Xbox History: The Best Games by Month

[anon98342452]

@Mesiac

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.

I agree, but I think that it’s hard to compare Mass Effect to KOTOR in some ways as often it’s comparing the entire trilogy and what that did vs. a single game. Despite having a sequel, not many people talk about KOTOR II in the same breath as the original, whereas with Mass Effect is often taken as a whole. I guess it’s similar to Peter Jackson LOTR trilogy. It’s never just one movie, but the series, when discussed. I don’t know if that makes sense, but yeah…

All that said, Mass Effect is up there for me as one of my favorite series in gaming. Super excited for the Legendary Edition, but not sure I’ll actually play it as I have a lot of games I haven’t played a bunch of times already to get through!

[Mesiac]

@anon98342452

… I agree, but I think that it’s hard to compare Mass Effect to KOTOR in some ways as often it’s comparing the entire trilogy and what that did vs. a single game. Despite having a sequel, not many people talk about KOTOR II in the same breath as the original, whereas with Mass Effect is often taken as a whole. I guess it’s similar to Peter Jackson LOTR trilogy. It’s never just one movie, but the series, when discussed. I don’t know if that makes sense, but yeah… All that said, Mass Effect is up there for me as one of my favorite series in gaming. Super excited for the Legendary Edition, but not sure I’ll actually play it as I have a lot of games I haven’t played a bunch of times already to get through!

Yeah, that makes sense. Mass Effect is often viewed as its whole rather than its parts. But ME1 is my favorite of the series and just comparing that to KOTOR I feel both offer a terrific experience. I think the reason why KOTOR 2 isn’t spoken of in the same way as KOTOR 1 is because of the rushed ending and cut content. It just doesn’t feel as complete, still a great game though.

[anon98342452]

August 2003, another decent month for Xbox owners with two fun titles released. I think both could potentially be the top game for the month, you could make an argument either way.

August 2003

Soulcalibur II

I remember playing Soulcalibur at the launch of the Dreamcast and it was a killer app for the system. Soulcalibur II didn’t change much from the first game from my recollection, but it did something that a sequel to a legendary title should do: make it bigger and prettier. SCII is indeed bigger and prettier than its predecessor, it was fast and fun and filled with content. This was a game I spent most of my time playing on the couch next to friends, late into the summer nights.

The weapon combat has been a staple feature of the franchise since its inception, and SCII still holds up here. It’s just so fluid and fun to play, matches can change on a whim with a good combo. It never felt stale. This was also one of the first games I recall to feature a different guest character on each platform it released on: Spawn on Xbox, Heihachi on PlayStation 2, and Link on GameCube. I’d say Xbox made out fairly well here, taking a backseat to Link but clearly above Heihachi (who doesn’t even have a weapon in a weapon-focused combat game? Ok…). I thought Spawn was a cool character, despite not being into the comics. He was a fun distraction.

Shout out for the month goes to Otogi. It was a straightforward hack-and-slash action game, but I enjoyed the aesthetic and over-the-top action. In some ways, it felt like a budget Ninja Gaiden. That said, most action games do! What was your favorite from August 2003? Am I way off base?

[Cerysnetics (Cerys)]

I’m sooooo sorry @anon98342452 Its been such a busy week with the kids, and cooking and arguing with people online, I completely forgot to catch up.

Soon™

[anon98342452]

@Cerysnetics

I’m sooooo sorry Its been such a busy week with the kids, and cooking and arguing with people online, I completely forgot to catch up.

Soon™

The last thing on that list…you ought to knock it off

[Cerysnetics (Cerys)]

Ok so I left it in February…

Of those mentioned, I have particular softspots for Soul Calibur, KoToR and Indiana Jones, but of course the PAL releases have yet to line up at all so I’ll see what my options are.

March was probably a toss up between MGS Substance and Indiana Jones, difficult to call, I did love Indy, but MSG 2 added some extra stuff, and I do like MGS 2…

April Was easily Panzer Dragoon Orta for me, it was no Panzer Dragoon Saga, but I loved it nevertheless. I also like a good rail shooter, and Orta was that.

