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Beyond Halo: saluting the Xbox’s other launch games
01:48, 15th Nov 2011
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It seems hard to think that the clunking great lump of gaming goodness that is the original Xbox has now been around for a decade (in North America, anyway; we'll have to wait until March before that's true of the European version of the console) - a decade which has brought its fair share of highs and lows.
One of those unquestionable highs has been the rise of the Halo series; the brainchild of Bungie that, over the years, has not only been the Xbox family’s flagship brand, but has also been instrumental in establishing the first-person shooter genre as the dominant force in gaming it is today – starting right from the get-go with Halo: Combat Evolved, which launched alongside the Xbox all those years ago.
But although Halo was its top seller during that period, turn the clock back to the Xbox 1’s launch, and you’ll find it wasn’t the only exclusive game of note to arrive alongside the big, black-and-green beast. So to commemorate those other original Xbox games, we thought it good not only to look back on those games, but also to ponder what may be in store for them in the future – or in many cases, what might have been.
Project Gotham Racing
(Bizarre Creations/Microsoft)
To complete its Xbox launch line-up, Microsoft needed a top-line racing game. So to that end, it approached Bizarre Creations – who’d just finished making Metropolis Street Racer for Dreamcast – and the grand result was Project Gotham Racing.
Gotham took the Kudos-based score/time attack gameplay of MSR, then using the Xbox’s power and Microsoft’s financial muscle, set about fleshing it out to become a series that could truly be to Xbox what Gran Turismo is to PlayStation.
And with a whole new city, smoother visuals, a car list that included Ferraris and Porsches and some choice gameplay and handling refinements, it was able to do just that.
The story since then
As one of the top selling early Xbox games, the Gotham series soon found traction, enabling it to quickly establish itself as a major Xbox franchise. PGR2 followed shortly after the launch of Live, and became the benchmark racer on the machine.
Then, when the 360 launched, it did so with PGR3 as one of its launch games. And when PGR4 arrived in 2007, it once again raised the bar for racing games this generation.
Future prospects
Unfortunately, since the release of PGR4, things have gone rather pear-shaped for the series. Bizarre Creations was snapped up by Activision in late 2007 (only to close early this year), and a quick mini-game for Microsoft’s Zune HD iPod clone aside, nothing’s happened with the franchise since.
And with Forza now Microsoft’s main driving franchise (not to mention how Gotham’s unique gameplay is likely to make finding a suitable developer tricky), we’re not holding out much hope of seeing PGR rising phoenix-like from the ashes again this generation.
Dead or Alive 3
(Team Ninja/Tecmo)
When you look at all those lovely 3D fighting games you see on the 360 nowadays, it’s hard to think that last generation the likes of Virtua Fighter, Tekken and Co. were locked away behind an impenetrable wall of PS2 exclusivity.
Perhaps sensing an opportunity to clean up, Tecmo stepped in to fill this void with Dead or Alive, with DoA3 being among the Xbox’s launch games. And while never quite being as brutal as Tekken or as deep as Virtua Fighter, the third game in the series did add a bit of beat-’em-up sparkle to the early Xbox line up.
And to its credit, it wasn’t a bad little fighter, as was reflected in the sales figures – it sold more than a million copies. Which was something of a rarity for a Japanese game on the console at the time.
The story since
This early success gave way to Team Ninja becoming one of the Xbox’s strongest supporters. Following the launch of Xbox Live, Tecmo released the 360-exclusive, online-enabled revamp of the first two games in the series, in the form of the Dead or Alive: Ultimate pack. Then, shortly after the 360 launched, Dead or Alive 4 duly followed.
Alongside this, the Xbox and the 360 were the exclusive homes for first two games in DoA’s Xtreme beach sports spin-off series. And of course, Xbox and 360 owners got to play Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden 2 ahead of their PlayStation counterparts.
Future prospects
Given that Dead or Alive 5 was announced at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, things are looking very good indeed. Perhaps unsurprisingly (given the abundance of fighting games on the 360 nowadays), the unofficial exclusivity partnership between Team Ninja and Xbox is now a thing of the past.
