outlaw, he is the angry! angry! Outlaw!
Yes if we were to end this trilogy how appropriate its the one that has yet to come up with an idea of this and that would be of course Microsoft. They currently hold backwards compatibility, and everything, but with the next console to come there's maybe a chance they take it away in favor of this. Sony has abandoned that idea, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Microsoft to do more less the same to get with the times. What I intend to do is have not 20, but 25 of the most defining games on the system of what started it all, and to be more comical a worst of too. Like with Sony I can vision a Internal memory flash installed for this concept to go through in the few years under development. Unlike the Sony Classic, Microsoft won't have the difficulty of choosing between D-Pads rather just have the slimmed down controllers unlike the ''duke'' disaster. The price would basically be the same as the others... $99.99 dollars yeah I know. Future released I could see it happen perhaps in three years due time (2021).
Best of Collection - Here's what I tried to gather around a set of exclusive that turned out to be pretty impressive for that time. some are more obvious than others, but here's the good half that I came up with that would sell for a flashback such as the original Xbox.
Black: While it is also to be played for the PlayStation 2 it looked slightly better on the Xbox, and for First Person Shooters this was one of their better of the bunch aside from another series. Just a fun playable shooter that uses cinema like action scenes turned into an actual film on its own while playing the game. In a way you should give thanks to this game for giving Call of Duty the idea of a Black Ops type story if those like me played this first.
Breakdown: Breakdown has a cool concept in first person where you can both Shoot, and use your fists in the story, and even more so made by Namco those responsible for well the classic arcade games from the 80's. The story is very original, and its ashame there wasn't another game after this truly an underrated title for a game solely on the Xbox.
Conker Live & Reloaded: Its kind of a rehash of the old story on the N64 with some new features such as classes added, and feels much more cleaner than the first game. Many loved Fur Day, but Live and Reloaded is a somewhat forgotten sequel that was just as good, but not too fondly it seems like.
Crimson Skies High Road to Revenge: At first I didn't know what to think of it other than oh wow a flying game at the time there were very few of those kind, and this was a game many fans liked, and I can see why. For its time it looks pretty good for 2003 in a year where video games were a mixed bag depending on what you had, and this was one of the more surprising hits, and it was one of the more popular games on Xbox Live when it was brand new. Remember when they said backward compatibility had already arrived well funny how I never came across this game yet since they pretty much admitted we want this game for the fans. Another thing I never knew was this was a sequel to the prequel which was PC exclusive which I never knew of until recently. High Road to Revenge is definitely a classic that shaped how we play as gamers today online.
Dead Or Alive 3: One of the first games for this system was an already established fighting series, and would later be more famous for their more not so good games based on volleyball. Dead Or Alive 3 to me is a classic fighting game that is very overlooked maybe because 2 is considered the best in the series, but 3 is a close second look at those graphics they never age like fine wine, and that's very impressive not many games can go through the years and age as well as this one does. Plays really well controls you get right away very simple, and honestly a really quick game to beat to I remember playing the demo of it, and just amazed that this is one of the better launch titles overall they were lucky to have a game like this come over from Sega more less.
Fable: Fable is probably the most well known RPG series on the Microsoft the first game took bold moves as it was hype to be that next big game. The game hasn't aged fondly well, but for what it has done there's no ignoring the success Fable brought o the RPG genre at the time.
Forza Motorsport: Sure Sony had Gran Turismo, and we also got non-exclusive title like Burnout, and Need For Speed on the rise, but here's a racing series that has started to come out into its own in the now gaming world Forza the first game was a late exclusive that did more took off on the 360, and has gain a following since can't ignore that even though I have played few of them.
Fuzion Frenzy: A party game, and Bill Gates had said this was ''one of his favorite games of all time.'' I do think it is a fun game when you play with three other friends, and its a bit interesting what types of minigames they could do in a somewhat basic party title, but still be okay for its time being Xbox had unknown titles and this is probably the one game with the most mixed reception to this day some people like it myself, but there's crowd that fought it sucked as a Mario clone well if you want a very lazy way of ending this play its sequel which is far worse imaginable.