May, would have been PSO, but I had played that to death on Dreamcast, so I present for your consideration, “Enter The Matrix” a dreadful game, I nevertheless loved given they spent so much time and money and trying to tie it in with the film universe, and not just knock out a cheap movie tie in. And I loved the soundtrack. Though I didnt like films 2 and 3 particularly, the Matrix resonated with me…for…some…reason

June Was easily Midtown Madness 3. Just clean, daft fun. It was a staple of the crew room for a long time.

July, like February, was weeeeeaaaaaak!

August was just terrible

Of those I played The great escape and liked it enough, but not enough to remember it, if you know what I mean

My September (since you have already mentioned the game) was easily and without a shadow of a doubt one of my favourite games of all time.

KoToR.

[anon98342452]

@Cerysnetics

… had played that to death on Dreamcast, so I present for your consideration, “Enter The Matrix” a dreadful game, I nevertheless loved given they spent so much time and money and trying to tie it in with the film universe, and not just knock out a cheap movie tie in. And I loved the soundtrack. Though I didnt like films 2 and 3 particularly, the Matrix resonated with me…for…some…reason

June Was easily Midtown Madness 3. Just clean, daft fun. It was a staple of the crew room for a long time.

July, like February, was weeeeeaaaaaak!

Of those I played The great escape and liked it enough, but not enough to remember it, if you know what I mean

My September (since you have already mentioned the game) was easily and without a shadow of a doubt one of my favourite games of all time. KoToR.

Wow, great post and thanks for “catching up”. It really looked like Europe had a rough go of it at the time. That’s some trash! Glad that’s not a thing anymore, as it’s where I’m currently located haha!

[anon98342452]

September 2003, we’re getting close to the always packed holiday period of video game releases. After looking over the release list from the month in NA, I wouldn’t say there was a title I’d consider terrific but there was some silly fun to be had.

September 2003

The Simpsons: Hit & Run

The first Simpsons game I played was Bart vs. the Space Mutants on NES. I hated that game, it was a Nintendo-hard stinker in my opinion. When I was a bit older, I’d often to to the bowling alley or roller skating rink and would end up spending my time (and quarters) on Simpsons The Arcade Game which was quite awesome.

The Simpsons: Hit & Run falls somewhere in the middle for me. It’s a lot different than both previously mentioned titles, structured in some ways like a level-based GTA. It actually cribs quite a bit from Rockstar’s series, but coupled with the wacky Simpsons humor and antics that people have grown to love. The graphics were fine for the time, the story was forgettable, and the sound was kind of whatever to me. There was fun to be had here, quite a bit actually, and it is one of the most overlooked games on this generation of console.

So that’s my pick for the month. My shoutouts go to Dino Crisis 3 because…I like Dino Crisis. And dinosaurs, rawr! The other goes to Voodoo Vince. It’s a decent game, but Phil loves it so I had to include it . What’s your pick?

[Cerysnetics (Cerys)]

I remember Hit and Run being a lot of fun, though I haven’t touched it since back then so I don’t know how it holds up today.

[anon98342452]

Ok, I’ve been putting off October 2003. There’s an absolute huge amount of rather great games, and choosing just one is almost ridiculous. That said, the rules are the rules…

October 2003

Crimson Skies

Crimson Skies is one of my favorite Xbox games and probably my favorite arcade flight game. I love the vibe on display, it’s a lot like Indiana Jones mixed with Firefly. The graphics were nice and sharp, the music inoffensive, and the characters and world are likable. There was a fair number of missions to tackle, most of good quality, so the game wasn’t over quickly indeed you’re a single player person. The game really shone on Xbox Live. This was another killer app, I spent hours and hours with this one online, talking smack and getting smacked down. I wish they’d make another CS, I guess the closest I’ve seen since is Snoopy Flying Ace on XBLA. Play this game. It’s BC, cheap, enhanced, and is a heck of a lot of fun to play.

Shoutouts…well, I’ll just list ‘em as there’s a LOT: Freedom Fighters, GTA 3 & Vice City, Kill Switch, Amped 2, Tony Hawk Underground, and SSX 3. These are all awesome, I’d love any of them on BC. What would you choose for October 2003?

