Caleb Newcastle

Exactly. Soul Calibur 2's is great example. A bit of "fuck me, that looks awesome" a dash of "what the fuck happened to Taki's yabs" and some awesome music to get you stoked. Makes you feel like you're about to play something special.

Yes but it's kind of a gaming convention isn't it? Like Cannon Fodder playing "War ain't never been so much fun" Or the briefing/submarine bit in MGS Twin Snakes. Or Lance and Bill saying "Let's attack aggressively!" in Contra III. They've always been there. They're now shit. It's a lament over presentation. Eg. Halo's actual intro was alright but it would've been much cooler if they gave you some kind of history to the conflict, or glimpses of Spartan's in development when the game booted up/you left the title screen alone for a while...

It's not a major niggle and it has no relevance to how good an actual game is but what the fuck is up with games today having attract sequences that are literally just commercials for the game. And before any of you wise asses start up; I know the point of an attract sequence is to get you to play the damn thing (or at least it was back in the days of the arcade) but recently I've been noticing that more and more titles just appear to slap on the same fmv of random clips they'd been using as promotional material for months. Sometimes even with promo slogans such as "Co-operative play!" "Fantastic weapons!" How interesting... It's not like I just spent £40 on your fucking game. Stop whoring it and impress me. Halo is a prominent offender. Great title screen. Haunting music. And then... an E3 show reel in grainy low quality-o-vision. Same with KOTOR. Contrast it with stuff like R-Type Final or MGS2 where the developer has obviously gone out of there way to make you go "ooh" before things start. Anyway. Rant over. All I'm saying is: game demo and attract sequence? Keep them separate you cheap bastards.

Hey now, ease up on G. G's the man. Rogan was always going "Oh my poor girlfriend. I have to save/avenge her. Sniff sniff." like a great big wuss. G on the other hand was all "Fuck you and your cheap ass trenchcoat, pussy boy. I'm here to shoot zombies and look cool. Check out the mother fucking suit..." Or words to that effect.

Hmm...

Well he's no Ashley Riot, that's for sure... BTW what's this I hear about Jade Empire being a beat em up now?

Agreed. So at least some good came of all this...

Shut up. It's like R-Type Final with Bikinis and homo-eroticism. Compulsive stuff.

I never made that point. I'll try and explain myself again. In a retrospective of a console's life to date you can't use upcoming titles as a an indicator of current value which is what you tried to do with Outrun 2. When kempstar's criticised the xbox for not having enough japanese games, you gave Outrun 2 as an example of a good Japanese game on the xbox despite it not being out. I pointed this out. You got pissed off and said I was being overly negative. You're reading things into what I say that I don't mean. Perhaps it's you who is tired and making no sense

Stop making assumptions. You've heard it's arcade perfect from people who haven't played completed code. There is a good chance it will be fantastic. There's also a good chance that it might end up as another arcade perfect Sega arcade racer with little to commend itself to extensive play. Anyway that's not the issue. What I was trying to demonstrate is it's invalid in the context of the point you were trying to prove. If Kempstar says "There aren't enough Japanese games out" you can't respond with "what about these games that are coming out". It just doesn't work. It's like when other forumites complain about the lack of RPGs on the Xbox only to be told "What about Fable and Sudeki." I'm personally excited about Guilty Gear XXReload for the Xbox but until I've actually played it for myself I'm not going to run about telling fans of the first three that they should rush out and buy an xbox over it.

Check my posts man. At any point have I actually said "I hate my xbox because it doesn't have enough japanese games"? All I came in saying was "don't use future titles to judge a console now"... And then got distracted in side arguments with you and Mr Spew.

Well, maybe i took it the wrong way but... And maybe shite is a little harsh but GUNVALKYRIE has an carpal tunnel syndrome inducing control system, Panzer Dragoon Orta was disappointing, Crimson Sea was Dynasty Warriors (again) but with a draw distance, HotD 3 is throwaway at best and Dead or Alive 3 is the most pathetic excuse for a fighter I've ever played. CvsS2 and MvsC2 are crippled by the pads but as I own them on other formats already that isn't really an issue. Ninja Gaiden isn't my cup of Tea. I'll leave it at that. On the plus side DOAXBV is fun (if a little frustrating), JSRF is astounding, and Soul Calibur looks lush enough to fight against the pad over...

[Lionel Hutz] Hearsay, conjecture... they're kinds of evidence aren't they. [/Lionel Hutz] And no. Jap SR2 was just as rubbish. Eyeblindingly so.

No it's not. It's fantastic. Better than JSR.

Jesus. I just asked you not to count your chicken's before they hatched and you go off on one? Why so sensitive? And excuse me for not knowing the forum handle of a games magazine Editor. Heck now that you mention, it's that Strider I'll bow to his impartial wisdom. Outrun 2's obviously a dead cert just like Sega Rally 2 was on the DC And for the record for the majority of my Xbox collection consists mainly of those Japanese Xbox titles, personal preference I'm afraid, and to be honest half of them are shite. GUNVALKYRIE? Panzer Dragoon Orta? You're holding these up as great games? Keep your anger in check and your brain in gear, mate. And D-Side, I don't own a cube. I do own an xbox.

I said first party for a reason. Partly because it tends to suggest the manufacturer has a clue about meeting the needs of its machines owners (see also lack of keyboard/mouse despite the stacks of FPS) and secondly because ASCII & HORI shit always breaks on me... *kicks stupid £40 dreamcast ASCII FT pad across room*

Yes where the fuck are my decent first party Joysticks and Lightgun you Microsoft Bastards? *Kicks Online enabled CvsS2, HotD3 and SC2 across room along with shitty S controller and it's stupid digital pad*

That's not what this topic is about though, is it? We're asking: Is the xbox any good now?

However there's still more than enough time for it to get fucked up before release. And anyway; who's Strider? If I wanted to judge a console on potential releases I'd pick the xbox because apparently Sudeki and Fable are going to be all that and a bag of chips.

These aren't released yet, are they?

But then so was the first Legend of Zelda. Diggerdogger doesn't like noise, indeed.

We are talking about Rondo of Blood, right? Right? Anyway. Master System... Psycho Fox. Golden Axe Warrior. (The latter if only to start a big which came first LoZ or GAW argument...)

Bloody housekeeper... "You don't tell me about the letter, I run fools errands for a week and end up hanging round bars looking for sailors. Of course I'm pissed off woman, everyone thinks I'm gay now..."

Ooh, careful now. That sounds a bit like Cacophanus reasoning... Anyway the premise sounds interesting (a bit like Arrowsmith) so is the original worth tracking down too?

But in the US version the guy held a knife to someones throat. According to the NotW Victor was just making toast... by that logic he was threatening someone with a butter knife...