Issue 5
2009 and the Xbox 360
We are taking a look at some of the exclusives that each console is bringing to the table this year. The Xbox 360 is known for its exclusives, especially its shooters. This year is looking no different as gamers will be treated to not just one Halo, but two Halos’. From a traditional Halo, Halo: ODST, to a not so traditional Halo, Halo Wars, we take a look at what 2009 will bring the Xbox 360 gamer.
Halo: ODST
Halo: ODST is an expansion to Halo 3. Instead of playing as Master Chief, gamers will take the role of a an ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper). ODST takes place on Earth between the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3. The gameplay has changed to a more stealth oriented game as ODSTs do not have the armor and shields that Master Chief had in Halo 3. From the videos and screenshots that have been released, gamers will be playing in New Mombasa, or what is left of it after the slipspace rupture caused by the Covenant Cruiser destroyed most of it. Bungie has also stated in their most recent Bungie Update that there will be no elites in Halo: ODST, instead gamers will be fighting Brutes. The expansion should last around 5 hours and have new multiplayer maps. Gamers can expect Halo: ODST sometime this fall.
Halo Wars
Ensemble Studios is bringing the Halo franchise to RTS fans. While many gamers are skeptical about how good an RTS game can be on consoles; if any developer can do it, it’s Ensemble. Ensemble is known for its Age of Empire series on PCs, so they are no stranger to RTSs. Halo Wars is a prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved, it takes place when there are groups of Spartans instead of just Master Chief. The first complaint most people have about console RTSs are the controls. Ensemble has made this their top priority and we will see if all of that hard work pays off. Gamers can get their hands on Halo Wars when a demo is released on Feb. 5, and the full game on Feb.27.
Alan Wake
Alan Wake is being developed by Remedy Entertainment, the same company who developed the Max Payne series. The game is being coined as a “psychological action thriller”. The game centers around Alan Wake, a best-selling author who has not written anything in two years. His wife brings him to the small town of Bright Falls to see if he can get rid of his writers block. But she soon disappears and Alan Wake’s latest work, a thriller he doesn’t remember writing, is coming true right before his eyes. There is no set release date for Alan Wake, but hopefully we will be playing this sooner rather than later.
Splinter Cell: Conviction
Ubisoft is hard at work on the next entry in the Splinter Cell series. You still play as Sam Fisher, except this time you are the fugitive and the government you used to serve is hunting you down. While not a lot of footage has been released so far, it looks like you will use crowds to blend into similar to Assassins Creed. Ubisoft has not set a release date yet, but we will hopefully get more info in the months ahead.
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February 3rd, 2009
Why do people actually think Alan Wake will be out this year? Conviction I can understand, it seems possible, but not Alan Wake. Also, Alan Wake isn’t an exclusive, it’s a PC game. 360 = mid-range gaming PC, so it gets its own version. Sorry if that sounded anti-360, it’s not meant to be, I own one, I’m just surprised/upset at how much better PC/360 games look on my $400 computer (here’s to you, Mass Effect).
February 3rd, 2009
Jeff .. you are obviously PS3 fanboi
February 4th, 2009
Jeff you are wrong. Alan Wake is a CONSOLE EXCLUSIVE.
Midrange PC’s still cost 3 times as much as a 360 and while they have more power under the hood as it takes more power to run VISTA, and support 100’s of different drivers. Each game made for the 360 is dedicated to take advantage of the dedicated hardware the 360 has to offer, there is NO WAY they can do this for a PC with so many different video cards. IF PC’s was so much better then why does game after game get a higher review rating. The 360 consistently beats out the PC in reviews.
PC is a dying breed in the world of gaming for the most part. There are many time more PC’s out there but most of them are not up to date gaming rigs, and even if they was a year ago, they would be dinosuars a couple of years later.
This is not true with the 360, you know that if you buy a 360 at launch then at least 5 years will go by and you will still be getting great looking and playing games, but if your PC is 5 years old you can’t give it away at a garage sale….
