Xbox 360 - reviews for crap gamers like me

Xbox used to my client, so I feel disloyal saying this – but where are the brilliant games for the 360, guys? Having forked out for a few Xbox 360 games since Christmas, I have to say that the problem with the console is the lack of good software. There hasn’t been one game where I thought: “Jesus, this is absolutely fucking brilliant!” and laughed with delight. That did happen with Halo on the old Xbox. It happened with quite a few PS2 games.

Here are my reviews of the games I’ve played so far. Please bear in mind I’d categorise myself as a casual gamer (in other words, I’m a bit crap).

Project Gotham Racing 3
Having bought into the hype (that I myself was helping to create in my ads for 360) and forking out for a HDTV to go with my 360, I was expecting great things from the graphics on this game. As usual the screenshots outshone the real in-game graphics. It looks polished, but not AMAZING. I also found the controls twitchy (I suppose others would say that’s a nod to realism) and I got bullied on Xbox Live by Americans who shunted me off the road at the first corner. Frustrating.

Burnout: Revenge
This is the game I’ve had the most fun with on the 360. Proper high-octane thrills. There’s something very cathartic about demolishing other cars at high speed or catching them with the explosion of your own crashed car. No realism whatsoever, but controls that were easy to get to grips with. The graphics were the closest to proper HD I’ve seen too.



Call of Duty 2
Loved this at first, especially the Xbox Live battles. However, the novelty of killing endless Germans palled midway through the North African campaign. Again, the graphics weren’t astounding – comparable to what you’d get on a decent PC.

King Kong
Ever tried to kill a velociraptor with a wooden spear? Well, it isn’t easy. As ammo for guns kept running out, I was continually reduced to chucking sticks at big hungry monsters. You won’t be surprised to learn that I died a lot. This game also looked exactly like what it was – a port meant for less powerful consoles. Not impressed.

Tomb Raider: Legend
Arrrgghhh – twitchy, random camera angles have killed me again! Aside from that flaw, moving Lara Croft around feels fluid and intuitive. The game also looks beautifully lush. I’ve only just started this game. So far, as you can probably tell, it’s 50% pleasure and 50% frustration.