Halo Combat Evolved: This goes without saying because arguably without Halo being the big life savior during the launch phase Microsoft would of died fairly quickly in the console business without Halo: Combat Evolved innovating Shooters games in the early to mid 2000's. This game was amazing, and original if you haven't played this one at least than please do, but play in its original format and not switching on the updated graphics that's a bit of a turn off for me.
Halo 2: The sequel is almost equally as awesome, with an incredible soundtrack some say one of the best ever heard. While the story took a more different turn it was still good, and once again graphics were a bit dated now for that time they were great. This was the first in the series to have multiplayer on Xbox Live because unless you had the PC port of Combat Evolved than yeah you had multiplayer just not on the old Xbox yet.
Jade Empire: From the brilliant minds of Knights of the Old Republic comes a new spin RPG action adventure called Jade Empire, and its a pretty cool game I gotta say for 2005. Based around Chinese culture which is the ideal setting from the cover alone. The graphics look like your typical 2000's PC game, but it was a great game for that timespan for an exclusive at first eventually got ported to computer later.
Jet Set Radio Future: The sequel to the cult classic Jet Grind Radio on the Dreamcast its sequel I love much more something about is just cool feel your apart of the GG's, and you feel like a gangsta no GTA needed folks this was stake without the walking while listening to some groovy tunes all the while making it feel very realistic with the setting its in the likes of Tokyo. I like the graphic style that not many games had done at that time with cel-shaded style making it feel like a pretty innovative game and creative sequel exclusive.
Kung Fu Chaos: A fighting game that's kinda like super smash bros, but doesn't take itself too seriously making it feel like a hybrid Deadpool before Deadpool would ever come out with fourth wall jokes slapped in this is a fun game for that time. Its a group of characters making a Kung Fu film I mean really its action in a video game in itself it is something special in that way.
Ninja Gaiden 04': When there was word that Ninja Gaiden would make its long awaited return since being absence in the Nintendo days. Reinventing itself in the Dead or Alive type feel which of course Ryu Hayabusa had been in both series with an updated look later on. The difference though this rebooted one plays more like a hack n' slash compared to the original which was a vastly difficult platformer.
Oddworld Munch's Oddysee: Unlike the more iconic predecessor with side scrolling platforming this sequel was more of a platform adventure, and its actually pretty deep open world type of game even though it does look a little generic in setting, but the dark lighting does have that Xbox touch at the time. Its not my type of game, but there are some gamers who did like this very much.
Panzer Dragoon Orta: Sure not many could afford Saga which is a brilliant set of games for the Saturn, but how many experienced Orta the sequel on the Xbox? Yes sequel have been the scene so far as you can tell, but some of these are just either that much better or they do hold their own in some sorta way perspectively. A flying rail gun shooter that sure had good graphics, but looks a little bit dated. Unless you have the updated look that's the different than to view in its original form which would be more of the focus. Orta is a solid game in the Panzer series that is very enjoyable.
Phantom Crash: A fun mech assault combat like game that's not base don any anime that stands on its own in terms of a game not many people paid that much attention to that's actually a very good game to play. In a way you can sorta give credit to this for the futuristic way of a cyberpunk world.
Phantom Dust: A Microsoft original game that has very cool elements found in Dust that's very unrelated to the last title a real time strategy with a 3rd person view with collectible cards in a very apocalyptic type setting which sounds awesome right off the bat. Phil Spencer even said ''the game was way ahead of its time.'' Your literally a infected character with amnesia trying to investigate what's wrong with the planet (earth). I'd say remarkable game that needs a little more recognition than the small amount it gets.
Project Gotham Racing: Okay with Gotham mixed in the title you think Batman perhaps? No sadly, but hey the game is pretty fun I gotta say for a two disc offer with Jet Set Radio Future on the other this was not a bad one to have either to go with it. Historical notes it that it came second to Halo: Combat Evolved as one of the sold games on the console when launched so that's pretty impressive for a racing game to start out with. While not technically the first which is fascinating it is probably one of the better in the series as a whole even though their not that bad in general racing games.