[PhantomFox]

@anon98342452

…aphics were nice and sharp, the music inoffensive, and the characters and world are likable. There was a fair number of missions to tackle, most of good quality, so the game wasn’t over quickly indeed you’re a single player person. The game really shone on Xbox Live. This was another killer app, I spent hours and hours with this one online, talking smack and getting smacked down. I wish they’d make another CS, I guess the closest I’ve seen since is Snoopy Flying Ace on XBLA. Play this game. It’s BC, cheap, enhanced, and is a heck of a lot of fun to play. Shoutouts…well, I’ll just list ‘em as there’s a LOT: Freedom Fighters, GTA 3 & Vice City, Kill Switch, Amped 2, Tony Hawk Underground, and SSX 3. These are all awesome, I’d love any of them on BC. What would you choose for October 2003?

We NEED a sequel to this game. There aren’t nearly enough dogfighting games these days, the only ones I can think about are Ace Combat and Star Wars Squadrons (which are both great). And I suppose the Falconeer as well.

[anon98342452]

@PhantomFox

We NEED a sequel to this game. There aren’t nearly enough dogfighting games these days, the only ones I can think about are Ace Combat and Star Wars Squadrons (which are both great). And I suppose the Falconeer as well.

Play Snoopy Flying Ace if you can. It’s pretty great.

[anon74828371]

@anon98342452

…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?

This game had such the perfect Star Wars atmosphere and was so ambitious (compare this to the sequel trilogy…) !

Just listening again to the soundtrack bring back so many good memories. I can even still hear in my head the little sound effects when you select a dialogue or open something like it was yesterday.

Star Wars: KOTOR Music- The Sith/Endar Spire

Star Wars: KOTOR Music- The Old Republic Theme

Star Wars: KOTOR Music- Bastila Shan's Theme

[anon98342452]

November 2003, the official start of the holiday season for gaming releases. This was a huge month for Xbox, your wallet would be hurting if you bought every good game released!

November 2003

Need for Speed Underground

The NFS series has been around for a long time. It’s had it’s fair share of ups and down, lately falling somewhere in the middle in my opinion with NFS Heat. It’s also a fairly diverse series in terms of game variety, and for a racing franchise I’ve always appreciated their efforts to create differing experiences. I’ve always been a fan of street racing games, carving around city corners at night with bright lights and pumping music. And hey, I’ve mentioned this before but this was a time when Fast and the Furious and underground racing/tuning culture was pretty big. NFS Underground capitalized on those things, creating a darn good racing game.

I couldn’t tell you how many cars this game had, the amount of tracks, or even much about the music selection. I remember the game was fast, had a ton of vehicle customization, a listenable soundtrack, and a really neat drag racing mode (which we’ve seen recently in Forza Street). I spent hours racing the tracks through SP and MP, gaining cash, and customizing my ride. One element I really think was done well here is the fact that it remained fun to use your starter cars throughout the game, as you could mod them not only in terms of look, but performance. Sure, a Civic-R wasn’t going to outrun a Viper, but you could put up a decent fight. The game had a ”mature”, gritty feel to it and was just what I was looking for in a racing game at the time. I bet it holds up, I’d love a new one.

Shoutouts, so many: True Crime Streets of L.A., LOTR Return of the King, Sphinx Curse of the Mummy, Prince of Persia Sands of Time, Rainbow Six 3, Project Gotham Racing 2, Counter-Strike, Metal Arms, Jedi Academy, XIII, and Max Payne 2. Phew! That’s a huge list of some excellent games. I imagine that my pick is probably not one that a lot of others would make, and honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of the games listed here in my opinion. Great month in the history of Xbox!

[Cerysnetics (Cerys)]

Crimson Skies was my choice for October too @anon98342452 What about that, we caught up!

November was stacked in PALlands.

I initially was going to pick Dino Crisis 3 which was, as I recall somewhat terrible, with a terrible camera and just daft overall. But I remember a fun weekend completing it and giggling as much as being annoyed.

But proper best was probably PGR 2, was played a great deal in the crew room/Home.

[anon98342452]

@Cerysnetics

…Crimson Skies was my choice for October too What about that, we caught up! November was stacked in PALlands. I initially was going to pick Dino Crisis 3 which was, as I recall somewhat terrible, with a terrible camera and just daft overall. But I remember a fun weekend completing it and giggling as much as being annoyed. But proper best was probably PGR 2, was played a great deal in the crew room/Home.

