PixlBit

Well Happy Wednesday Pixlbit Nation! I still don’t get why it is warm (80 degrees and sunny) but I would have liked a couple of weeks of winter like weather but hey it is what it is. Anyways for today I’d like to focus on a system that many people adored, but I stayed away from until the release of the next generation version, and that is the X-Box. The X-Box was a hell of a machine, but I found a nice home in the Playstation Camp. I understood what the X-Box offered but at the same time I had a sizeable PS2 library and I didn’t want to make that financial investment in another console. I actually waited a bit until the release of the 360 and a used X-Box was going for around $100. One day I decided it was worth a try to pick up a console, and it was probably around the time of the Buy 2 Get 1 Free deals at GameStop so I stocked up on titles that were exclusive to the console…and maybe a cheap copies of games I owned on the PS2.

 

 

Fable – I actually think this was a Toys R Us purchase. I knew it was a one of the games that pushed the system, and I wanted to have one of those “big games”. Project Gotham Racing – I love racing games and this one is so good especially if you like arcade racers. I think I made it up to all Gold Medals and was starting on the Platinum before my X-Box gave out. Forza – What I like about Forza is that it is similar to Gran Turismo except you can customize it to be more on the arcade side instead of simulation (GT is too much real life car stuff for me). Jet Set Radio Future – I enjoyed the quirky game on the Dreamcast and finding it on the X-Box was a pleasant surprise. Deathrow – This was a futuristic four on four game where you threw a Frisbee like object into the opponents goal. There were weapons, and some of the environment was explosive, and it wasn’t a bad game. Panzer Dragoon Orta – I never played the Sega Saturn, but I heard a bunch of positive things about this game (and it was always featured on that video game channel that merged with TechTV). Mechassault – Ok so I could say that I liked to play this game but let’s face it, I think the majority of people bought it because you could soft mod your X-Box. It was fun to stream video and play N64 games on the X-Box. Jade Empire – This is one of the handful games I really wanted to play because of what people said about it. I got to almost the end of it before the X-Box decided to call it a career (I had the crappy CD Drive X-Box).

 

 

Outlaw Games – These games are not good, I was after the “Only on XBox” stamp. Outrun 2 – I bought this game because I loved the PSP game. I played this occasionally at the arcade but I wasn’t a huge fan until playing it on the handheld. I think I still need to master the Hard routes to fully complete it. Unreal Championship – I went through a bit of a Counter Strike phase in college and I played a bit of Unreal (funny how the older games never got me dizzy) but I used to get motion sick with this game. I’m currently trying to kick that by playing more FPS. Bloodwake – Another game I wanted to play on the X-Box, and I actually finished it! Such a cool game to roam around with a boat full of weapons. Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball – I played it for the articles. Its actually a really good volleyball game. Halo Series – I was never a big Halo fan, but I own the games anyways because it’s the X-Box’s signature franchise.

 

 

I do love the console exclusives including these double game cases. I think they were pack-ins with the consoles. The Burger King Games – I placed the Burger King games with the X-Box and not the 360 because I spent the majority of time playing them on the original console. I bought Sneak King and Big Bumpin at an actual Burger King when they were $1 each. Pocketbike I had to find at a GameStop. Out of the three Sneak King was easily my favorite. Each level you had to give a certain number of people a Whopper by sneaking up on them. It sounds stupid but it was hilarious and I enjoyed it more than Splinter Cell. Apex – One of the better racing games I found on the console, and it was a pleasant surprise being a budget title. The goal of the game was to build an upstart car company by winning races. NBA Inside Drive – This wasn’t a bad basketball game. I don’t think I ever finished a season but I did recreate SDSU’s 2006 squad as the Clippers.

 

The next set of games are games that were available on other consoles and I bought because they were either ridiculously cheap, or I didn’t own on the PS2.

