DogsWithoutWings.com Blog

Ok, I'm not sure if this is really a rant on the Xbox, or more about games in general. Other than the heat issue, disc scratching, expensive downloads, loud DVD drive, dashboard crashes and the MS fanboy friend I have, the hardware is not too bad. I have played it once on an HDTV (don't own one yet) and it made a pretty big difference, especially in Lost Planet (the snow doesn't impress me although the explosions did).

Onto the games. Nothing really impressed me, even games that are fun just doesn't scream NEXT GENERATION!, it is closer to (This Generation)++. Let's hope Gears of War change that although I doubt it. I recently downloaded Top Spin, and the gameplay felt really unintuitive, maybe because the last tennis game I played was Mario Tennis on the Gamecube, which I don't own, but was easy to pick up and play. Maybe I'm just too old for totally realistic gameplay. When I have to change directions with my player and have to watch the animation of them stopping and turning, it just seems like too much.

Anyway, sales will predict which direction the industry will go in, but I would prefer the game to feel right, while compromising some of its looks. Imaging if Pacman had momentum with turning animation...