I love PGR as a franchise. Super fun, this was one I strongly considered for the month. I just happened to be really into NFS Underground, but I understand the love for PGR. Game still looks fantastic too!

[anon98342452]

December 2003, we’ve reached the end of the year! December isn’t stuffed like November, but there were a few releases for an Xbox owner to put on the Christmas list, one of which is a favorite of mine.

December 2003

Beyond Good & Evil

Up front, I love Beyond Good & Evil. It’s just an awesome game, top to bottom. The characters are deep and interesting, and it had a strong female lead in a time when this wasn’t exactly prevalent. The story wasn’t the generic “save the world” thing we’ve seen a million times. The gameplay was a good mix of puzzles, platforming, and combat, incredibly well-balanced. The graphics were cartoony and popped, it’s still a good looking game. I loved the music and voice work. I just really love this game.

Unfortunately, it really ranked in terms of sales despite being a critical darling, on every platform. It saddens me to see such heart and creativity rejected by the gaming populace. A sequel was announced a LONG time ago, where the heck is it Ubisoft? Part of me fears it’s dead, but I won’t give up hope to see more of this world until they confirm. Definitely, definitely check this out. I’m fairly certain it’s BC on the newer consoles, and can be had on PC as well. Do it. You won’t regret it.

Shoutouts go to Arx Fatalis and Deus Ex: Invisible War. Arx in particular is interesting, a game by soon-to-be Xbox studio Arkanex, it did a lot of really cool things for the time. Check out No Clop’s documentary on YouTube about Arkane’s history, this one is talked about a lot. Invisible War isn’t my favorite in the Deus Ex franchise, but it’s still a good game. What did you love from December 2003?

[Cerysnetics (Cerys)]

Loved, absolutely LOVED B G&E I had my copy on Gamecube, and besides we had to wait a further 2 months for PAL release. (back to waiting)

Invisible war was actually released earlier in PAL land believe it or not, and while it wasnt a patch on the original, I did not hate my time with the sequel.

My choice though is for Max Payne 2 The Fall of Max Payne

I love Noir, I loved the comic panels, I loved the Max Payne games (except 3) and I adored the main theme to Max Payne 2. I loved being able to play as Mona Sax. I just had so much fun playing Max Payne 2.

Max Payne 2 - Main Theme

I mean, listen to that!!!

[anon98342452]

@Cerysnetics

…Loved, absolutely LOVED B G&E I had my copy on Gamecube, and besides we had to wait a further 2 months for PAL release. (back to waiting) Invisible war was actually released earlier in PAL land believe it or not, and while it wasnt a patch on the original, I did not hate my time with the sequel. My choice though is for Max Payne 2 The Fall of Max Payne

I love Noir, I loved the comic panels, I loved the Max Payne games (except 3) and I adored the main theme to Max Payne 2. I loved being able to play as Mona Sax. I just had so much fun playing Max Payne 2.

I mean, listen to that!!!

Definitely a good one! But it’s no BG&E

[anon98342452]

A new year! January 2004 brought some fresh releases and a good foot forward for the old Xbox.

January 2004

Baldur’s Gate II: Dark Alliance

Up front, I have no idea what the story in this game is. I’ve never really been into Baldur’s Gate as a franchise, but decided to check this one out as it looked like a console based Diablo-like. And that’s what it is! It’s a fairly straightforward game, a hack-and-slash fantasy loot game released for Xbox and PS2. Very D&D.

The graphics were nice for the game type, it was a lot of fun to play both by myself and with friends, and had a good chunk of content to carve through. There was some form of rudimentary item crafting system, multiple character archetypes, and a simple leveling/skill system that allowed some basic customization between builds. This was “Diablo for consoles” in many ways (yes, I know there was a Diablo for consoles ) and it did a fairly decent job in that role. It’s one I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to play now, but if it was there eh why not?

Shoutouts to Auto Modellista and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel. Auto Modellista had a fantastic cel-shaded graphical style which was unique for a racer and featured some fun tracks. Fallout: BoS is an old school style CRPG Fallout, and while I don’t love it a lot of my peers were into it at the time. What game did you think was the best for the month?