 

 

MVP 06 – Video Game Chris played for the Aztecs and I think I used some code that made you hit more homeruns so it became Steroid Video Game Chris and 60+ moon shot home runs. EA was lazy with this game having generic baseball fields. It was a waste. Half Life 2 – Another game I heard people raving about but on PC. Since at this point my PC was a bit slow to handle these games I went for the console version. I have two because the X-Box with the bad CD drive did something to the disc, and after that it couldn't be read. I ended up buying a second copy right around the time I bought my replacement X-Box. Real World Golf – Ok so I live down the street from a nice public course, but yet I spent most of the time playing a virtual game. This game came with this apparatus that was this heavy box you placed on the floor, and it had gloves that were teetered to it. You would swing and the motion of your swing was replicated in the game. This was pre Kinect for you folks wondering why this game had this. It was actually a lot of fun and most times I would set it up just to play the driving range…because going down the street and dropping $6 on a bucket of balls was too much work. RalliSport Challenge – Another favorite because it was a Rally Racing game (I hit a point where I was really into Rally games). Props to the guy in the passenger’s seat who reads off the course and doesn’t get sick.

 

 

ESPN NFL 2K5 – Now I basically had a Platinum trophy on the PS2 version but I bought this version because there was a community that updated rosters. I think I was using the 2008 Dallas Cowboys roster when I played this game again. Tomb Raider Legend – I freaking love this game! Lara Croft gets darker, and for some reason this version was cheaper than the PS2 version and came with a slipcover. Hunter The Reckoning Redeemer – Before I talk a bit about this game I’d like to talk about AHole GameStop employee*

*So when the Hunter series was coming out on PS2 I reserved a copy and got a demo disc. I played a bit of it and realized that it was no way worth $50 and asked for my reserve back. The manager at the time was pissed and said I couldn’t do that and it hurts her numbers. I said I didn’t like the demo, and it wasn’t worth $50 bucks. She was really pissed and demanded that I bring the demo back, which I happily did. This was the last time I preordered from this store and to this day I won’t preorder a game unless I have a good relationship with the employees.

Anyways this is the sequel to the PS2 game where you take control of the daughter of one of the guys from the first game. I ended up buying the original years later for a couple of bucks. 2002 FIFA World Cup – This game is trash. Who wants to constantly push X to make your player run? 50 Cent Bulletproof – This was actually a fun shooter where you run around as 50 along with G-Unit and take down bad guys.

 

 

SSX Tricky – I love the SSX series and this was fun because there were a lot of cheat codes, and one of them was random. It was super speed so you ran down the mountain like you were the Flash. Soul Calibur II – I bought it to play as Spawn. I own the PS2 version and I should have bought the Gamecube version for Link. Lego Star Wars II – Ok so I bought this game on PS2, X-Box, and borrowed the PSP version and passed them all. I really loved this series. Unreal II – I think this was the Unreal game I played the most of because it was story driven. I really can’t tell you if I finished it or not.

 

 

Star Wars Episode III – I actually played more of this than KOTOR and actually finished it. *ducks from flying objects. Battlefield 2 Modern Combat – This was my favorite X-Box FPS game and I played ton of it. My first X-Box still had X-Box Gold and the credit card connected to it so in theory I could have bought every piece of DLC for every game I owned but didn’t. FYI if you sell your consoles restore them to factory settings. I just played as something like JohnX35 or something odd like it. I was the sniper on the team and I would take out a bunch of folks and even joined a couple of clans. My last clan one of the guys was a dick and stabbed me just so he could be the sniper. I got back at him by running him over with a Jeep…repeatedly. My time with that clan was short because I was kicked out. Battlefront II – I liked it more on PS2 than X-Box. Sid Meier’s Pirates – I love this game because it was different from other games I would play. Sail around on a ship, dancing mini games, and sword fighting was always a good thing.

 

 

Counter Strike – Oh Counter Strike, you used to be a ton of fun, but I stopped playing. Black – This was a good game but I got stuck at portion of a level because I always ran out of bullets.

 

Well Pixlbit this is my X-Box collection. I like it and I still play it from time to time. I really should get the 360 version of Battlefield.

 

That’s all for now, more tomorrow!

-Chris