Shenmue 2: The first game is a cult classic in its own right despite have some minor flaws, in the second game they not only fixed some of those minor issues, but made the game a lot more deep in story as well. Another Sega classic coming to Xbox helping the system thrive early on. Also amazed it took almost two decades to finally the 3rd an perhaps last Shenmue game coming summer of 2019.
Steel Battalion: Yes that's right another vehicular combat title, and its one you probably wouldn't have guessed really in the original Steel Battalion. I actually like the first game, but of course with its 360 release later on pretty much killed any possible revival of the series is a different story, but when it first started it was a fairly destructive game that was good for that time to have that type of game on the system. It actually had its own controller setup which is actually pretty innovative unlike Phantom Crash where you had the regular controls, but the thing is it would need the actual controller if this were to be done while that might suck it would vary on control testing measures to see how that fairs to the old testament.
The Chronicles of Riddick Escape from Butcher Bay: This is probably one of the few exception of a phenomenal license title that is widely remembered being this great. A very soso movie starring Vin Diesel ends up being a great license title exclusive to the Xbox. gameplay is full stealth, and the dark like feel makes this feel like the actual film itself. While there's no multiplayer that's all fine and goo since there were games later that proved you don't need multiplayer to have a great game, and this was one of those rarities.
Thief Deadly Shadows: This is the 3rd game in the series, and one with great atmospheric effect with stealth element, and its competitor at the time Splinter Cell was vastly approaching and this one was more towards the Xbox while that got much more exposure. You could say this paved the way for things like Assassin's Creed to come just a little later, and I probably would as well if it wasn't for this game coming first.
Unreal Championship 2 The Liandri Conflict: Oh yes The Liandri Conflict went in a much more different direction I never fought they could pull off, and man was great. Unreal Championship 1 was essentially just Unreal Tournament 2003 basically don't believe look it up the opening cutscene is a dead giveaway while its sequel was Xbox exclusive that played both a 1st person, and 3rd person based shooter kinda like Star Wars Battlefront in a way that's amazing. You got all the favorite Unreal weapons in the mixed with melee attacks, the story is solid Anubis wants revenge on a family member to ascend up fight in this tournament. This is a must have well to me heavily underrated game for its time it seemed like very few have played this one it seemed like at its time.
Voodoo Vince: The last of the good portion would be this platformer from 2003 and that's Voodoo Vince. I never understood why this game was never compatible for the 360 still bothers me, but years later it finally was on the Xbox One. It showcases the life of Vince in voodoo power state, and that shows off great gameplay done efficiently. This was the brightest of those platforemrs which not many survive with positive outlooks years later.
The Turd Blunders - These games are absolutely terrible for the system, and represent all that could of been the demise of the system in general so here's the avoid games if there were 25 included together these games would be it. (Some of these I already said so those i'll make simple and short.)
Azurik Rise of Perathia: A blue colored warriors who unlike the film Avatar has little personality to him, and while the cutscenes are too rubbish the gameplay lacks what the Xbox showcased with other early title out at the same time. An action adventure that is very forgettable at best, but a major flop for the system despite the fact at one point I actually did say this was a hidden gem well that's changed since trying to go back and play it. ''Azurik can harness the basic elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.'' I know Avatar: The Last Airbender used this in their intro theme, but that's about the only interesting description of what his supposed to do in this story of his.
Batman Dark Tomorrow: Technically this is also made for the gamecube as well, but I find more memorable on the Xbox. This is one of the worst Batman games at its time, and looking at it now you could argue for it to be the worst in that category. It was pretty difficult the controls were clunky, and while the graphics aren't too bad, and the cutscenes are fairly decent it might as well of been title Batman: Stealthy Tomorrow because that the idea I got right from the start of the game.
Blinx The Time Sweeper: Long forgotten platformer that Microsoft tried to have as one of their mascots but after two games fizzled probably at the time it looked good, while its the best of the worst the textures in the graphics do look poor the second time playing controls are fairly okay so really i'm giving this game a minor pass.
Bruce Lee Quest of the Dragon: A very boring beat em up starring one of the most famous martial artists of all time Bruce Lee, and give him something that will basically offend him. To keep this short since this was one I did in the past its just not fun, and it tarnishes the legacy of the great man himself by not playing this would do a service to yourself and his own will.
