Thanks for letting me know, I’ll keep at it I suppose!
I’m still reading too! I’m sure there are a lot of lurkers. I tend to only post when it’s about a game I’ve played personally though. And, I really enjoy the look back at old games. It’s a neat idea.
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Good to know and thanks. You can always post about a game you might have been playing around that time, I’m always interested to read!
Is there a list you’re using, or is it just Wikipedia? I’ll start doing that.
Wikipedia has a list of Xbox releases. I just sort by date. I’ll do the same for Xbox 360 when I get there.
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Sorry flower, keep at it, I just had a busy week. Ill catch up hopefully tomorrow, I’m enjoying looking back especially with my personal life.
Its a fun conversation Delroy, and much more fun that acquisition talk. It just takes me a while to compile a reply. I appreciate the topic
I was doing that too by date, some conflicting info here and there, but good enough for the conversation
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I actually found a copy of PSO for the original Xbox at a local bookstore, but I didn’t pick it up since I, unfortunately, do not have an original Xbox. If I did, I definitely would’ve, I think it was less than $5. Haven’t ever played the original but I’ve had a lot of fun with PSO2 and I’m really looking forward to playing New Genesis this year.
Dang, that’s a lucky find! I wish I came across something like that. Still have my OG box.
May 2003, wow really making our way quickly through the year. This month in Xbox history wasn’t as exciting as April, but brought a number of solid releases and a “beloved” new IP. I didn’t play my chosen game during its launch month, but when I did I was met with a surprisingly good experience.
May 2003
Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War
First, I don’t remember the subtitle “Tides of War” at all. I never referred to it that way, nor did anyone I knew. Second, I never realized this was a port of a PC game from 2001. I’ve never played that version, so I can’t really say how the Xbox holds up in comparison. What I can speak to is the decent single player campaign and the amazing multiplayer matches I played over XBL.
If you asked me what this game’s plot was, I’d probably just guess and say “it’s about killing Nazis”. I’m sure there’s more to it, but I’d wager it boils down to that. And that’s fine with me! What was more important was the gameplay and while I don’t recall many details, I recall the campaign was on the short side but a pleasant experience overall. It was a nice looking game for the time, had good weapon variety, and the shooting felt impactful.
The real meat here was the multiplayer. RtCW had some very well designed maps which combines with the weapon variety made for some intense matches. I dumped quite a few hours into this one on XBL, my Controller S getting quite a workout. The one piece I really liked was its class-focused nature, which allowed more variety and strategy. I’m typically a run-and-gun player, but I really dug the engineer class in this. Also, fun fact: Apparently, RtCW is playable on oculus quest via sidequest…I need to check that out.
My shoutouts for the month go to Burnout 2, a darn solid arcade racing game, and of course the “legendary” Brute Force. I mean…it was the Halo-killer right? Right? Anyone?
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I only played the demo but I loved what I played. I have to play the full game now that they offered it with GwG.
However my February game would easily be Kung Fu Chaos by Ninja Theory. This game was SO fun. The stages (like the Titanic) were so cool. A real Mario Party X Smash Bros contender.
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I’ve actually never played this. Is it worth checking out anymore, or just a fond memory?
Kung Fu Chaos was a great party game, but by yourself? Nah, not worth revisiting in my opinion. I loved that game at the time though. Also did not remember that subtitle to Return to castle wolfenstein, like, at all.
I loved this game but I don’t think that’s worth checking out anymore in 2021.
It played like this. Smash Bros-like with party-games like Mario Party with a crazy movie director and moving stages.
Hmm… that’s looking familiar…Was this the game that played “Kung Fu Fighting” on loop at the menu? Is it in any other platforms?
Yes. Only on Xbox by Ninja Theory.
You know what? I actually remember what I was thinking of… it’s this “gem”… so I guess I haven’t played Kung Fu Chaos!
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June 2003 was home to a couple of franchises that I would love to see make a comeback in today’s gaming market. Both are racing games, and both have fairly strong fan bases backed up by great games.
June 2003
Midnight Club II
First, I think that Midnight Club II isn’t the best in the series - that honor goes to III - but it was such a great arcade street racing game with a fantastic soundtrack. I remember the entire game basically taking place at night, with bright city lights and streets to tear around. Courses were well designed, the AI was fairly competitive, and it had a chunky amount of content. I didn’t dig into online MP in this one, but did play with friends from time to time which was always a blast. I don’t recall much about the vehicles, I want to say they weren’t real but I could be wrong. This was during the era of Fast and the Furious, so I was really into this type of “underground” racing thing.
Shout out this month for Midtown Madness III, another street racing game. I think this is a solid series and game, but I spent a lot of time with Midnight Club and never got around to playing much MM3.
July 2003 is a no-brainer for best game of the month and nothing comes close. It’s an iconic Xbox game, a game that truly stands the test of time and has been rumored to have a sequel, remake, or something similar in development.
July 2003
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
KOTOR…yeah this is an amazing game. This RPG might be BioWare at its peak. I’m sure most gamers are familiar with the title, so I won’t gush about all the gameplay intricacies and story elements which make this an incredible experience even today. What I will say is that it took the Star Wars license and expanded it to gaming in such a meaningful way. This was just another flight game or shooter. This was a true, huge RPG with amazing characters and story which hooked me for hours. I’ve played through it on Xbox, PC, and mobile and I’m always left stunned by how good it is.
For the time, it looked incredible. It was a game that made my PS2-owning friends jealous. The music was appropriately, “Star Wars epic”. The amount of things you could get into and the choices you could make seemed staggering. Outside of Morrowind, I’d never played a game with a scope quite like it. I highly recommend reading the Bossfight book on it, and if for some reason you haven’t played it do yourself a favor and snag it on Xbox ($10) backwards compatibility, PC, or mobile. It’s worth both your money and time.
Shout out? Well, I almost hate to give one here. Syberia would be it, I like these sort of adventure games. I should probably finish up the series someday. Can you think of a game that can top KOTOR for the month, did the game come out where you lived?
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I still go back and play KOTOR every few years. It felt like a revelation, that consoles could do rpg’s just like pc. Absolutely one of my favorite games, and can’t recommend it enough. I agree that this is BioWare at their peak, though I think Mass Effect would be tied for it. Here’s hoping that the rumored port/remake does it justice.
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