But while PS3 and 360 owners will likely receive DoA5 simultaneously (not that that’s a bad thing in our book), it’s good to see the old franchise back for the first time since early 2006.
Rallisport Challenge
(DICE/Microsoft)
Once upon a time, Swedish developer DICE was known for something other than Battlefield. Indeed, at one point in the studio’s history, it was actually best known for its rally and touring car games.
And Rallisport Challenge was just such a game. At a time when the WRC was at its peak, Rallisport bravely shunned the sim-like approach favoured by the likes of Colin McRae Rally and the PS2-exclusive WRC games, by going for a multi-disciplined, more arcade-like rally/racing experience.
Alongside traditional rallying segments, the finished article also included ice racing, hillclimb events and rallycross races. And backed up with some decent visuals, good stage/course design, and some very well-weighted handling, it was a welcome addition to the Xbox’s early library.
The story since
As Bizarre did with PGR, so DICE too produced an online-enabled sequel to Rallisport. And once again, it was a decent off-road racer, packed full of variation and, if anything, with even better handling than its already impressive predecessor.
Since then, though, things have gone quiet. With Battlefield proving to be hugely successful across all platforms, EA duly purchase DICE several years ago, and Microsoft has yet to bother to revive the franchise using another studio.
Future prospects
Given the situation with DICE, and Microsoft’s own apparent reluctance to release a new version, things aren’t looking great on that note. And that in itself is somewhat ironic, for Codemasters’ DiRT games – the successor to the old McRae games, one of the franchises Rallisport was trying to be different to – has itself embraced the multi-discipline off-road racing principle.
So as much as we’d love to see a rally game that delivers a similar style of experience on the 360, we somehow can’t see it happening any time soon.
Amped
(Indie Built/Microsoft)
Going against the racing-based, over-the-top style of SSX was always going to be a bit of a gamble, but nevertheless, this didn’t put Indie Built off, and the grand result was Amped.
With a more realistic grounding, and with the emphasis on stunts rather than racing, Amped gave snowboarding enthusiasts something a little closer to the real thing. And while it didn’t exactly set the sales charts alight, those who found its styling to their liking were rewarded with a pleasingly solid snowboarding game.
The story since
As with many of Microsoft’s early Xbox games, Amped went on to spawn a couple of sequels. Following on from the launch of Xbox Live, Amped 2 introduced online play to the mix, alongside the usual array of gameplay and graphical improvements.
Amped 3 then followed around the time of the 360’s launch, but had by that point (along with the likes of Top Spin) passed from Microsoft’s hands, to those of 2K Sports.
Future prospects
Having once been considered a staple of the gaming scene, over the course of this generation snowboarding games have all but vanished, save for the odd example here and there.
Things seem to be moving in the right direction again, with a new SSX on its way. However, with Take-Two Interactive having closed Indie Built in 2006, it’s debatable whether we’ll see the Amped brand making a comeback in the foreseeable future.
Jet Set Radio Future
(Smilebit/Sega)
There aren’t many occasions when you can describe a game’s poor performance at retail as a tragedy. But in the case of Jet Set Radio Future, that really is the only way you can describe it.
Certainly, JSRF had all the ingredients to be a success: it was achingly stylish, thanks to its graffiti-like cel-shaded visuals, a mad story and indie-style soundtrack; and it had the gameplay too, featuring that classic Sega magic that brought you up to speed quickly enough, but – as you learned all the grinding routines around the levels – offered no shortage of incentive to keep plugging away at it, without a hint of it getting tiring or ‘samey’.
But as with its equally stunning Dreamcast processor, JSRF’s ability to rack up impressive review scores somehow didn’t translate into similarly hefty sales.
And that’s something that still stings our souls to this day.
The story since
Apart from an ill-fated GBA game, there’s been nothing seen or heard since from the Jet Set Radio franchise. And given its rather poor sales record, that’s perhaps not a surprise. Indeed, the last time the game hit the headlines was when JSRF was made backwardly compatible with the 360. And yes, if you can track down a copy, it’s still worth a punt.