Chicago Enforcer: Also known as Mob Enforcer sounds interesting right? A gangsta setting like godfather only this is like like playing Part 3 essentially and you wanted nothing to do with it until being convinced that its got for being wacked playing it with unbalanced gameplay, and the long tedious load screens. Its a generic First person Shooter that's been forgotten, but is also the lesser of the more Xbox exclusive that magically got its way to PC as well.
Classified The Sentinel Crisis: Its one of those budget games you probably regret hugely buying. Like with others I have said in the past that are like this the developer who did this game only went on to have title that were around the average mark where this was its worst in the library of Torus Games. For a game pretty much almost late in its lifespan it also made it tot he Playstation 2, but was scrapped probably because they wanted nothing to do with it. Neither would I, but for a filthy sandwich rolled into one for profits than here's your case of history rolled into one. I mean its a short story to make it even more boring factor.
Dino Crisis 3: The original Dino Crisis Games for the PlayStation 1 were great horror title to have next to Alone In The Dark, and Resident Evil. Only for the game to look completely different overall getting rid of the horror filled scenery for more of a sc-fi action adventure shooter that's a shocking flop at the time. Its a very repetitive, and disappointing sequel that many gamers have forgotten about over the years over the more current ones.
Drake of the 99 Dragons: Possibility the worst of the bunch to own, and was never backwards compatible for a good reason the game was just horrible. A cruel joke where you die it seems like forever as the game is punishing you for the sins you made. ''NOTHING CAN STOP ME NOW!'' Yeah Drake's gotta point this game breaks the laws of psychics kinda like Big Rigs in a way with weird glitches I have run into. Please don't do this to yourself this game will whip you in half of your frustration levels.
Kabuki Warriors: Generic launch fighting game that some say almost killed the system in general. Well the controls was it there really except for the A button is always the strong one of the other buttons to spam with you use pretty pointless game to me.
Kakuto Chojin Back Alley Brutal: We have more fighting games to attend to. I had no idea what to think of it other than oh a game based on the The middle east, and or Asian countries. Story hints thus it got pulled from the shelves after being released. Well its an improvement over the last game, but compared to something like Tao Fang which actually had a interesting idea at least this one didn't really have that going.
Land Of The Dead Road To Fiddler’s Green: This has to be one of the worst undead related games I have ever played, and seen like the A.I is probably the dumbest of those, and next the game feels more like it could of been on the PC at worse seeing how bad it looked in both categories. For something based on a John Romero flick this is one of two things he got a foul taste in return.
Loons fight For Fame: This is basically a clone of Power Stone just putting in the Looney Tunes variety on the game. Before Acme Arsenal would go on to have more critical reception this one can be argued to be even worse based on originality. Fight for Fame is a game that will waste your time you wanna do something better watch the old clips of the classic cartoon I rest on that forevermore.
Nightcaster: A lot like Azurik only this game had enough to get its own sequel thanks to sales, but the game itself was well... Arran a wizard collects spells to be rid of the eternal nightfall. By that logic that means the game will be dark throughout, and shows times it will be day then? Its another one of those fantasy games that failed to deliver with buggy gameplay mechanics, and really abominable graphics for its time even. This was late 2001 going into 2002 and that's the best that could do? You might as well of sold this game on a PlayStation maybe it would of done better there.
NightCaster II Equinox: With just enough copies in store NightCaster was not done, and tried one more time to redeem itself if they had any chance left let's see if they could fix any of the flaws seen. Well they did try to fix much of the improvements, but it still feel pretty mediocre even for the RPG change of genre in game itself.
Pulse Racer: A futuristic clone of Mario Kart set in 2024 oh were almost there hard to believe. Pulse Racer is like playing an annoying loop around stock music with controls that are not always proper, and that's what you get here. The low resolution is not a good turn out i'll say that, but the only thing it has going is that yeah it does look like an Xbox game, but man this game got ripped apart at its time I must say just for being a clone no less.