If it sounds like I am a 360 fan then you would be correct in that assumption!
February 4th, 2009
@Trekster_gamer
If a person with a PS3 can play most “360 exclusive” on their PC (which most people have), how is it considered a true exclusive? Valve for for instances, makes their games so that even most older PC’s can still play them. You don’t “need” to buy a new computer, if all you need is more RAM, a better video card or new harddrive, all of which can be bought cheaper than a 360.
On the other hand, PS3 exclusives like GOW3,GT5, infamous, Heavy Rain,R&C etc., can’t be played on the PC or 360, with the exception of “The Agency” and DCU which will be released on PS3/PC. I can play a better version of most so called 360 exclusives on my PC, without having to buy a 360.
Besides, Alan Wake is a 360 exclusive that is also coming to the PC on the same day for release. “Console” exclusive or not, most don’t need a 360 to play them. Even some of the 360 exclusives like Fable 2, Halo Wars etc., will probably be available within a year of their release on 360 for less than half the cost.
February 4th, 2009
My point is this:
My 360 and my gaming PC each cost me $400. The main reason I got my 360 was for Mass Effect, which was a 360 EXCLUSIVE and Bioware had spent a good, long chunk of time denying a PC version. 6 months later, after EA buys them, ME comes out for PC. I bought it again, yes, but when playing on my PC the textures stream better, the framerate is much MUCH smoother, the resolution is higher, and the load times are much shorter.
Now, I have nothing to play on my 360 because I don’t like Halo, I don’t like Gears, the COD games feel and look better on my PC, Fallout 3 I’ll admit looks about the same on my PC as the 360 (with a slightly different color palette.. kind of hard to describe). Fable 2 kind of interests me, but I need to beat Fable 1 first.
All I’m trying to say is that there’s no true exclusives to the 360 that I have an interest in, and that upsets me because I dropped FOUR HUNDRED dollars on it (back when it cost that much), and any 360/PC only games are typically better on the PC (though this is definitely not the case for Gears of War). Why would I get Left 4 Dead on 360 when I can play it on Steam? $50 vs $60, free online vs $50 online, mouse/keyboard vs analog sticks for a shooter? And split-screen being possible on the PC for L4D?
So back to Alan Wake.. why would I buy it for 360 when I can get it on PC, where it’s being designed to take advantage of quad core tech? Even assuming the 360 version looks better than the PC will on my PC, which is possible, why would I get the 360 version? It’ll EVENTUALLY look better on my PC, when I want to drop $100 on a new graphics card. With small upgrades, doing a little at a time, upgrading a gaming PC can cost less than a console over the course of a typical console lifetime. Say, $300 every 6 years?
I know this argument comes off as aggressive, but trust me that my disappointment here is with a lack of true exclusives for the 360. I dropped $400 on the thing (350 pro + MS’ hdmi cable/audio thing), I’m clearly invested in it, I’d love to see more content that doesn’t show up on PC. Props to Halo 3 for not porting yet, unfortunately I’m really not into Halo. Gears is also much better on 360, and Gears 2 is supposed to not get a PC port, so props to them if they keep it 360 exclusive. Again, not really into Gears, rented them but just didn’t like them. My problem is with Microsoft spending all this money on things like Final Fantasy 13 going multiplatform instead of focusing that energy on creating true console exclusives. Here’s to hoping Star Ocean 4 stays on 360, because that game looks sweet.
February 5th, 2009
Jeff, I understand where your coming from b/c my cousin is in the same situation with his 360 like many of his friends. It’s hard for MS to do anything but buy up exclusives, in most cases being “timed” exclusives, since MS only has 2 studios, Rare and MS games.
It doesn’t help that Bungie is now independent and the studio that made age of empires and the new Halo Wars, have effectively been dissolved and absorbed into MS games studio. Cheer up, there will always be MS exclusives. However, I highly doubt SO4 will be anything but timed exclusive, especially after SE sees the numbers for FFXIII and Versus.