Future prospects
Pretty much non-existent, if we’re honest. Much as it pains us to say it, if Sega was going to bring Jet Set Radio back, it would have done so a long time ago…
Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee
(Oddworld Inhabitants/Microsoft)
Logic would dictate that, if you’re going to make a game that’s a bit ‘out there’, then you’re better off doing so on a new console, whose fanbase has yet to form conclusive, collective gaming preferences, and are likely to be more receptive to something a little different.
And ‘different’ is something Oddworld Inhabitants has always good at. Essentially a puzzle-platformer, and the first 3D instalment in the series’ history, Munch’s Oddysee was set after Abe’s Exoddus, and sees Abe helping titular Munch break out to find more of his kind.
And although it never quite managed to hit the same heights of excellence its 2D predecessors did, it was still a decent game.
The story since
Although it wasn’t a huge seller, the Oddworld name re-emerged on the Xbox close to the end of its life, in the form of the beautiful Strangers Wrath. But no sooner had that been released, then Oddworld Inhabitants decided to move away from games for a while, trying its hand at films instead.
Future prospects
With Oddworld Inhabitants’ endeavours ultimately coming to nothing, the Oddworld franchise is undergoing something of a gaming revival. A visually enhanced port of Munch’s Oddysee is on its way for PS3 and PS Vita, which will also receive a similarly polished up port of Stranger’s Wrath.
With any luck, should these two prove popular, then we may well find the Oddworld name returning to the fray with a new game sometime in the future.
…and those we’d rather forget
As with any console launch, there are always those games you can’t help but feel weren’t that great. Games such as Fuzion Frenzy, for instance. Although its fanbase is said to have included Bill Games himself (he apparently enjoyed playing it with his family), even the Gatester’s endorsement wasn’t enough to mask the fact it was wretched collection of uninspiring mini-games. Which makes the fact it managed to spawn a sequel on the 360 all the more perplexing.
And what of Mad Dash Racing? Unlike Fuzion Frenzy, it wasn’t exactly terrible. But by the same time, it wasn’t exactly brilliant, either. Still, could have been worse – like Bloodwake, a speedboat third person shooter that was every bit as average as you’d imagine it to be.
One of those unquestionable highs has been the rise of the Halo series; the brainchild of Bungie that, over the years, has not only been the Xbox family’s flagship brand, but has also been instrumental in establishing the first-person shooter genre as the dominant force in gaming it is today – starting right from the get-go with Halo: Combat Evolved, which launched alongside the Xbox all those years ago.
But although Halo was its top seller during that period, turn the clock back to the Xbox 1’s launch, and you’ll find it wasn’t the only exclusive game of note to arrive alongside the big, black-and-green beast. So to commemorate those other original Xbox games, we thought it good not only to look back on those games, but also to ponder what may be in store for them in the future – or in many cases, what might have been.
Project Gotham Racing
(Bizarre Creations/Microsoft)
To complete its Xbox launch line-up, Microsoft needed a top-line racing game. So to that end, it approached Bizarre Creations – who’d just finished making Metropolis Street Racer for Dreamcast – and the grand result was Project Gotham Racing.
Gotham took the Kudos-based score/time attack gameplay of MSR, then using the Xbox’s power and Microsoft’s financial muscle, set about fleshing it out to become a series that could truly be to Xbox what Gran Turismo is to PlayStation.
And with a whole new city, smoother visuals, a car list that included Ferraris and Porsches and some choice gameplay and handling refinements, it was able to do just that.
The story since then
As one of the top selling early Xbox games, the Gotham series soon found traction, enabling it to quickly establish itself as a major Xbox franchise. PGR2 followed shortly after the launch of Live, and became the benchmark racer on the machine.
Then, when the 360 launched, it did so with PGR3 as one of its launch games. And when PGR4 arrived in 2007, it once again raised the bar for racing games this generation.
Future prospects
Unfortunately, since the release of PGR4, things have gone rather pear-shaped for the series. Bizarre Creations was snapped up by Activision in late 2007 (only to close early this year), and a quick mini-game for Microsoft’s Zune HD iPod clone aside, nothing’s happened with the franchise since.
