July 4th, 2001 (12:00am) - A system is only as good as its games. So far, the Xbox isn’t doing half bad. It may not have any world beaters like Metal Gear Solid 2, but then again neither did Sony before E3. So, here are the 15 biggest games we know about for the Xbox.
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15: Project Gotham
What It Is: A racing game from the makers of Metropolis Street Racer
What We Like:
For starters, we’re huge fans of the Metropolis Street Racer gameplay, and now the graphics will be upgraded with the powerful Xbox hardware. It’s a winning combination.
What We’re Worried About: The first screenshots of this game didn’t exactly blow our minds.
What’s The Toughest Competition: GT3 for the PS2
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14: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2X
What It Is: The latest port in the wildly popular skateboarding series
What We Like:
We still play Tony Hawk from time to time in the office. Now let’s see how it plays on the Xbox.
What We’re Worried About: So far, the various Tony Hawk ports on the PC and Dreamcast haven’t exactly taken advantage of the power behind those systems.
What’s The Toughest Competition: Tony Hawk 3 on the PS2
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13: Circus Maximus
What It Is: A chariot racing game complete with combat.
What We Like:
Even though we like our favorite game genres, it’s nice to see something new every once in a while.
What We’re Worried About: We’ve only seen mock-up screenshots so far. We’d like to see the game in motion.
What’s The Toughest Competition: Twisted Metal Black on the PS2
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12: Silent Hill X
What It Is: The spookiest Xbox game in development
What We Like:
The original Silent Hill was one of the most frightening games we’ve ever played. We don’t know if our hearts will be able to take the more graphically realistic Xbox version.
What We’re Worried About: This title may end up just being a straight port.
What’s The Toughest Competition: Resident Evil Zero for the Gamecube
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11: Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding
What It Is: The Xbox answer to SSX
What We Like:
The character models look fantastic, and the mountains are supposed to be huge.
What We’re Worried About: Maybe it’s all just created in Photoshop.
What’s The Toughest Competition: SSX 2 for the PS2
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10: SSX
What It Is: EA’s version of its popular snowboarding game for the Xbox
What We Like:
It’s the best snowboarding game ever, and even if it’s a port we’ll love it.
What We’re Worried About: EA may not take the time to exploit the Xbox’s power.
What’s The Toughest Competition: SSX 2 for the PS2
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9: Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
What It Is: A first-person shooter set in World War II
What We Like:
The original Medal of Honor was fantastic on the PlayStation, and early screens of this game show that the developers are excited about exploiting the Xbox hardware.
What We’re Worried About: First-person shooters always seem to work best on the PC.
What’s The Toughest Competition: Unreal Championship for the Xbox
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8: Metal Gear Solid X
What It Is: This is it. The Big One. But with special Xbox specific features.
What We Like:
The Metal Gear franchise is one of the greatest series of games in history. Even though this game is not on the same level as Metal Gear Solid 2, we’ll still play the heck out of it.
What We’re Worried About: What if it’s just a rehash of the bland PC port?
What’s The Toughest Competition: Metal Gear Solid 2 for the PS2
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7: NFL Fever 2002
What It Is: Microsoft’s first foray into console sports
What We Like:
Up close, the player models in this game are the most detailed we’ve ever seen.
What We’re Worried About: They don’t look quite as good from a regular camera angle. Plus, we don’t yet know how the game plays.
What’s The Toughest Competition: Madden 2002 for the PS2 and Xbox
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6: Madden 2002
What It Is: The greatest franchise in football game history
What We Like:
Right now, nothing plays as well or looks as good as Madden on the PS2. The Xbox version could easily look better.
What We’re Worried About: We’re afraid the Xbox version could just be a straight port from the inferior PC version.
What’s The Toughest Competition: Madden 2002 for the PS2
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5: Malice
What It Is: A platform action title from the makers of Croc
What We Like:
This game is the first to use a lot of the Xbox’s visual treats. The graphics may look like a typical kiddie game, but there’s more behind this title than just kid stuff.
What We’re Worried About: Will the shiny graphics be more important than the gameplay?
What’s The Toughest Competition: Mario (or Luigi) for the Gamecube
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4: Halo
What It Is: A rousing action shooter
What We Like:
The graphics are simply phenomenal, and the potential for exciting gameplay is nearly limitless.
What We’re Worried About: Halo didn’t exactly overwhelm us at Gamestock.
What’s The Toughest Competition: Unreal Championship for the Xbox
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3: Munch’s Oddysee
What It Is: A cute, but dark, adventure-style game
What We Like:
The Oddsworld Inhabitants never fail to create weird, funny and enjoyable games. They’ve been working on this title for quite some time and it looks really good.
What We’re Worried About: There have been some rumors that suggest Microsoft feels the game is too complex.
What’s The Toughest Competition: Mario (or Luigi) for the Gamecube
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2: DOA3
What It Is: The Xbox exclusive fighting game that rocked our world at Tokyo Game Show
What We Like:
The particle effects, environments and character models are some of the best we’ve ever seen in a console fighting game.
What We’re Worried About: How long will it be an Xbox "exclusive?"
What’s The Toughest Competition: Virtua Fighter 4 and Tekken 4 for the PS2
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1: Kakuto-X
What It Is: Microsoft’s secret fighting game
What We Like:
The lighting effects are jaw-dropping, and the character models seem strangely real. Plus, rumors say this game is much farther along than the demo we saw at Tokyo Game Show.
What We’re Worried About: Will the gameplay be any good?
What’s The Toughest Competition: Virtua Fighter 4 and Tekken 4 for the PS2