Robocop: Oh wait you fought the robocop's on the nes were bad oh no you haven't seen the Xbox's late attempt at cashing in on license films from long ago. Different parts of the country had a version of the game, but here in North America we had it exclusively for the Xbox so putting it in this category makes a lot of since well in my view of looking at this. This was Titus Software's last attempt of a console made game, and man it goes on a strong note alright. Draw distance is annoying the target lock would always indicate where the enemy is eventually on harder difficulty its a task to know where they come out of. There's nothing very much to say seeing its boring, and unlike its other famous title.
SeaBlade: This is the only one on the list without a wiki page of the game itself so let me try my best to explain how bad this one is seeing its very under the radar. Playing a air- sea mech which sounds cool until actually playing it of course like all of the other ones. The characters look soulless, the menu layout is the weirdest of all how long yo go from one sequence to the next. It just feels like a flying game that nobody would care about this a forgotten bad game not many people played.
Shrek: From forgotten to unforgettable Shrek 1 was one of my all time favorite animated films of all time. When I heard there was gonna be a Shrek game for the Xbox I was stoked at the time its too bad the turnout like many others was incredibly bad. Why is Shrek moving like flash? Why is the mirror on the wall guiding me so annoying me with ''Oh no you don't! Go back to the jumping Grounds.'' Man is that tedious, and far off from what actually did happen in the first film. Graphics are alright now bad, but the controls are very complicated for its time.
Sneakers: Its a game targeted for the kids so I guess it sold okay, but the game aspect is not what the kids would have hoped playing as a mouse with an odd point and click element thrown in a puzzle game blah... sounds like a mundane title to have at least Jerry was more entertaining than this whole game.
Spikeout Battle Street: The cover looks pretty awesome its too bad looks can be deceiving. This is the sequel apparently although I can't find proof of seeing the prequel anywhere so let's pretend this was that game I guess from sega. The only two goods things look to be the loading screen looks, and the cover of the game well the other half of that would be ugly graphics, and basic polished gameplay which makes this game pretty awful beat em up to avoid.
Star Wars Obi Wan: Awe we have finally come to it a game I had weird liking for when I was young now realize how awful it is that has aged really badly for early 2001/2002 timeline. Cover is cool and all, but why is he holding a green lightsaber when in the game, and in the films its always been blue? The game is beatable and quick, but has camera issues, and the way you sling your lightsaber does not always respond properly functions. Need I say the cheap impersonations of all of the voice actors that are pretty laughable I digress it is one of the worst Star Wars games of all time.
Toxic Grind: The story for this game seems cool, but nothing is cool when you have bad gameplay. Even that controversial BMX game had some humor value this just feels generic mediocre sports game that nobody knew about underneath that surface.
World War II Combat Iwo Jima: This is a really late Xbox title that came out in 2006 right when it was fading away slowly. Based on actual war setting as the title says and its... Incredible bland looking for a late inclusion they must a went ''yeah go ahead not many people are gonna buy this.'' Well they were right after all I know nobody who had this nor do I hear many people talk about this one. It just looks dull, and broken like seeing the teammate soldiers are not properly placed with weapon coordination you know you have a rushed mess on our hands.
Wrestlemania 21: The last one of the crap section is a wrestling game, and that is Wrestlemania 21 I had a debate between this game, and Raw 1 which both are bad, but I chose this one more seeing that for some of the games are also on PC, and Raw 1 while very basic I just went that's a bit more playable compared to this where you have long load times creating a wrestler. gameplay is ungodly glitchy like no other wrestling game I have played before, and the fact its labeled a classic in itself is very laughable. I had zero enjoyment when I played this game even with the decent story I just could not get passed the awful gameplay alone does not make a game that may look good for its time one of those things that can't be had.
Turnout: With no HD cords required would this be a fitting success? Well I'd say take time, but this is how it would be done without any mistake like before Microsoft intends to always do this would be that case. Plus the original Xbox can be considered now retro and probably one of the last of those retro consoles along with the consoles in its gen it competed against. It took risk, and deserves it own 20 year anniversary for all the crap they get now this would be the one saving grace I would not mind one bit.
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