Net Ten: Ten Troubled Xbox 360 Games (page2) Subscribe to this RSS feed

#5 NBA Live 06 - [ Xbox 360 ]

EA's sports monopoly hasn't exactly been kind to consumers, and NBA Live 06 is a good example of the behemoth's corner-cutting strategies in action. First, check out the mind-blowing shots from NBA 2K6 on the Xbox 360. Now take a peak at NBA Live 06's offerings. They're worlds apart. NBA Live 06 looks more at home on the original Xbox, not the ritzy Xbox 360. Not that any of this will do a thing to dent sales, of course.

What excites us: EA's doing it

What scares us: EA's doing it

#5 NBA Live 06
57% average
critic
score

#4 Quake 4 - [ Xbox 360 ]

Quake 4 certainly has the next-gen graphics angle down pat, but from what we've seen, the gameplay is strictly standard stuff. Remember Doom 3? Then you've played Quake 4. Aside from a few half-assed scenarios in which you stomp around in a mech warrior (complete with Halo-style shield regeneration), Quake 4's dark, dank corridors seem suspiciously similar to the dark, dank corridors from, well, you know what. It's pretty, but vacant. Maybe that's why they haven't released any demos, even though the game's now gold.

What excites us: It certainly looks to be nice and violent

What scares us: If the game's so good, where are the demos?

#4 Quake 4
69% average
critic
score

#3 Kameo - [ Xbox 360 ]

Wow, those Rare boys have been working overtime. Kameo has been in development since, it seems, the original NES. And though the screens keep looking better and better, the gameplay doesn't seem to be evolving. Basically, it's an action/adventure game where you can change into various animals, like a boxing-glove-wearing Venus flytrap or an ice gorilla. If that sounds as stupid to you as it did to us, you'll know why we had to include Kameo on the list. We certainly hope that Rare proves us wrong....but again, that $49.99 price point is a dead giveway.

What excites us: Sweet, sweet graphics

What scares us: The eternal development cycle and the "budget" price point

#3 Kameo
76% average
critic
score

#2 Perfect Dark Zero - [ Xbox 360 ]

The current whipping boy, er, girl of the next-gen haters, Perfect Dark Zero certainly has its work cut out for it. The original Nintendo 64 Perfect Dark is a masterpiece, arguably the only title to ever beat 007 Goldeneye at its own game. But we haven't been encouraged by what we've seen so far. The laughable coverage in mags like EGM point to one seriously troubled development cycle. At the moment, Perfect Dark Zero looks like Just Another Shooter (or JAS), only with weird flying robot machines (WFRMs) and crappy, pug-fugly character models (CPFCMs). And let's face it: in an era of Halos and F.E.A.R.s, JAS with WFRMs and CPFCMs is likely to earn quite a few "WTFs?"

What excites us: Well, the particle effects look pretty

What scares us: God, everything else looks pug-fugly

#2 Perfect Dark Zero
83% average
critic
score

#1 The Xbox 360 - [ Xbox 360 ]

Okay, okay, so it's not actually a game. You got us! But even the Microsoft f4nb0ys gotta admit that, for a fledgling game console, the Xbox 360 has seen an uncommon number of p.r. stumbles. Strike one: The multi-tiered pricing structure ($400 for the hard drive version? Booo!). Strike two: the ultra-pricey peripherals ($50 for a wireless controller, plus the $20 recharging cable; the $40 memory card). Strike three? It'll all come down to the launch lineup. If Microsoft doesn't offer the right lineup of killer games, Xbox 360 might be doing some 360s of its own...in a grave beneath the cold, hard ground. Of course, we're hoping for the best. Honest.

What excites us: H4wt graphics rendering, one slick controller

What scares us: The pricing, many of the launch games, the name

#1 The Xbox 360
N/A average
critic
score