And with Forza now Microsoft’s main driving franchise (not to mention how Gotham’s unique gameplay is likely to make finding a suitable developer tricky), we’re not holding out much hope of seeing PGR rising phoenix-like from the ashes again this generation.
Dead or Alive 3
(Team Ninja/Tecmo)
When you look at all those lovely 3D fighting games you see on the 360 nowadays, it’s hard to think that last generation the likes of Virtua Fighter, Tekken and Co. were locked away behind an impenetrable wall of PS2 exclusivity.
Perhaps sensing an opportunity to clean up, Tecmo stepped in to fill this void with Dead or Alive, with DoA3 being among the Xbox’s launch games. And while never quite being as brutal as Tekken or as deep as Virtua Fighter, the third game in the series did add a bit of beat-’em-up sparkle to the early Xbox line up.
And to its credit, it wasn’t a bad little fighter, as was reflected in the sales figures – it sold more than a million copies. Which was something of a rarity for a Japanese game on the console at the time.
The story since
This early success gave way to Team Ninja becoming one of the Xbox’s strongest supporters. Following the launch of Xbox Live, Tecmo released the 360-exclusive, online-enabled revamp of the first two games in the series, in the form of the Dead or Alive: Ultimate pack. Then, shortly after the 360 launched, Dead or Alive 4 duly followed.
Alongside this, the Xbox and the 360 were the exclusive homes for first two games in DoA’s Xtreme beach sports spin-off series. And of course, Xbox and 360 owners got to play Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden 2 ahead of their PlayStation counterparts.
Future prospects
Given that Dead or Alive 5 was announced at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, things are looking very good indeed. Perhaps unsurprisingly (given the abundance of fighting games on the 360 nowadays), the unofficial exclusivity partnership between Team Ninja and Xbox is now a thing of the past.
But while PS3 and 360 owners will likely receive DoA5 simultaneously (not that that’s a bad thing in our book), it’s good to see the old franchise back for the first time since early 2006.
Rallisport Challenge
(DICE/Microsoft)
Once upon a time, Swedish developer DICE was known for something other than Battlefield. Indeed, at one point in the studio’s history, it was actually best known for its rally and touring car games.
And Rallisport Challenge was just such a game. At a time when the WRC was at its peak, Rallisport bravely shunned the sim-like approach favoured by the likes of Colin McRae Rally and the PS2-exclusive WRC games, by going for a multi-disciplined, more arcade-like rally/racing experience.
Alongside traditional rallying segments, the finished article also included ice racing, hillclimb events and rallycross races. And backed up with some decent visuals, good stage/course design, and some very well-weighted handling, it was a welcome addition to the Xbox’s early library.
The story since
As Bizarre did with PGR, so DICE too produced an online-enabled sequel to Rallisport. And once again, it was a decent off-road racer, packed full of variation and, if anything, with even better handling than its already impressive predecessor.
Since then, though, things have gone quiet. With Battlefield proving to be hugely successful across all platforms, EA duly purchase DICE several years ago, and Microsoft has yet to bother to revive the franchise using another studio.
Future prospects
Given the situation with DICE, and Microsoft’s own apparent reluctance to release a new version, things aren’t looking great on that note. And that in itself is somewhat ironic, for Codemasters’ DiRT games – the successor to the old McRae games, one of the franchises Rallisport was trying to be different to – has itself embraced the multi-discipline off-road racing principle.
So as much as we’d love to see a rally game that delivers a similar style of experience on the 360, we somehow can’t see it happening any time soon.
Amped
(Indie Built/Microsoft)
Going against the racing-based, over-the-top style of SSX was always going to be a bit of a gamble, but nevertheless, this didn’t put Indie Built off, and the grand result was Amped.
With a more realistic grounding, and with the emphasis on stunts rather than racing, Amped gave snowboarding enthusiasts something a little closer to the real thing. And while it didn’t exactly set the sales charts alight, those who found its styling to their liking were rewarded with a pleasingly solid snowboarding game.
