September 2004 was absolutely stacked with great games. You were feasting this month if you had an Xbox. It was so hard to pick one, but since @Cerysnetics already brought up Burnout 3 (stunning game), I’ll give mine to another deserving title, now a core of the Xbox identity.
Ah, Fable. Most who were gaming around this time probably remember the hype. All the hyperbole from Peter Molyneux, growing grass or trees and choice and all that. And in the end, it didn’t love up to the hype. A lot of what was promised wasn’t there, but that doesn’t mean what was there was anything less than good fun that held my attention for hours.
Fable is one of the most well-known Xbox IP. A game about choice and freedom, I remember first playing and being amazed at how alive the world felt, from characters to towns to dungeons. It was bright, colorful, and friendly, but also had a dark comedic side and story which provided an excellent balance. The combat was fast and fun, not overly complex, but definitely serviceable. I think most would agree the real draw to Fable was the interesting NPCs, dialogue, and just random things you could do. Kicking chickens? Yup. Sleeping around? Yup. Burping and expelling gas? You know it. While some of the humor doesn’t hold up, it was what made the game feel the way it did. It was unique, and I hope that Playground is able to update the formula while still maintaining that Fable vibe.
Shoutouts…so many. Burnout 3, Guilty Gear x2 #reload, Def Jam Fight for NY, Star Wars Battlefront, X-Men Legends, NBA 2K5, and SNK vs. Capcom. Goodness that’s a list!
I know most of us who enjoy the TH games generally place the THUG games a tier beneath the “core” titles. It’s understandable, as the early titles were such industry shakers and helped cement the skateboard craze of the time. THUG came along and while it didn’t change the core gameplay, it introduced a number of concepts and showed that Neversoft wasn’t ok sitting on its prior success. THUG2 isn’t a revolution, but instead a solid update to THUG, much in the way many other annual sports titles are. Atrocious cover though.
Take the core mechanics of TH and add a story mode, lots of customization options, and generally larger levels with more freedom and you essentially have THUG 1-2. THUG2 didn’t change a lot, adding a new story, levels, classic mode, and a LOT of Bam Margera. The base of the game is still there, it’s as fun as ever to skate around in arcade-style, pulling off impossible combos and lines with your wacky created skater (or a pro). It’s just a good game, not overly ambitious, but fun as heck.
Shoutouts go to Bloodrayne 2, Kingdom Under Fire Crusaders, King of Fighters Maximum Impact, and Dead or Alive Ultimate. Nothing amazing here, bu great for fans of the series.
Wow, we got Fable a month later than you, I am disgusted, utterly disgusted
My pick for October 2004 is Fable, Easily.
I remember the stories about people being upset by the missing tree growth more than I noticed it myself playing. It was such a silly, wonderful world. Childish humour in many ways but in many others subtle and witty.
As you say @anon98342452 it was a fun unique game, and I too hope the new one matches it.
I need to post an update and get rolling on this again! My apologies, just didn’t have the desire for a hit as engagement is low and all most people want to discuss is acquisitions or fighting about silly things.
Sorry for the long delay. I’ve been busy and unmotivated. And lazy, let’s not forget that. Anyhow, November 2004 is such a no-brained choice it’s not even funny. It was THE definitive showcase for XBL, a global phenomenon, and one of the most beloved Xbox games of all time.
This is another one where I love the cover art. The colors and chief, it just looks cool. I mean, he’s dual-wielding!!! Come on!!! If the box art was epic, I can’t express how epic the hype was leading up to this game. It was a huge event, a day to celebrate for Xbox gamers and a day to be envious for those without. Halo 2 was going to be bigger and “badder” than any Xbox game before it and you know, it might have actually accomplished that.
I don’t know what I can really say about Halo 2 that hasn’t been said. It deserves all the platitudes it received and still does, and also the criticism (campaign ending anyone?). Speaking from my personal experience, I found it phenomenal. I tore through the campaign and immediately moved on to the online multiplayer where I spent an ungodly amount of hours. The feel of Halo 2 multiplayer was untouchable on consoles at the time, gameplay that still holds up, and remained absolutely pinnacle stuff until Halo 3 in my opinion. Again, I don’t know what else to say. It’s just an amazing game, I could write endlessly about my awesome time with it, unique stories, etc, but that’s not the point of this thread!
Shoutouts…ok, there’s some quality this month. Sonic Mega Collection, Fatal Frame II, Ghost Recon 2, Need for Speed Underground 2 (loved this), DDR Ultramix 2, and uh…Blinx 2 . Did you find any game better than Halo 2 in November 2004? What was your experience with Halo 2? I’d love to hear it.
I didn’t have an Xbox yet at this point, not until midway through the 360, but definitely played Halo 2 at college. My friends were much better since they could play all the time, so i mostly insisted on playing campaign. Of this list I think I played Underground 2 on my PC (also lots of Unreal Tournament 2004 - fun story, I definitely installed that on pcs in the campus computer labs a few times which probably irritated them). Being a poor college kid working most of my spare time sucked though.
And I’m pretty sure i know what you will pick for December.
Oh yeah, Halo 2 MP was huge and people in school were all about it. I had friends who were obsessed, grades suffered big time because of Halo 2. And funny re: installing games at the lab. When I was in high school way back when, we used to do the same thing. Speaking of Bungie, I remember installing Oni and playing that through, we also did a lot of CS and Jedi Knight with mods lol.
Phew, I’ve reached the end of another year. Hooray! (?) November is almost impossible to follow up you’d think, but then another incredible game drops, one I’m still hoping to see a sequel of someday.
It’s funny how a lot of these IP seem to be resurfacing here in 2021, 20 years after the Xbox released. It’s about time! KOTOR was a legendary game, capturing everything that a good RPG should and ending in a satisfying manner. Still, there’s always room for more of something good and here we see Obsidian taking a crack at the franchise. Inevitably, the task of following up and outshining such a beloved game was going to be nearly impossible, but I have to hand it to Obsidian here. They did a great job and I truly believe with more time and budget we might be talking about kOTOR2 as the better game.
There’s not a whole lot to speak of that I didn’t in my earlier post revisiting KOTOR, so this will probably read more like random commentary versus some dive into the game itself. The games are quite similar on a gameplay level, but the main story here is that the rushed development time for the sequel made it feel incomplete. 2 is less balanced, less serving of those who prefer the power fantasy of Star Wars, and less “grand hero” in terms of story.
Everything about it almost feels like it should have been the first game in the series, as it does most things slightly less well than the original. I think the one area that is definitely up for debate is the story it tells, and without spoiling it I think it might be the more interesting of the two games, allowing more flexibility in terms of player agency. I still see debates on which game is better and why, but in the end I think both are amazing and again, give Obsidian the budget/time and they’d likely have made the better game definitively. It makes me excited for their games moving forward, in a way that I’m not about BioWare. Rumors of a new KOTOR are making the rounds and I hope they’re true. Not sure who could or would do it justice, but I’m hoping it’s the “right fit” for the sake of the franchise.
Shoutouts go to one game, a game dear to my heart, MechAssault 2. I love this series, I really wish the IP rights were sorted out. I think many old school Xbox fans would be thrilled to see another, and I can imagine that the arcade-mech MP would be a ton of fun on the modern consoles/PC. What did you close the year out with? A new favorite or playing that backlog of Xbox games?
Eww…Blinx 2. I played it recently, wow it doesn’t hold up. I was looking ahead at the next year and the Xbox 360 launch is November! Only 11 more posts until then!
Had a teacher who installed ut 1999 in our high school lab, so just carried on the tradition. We had some awesome matches in that class after we finished assignments.
Coming off the pure “majesty” of the holiday season, 2005 got off to a sleepy start. The number of what I’d consider quality releases was fairly low, only a few worth mentioning and only one I’d played in any real way.
Mercenaries is an interesting title, one that was featured as a GWG somewhat recently. It was developed by Pandemic, the same company that did Full Spectrum Warrior the previous year and the games couldn’t be more different outside of the obvious military theme. While FSW is a methodical, serious war game, Mercenaries goes in the opposite direction. It’s a goofy, tongue-in-cheek, action movie in game form. The game apes from the GTA series, allowing good amounts of chaos and destruction and a feeling of being in a big world, but in reality it’s decidedly more linear. It has a mission based setup and you choose one of a handful of mercenaries to run with.
I don’t remember much of anything about the story, but I do remember the game being a lot of fun, hopping between vehicles and foot and just blowing stuff up. It’s another one of those dumb, fun games that are great for a podcast or audiobook. It was a good looking game at the time for what it was doing, idk, I don’t have much bad to say about it other than it just doesn’t have anything that is truly unique or innovative going on. And it wasn’t trying to, so that’s ok with me!
Shoutout goes to Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath. I’ve only dabbled in this one, it seems ok, I know a lot of people adore it so maybe if you’ve played you can share you experience.
Jan 2005 was stacked with sports games, and so I never even tried a single one.
By process of elimination I would have to go for Mechassault 2 Lone Wolf
I have a soft spot for big mechs stomping round (thats why I spend ludicrous money on steel battalion) and I remember this bit fun, if not a little repetitive. You could move around outside your mech and get a lift from allies or steal enemies too as I recall.
God knows what the story was about, blah blah prevent giant mech being made, blah. Probably.
I really like the idea of this thread, so I’m going to try to contribute, even though I don’t know that I specifically had experience with any of the games for February 2005.
There are a few that actually stuck out to me for this month as being noteworthy (and which appear to have been relatively well received), including:
NBA Street V3
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
Street Fighter Anniversary Collection
… and I may be considered dumb for not choosing one of those - but the game that stuck out to me as being the most interesting for this month was something I’d never heard of:
This game seems noteworthy to me because it was actually an Xbox exclusive (timed) intended for the Japanese market in 2003, released in North America in 2005. It’s one of a long series of games released on a lot of different platforms - it appears to be the only one that released for Xbox, and since then, has almost only released on PS (one or two maybe on Switch). I kinda wish I’d had the chance to play this one.
Wow, thanks for the great impressions and input. I actually like those games as well (well, never played Spongebob haha). NBA Street v3 was amazing and of course SF is legendary. I’ll be posting my February—April picks soon, over the coming days. Been super busy, apologies for not being more attentive to this. I think it’s a great thread for the community.
. Did you find any game better than Halo 2 in November 2004? What was your experience with Halo 2? I’d love to hear it.
Maybe Blinx 2 out of spite!