The story since
As with many of Microsoft’s early Xbox games, Amped went on to spawn a couple of sequels. Following on from the launch of Xbox Live, Amped 2 introduced online play to the mix, alongside the usual array of gameplay and graphical improvements.
Amped 3 then followed around the time of the 360’s launch, but had by that point (along with the likes of Top Spin) passed from Microsoft’s hands, to those of 2K Sports.
Future prospects
Having once been considered a staple of the gaming scene, over the course of this generation snowboarding games have all but vanished, save for the odd example here and there.
Things seem to be moving in the right direction again, with a new SSX on its way. However, with Take-Two Interactive having closed Indie Built in 2006, it’s debatable whether we’ll see the Amped brand making a comeback in the foreseeable future.
Jet Set Radio Future
(Smilebit/Sega)
There aren’t many occasions when you can describe a game’s poor performance at retail as a tragedy. But in the case of Jet Set Radio Future, that really is the only way you can describe it.
Certainly, JSRF had all the ingredients to be a success: it was achingly stylish, thanks to its graffiti-like cel-shaded visuals, a mad story and indie-style soundtrack; and it had the gameplay too, featuring that classic Sega magic that brought you up to speed quickly enough, but – as you learned all the grinding routines around the levels – offered no shortage of incentive to keep plugging away at it, without a hint of it getting tiring or ‘samey’.
But as with its equally stunning Dreamcast processor, JSRF’s ability to rack up impressive review scores somehow didn’t translate into similarly hefty sales.
And that’s something that still stings our souls to this day.
The story since
Apart from an ill-fated GBA game, there’s been nothing seen or heard since from the Jet Set Radio franchise. And given its rather poor sales record, that’s perhaps not a surprise. Indeed, the last time the game hit the headlines was when JSRF was made backwardly compatible with the 360. And yes, if you can track down a copy, it’s still worth a punt.
Future prospects
Pretty much non-existent, if we’re honest. Much as it pains us to say it, if Sega was going to bring Jet Set Radio back, it would have done so a long time ago…
Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee
(Oddworld Inhabitants/Microsoft)
Logic would dictate that, if you’re going to make a game that’s a bit ‘out there’, then you’re better off doing so on a new console, whose fanbase has yet to form conclusive, collective gaming preferences, and are likely to be more receptive to something a little different.
And ‘different’ is something Oddworld Inhabitants has always good at. Essentially a puzzle-platformer, and the first 3D instalment in the series’ history, Munch’s Oddysee was set after Abe’s Exoddus, and sees Abe helping titular Munch break out to find more of his kind.
And although it never quite managed to hit the same heights of excellence its 2D predecessors did, it was still a decent game.
The story since
Although it wasn’t a huge seller, the Oddworld name re-emerged on the Xbox close to the end of its life, in the form of the beautiful Strangers Wrath. But no sooner had that been released, then Oddworld Inhabitants decided to move away from games for a while, trying its hand at films instead.
Future prospects
With Oddworld Inhabitants’ endeavours ultimately coming to nothing, the Oddworld franchise is undergoing something of a gaming revival. A visually enhanced port of Munch’s Oddysee is on its way for PS3 and PS Vita, which will also receive a similarly polished up port of Stranger’s Wrath.
With any luck, should these two prove popular, then we may well find the Oddworld name returning to the fray with a new game sometime in the future.
…and those we’d rather forget
As with any console launch, there are always those games you can’t help but feel weren’t that great. Games such as Fuzion Frenzy, for instance. Although its fanbase is said to have included Bill Games himself (he apparently enjoyed playing it with his family), even the Gatester’s endorsement wasn’t enough to mask the fact it was wretched collection of uninspiring mini-games. Which makes the fact it managed to spawn a sequel on the 360 all the more perplexing.
And what of Mad Dash Racing? Unlike Fuzion Frenzy, it wasn’t exactly terrible. But by the same time, it wasn’t exactly brilliant, either. Still, could have been worse – like Bloodwake, a speedboat third person shooter that was every bit as average as you’d imagine it to be.
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