My Top Ten Favourite Original Xbox Games!

Microsoft's debut console is nearing its 18th birthday and as this has made me feel nostalgic (and Old) i decided to take a trip down memory lane and list my top ten favourite games for the mighty Xbox!

Just a few things before the list starts, this is MY list, its not the definitive best games list of anything like that just 10 games i loved for the console and it goes without saying but i didn't play everything!

Now without further a do....

10. GTA: San Andreas

I can already hear the disgust at this being so low on my list but honestly it just shows the quality that the console had. San Andreas really ramped up the size and scale of the franchise with its massive open world, huge number of side attractions and big budget acting talent. Story wise it is still one of the best in the series with lots of twists, turns and truly unforgettable characters. Train mission aside its still a pretty fun game.

9. Blinx 2: Masters of Time & Space

The Xbox was very much a transitional console for myself. For the previous decade i had always been a staunch believer of the cartoony platformer. I loved Sonic and Crash not Snake and Chris Redfield. But even as GTA and a lot of the games later on this list began to change my tastes, i still had time for a cartoon time travelling cat! Blinx is a funny little series because it really should have been the mascot for the family friendly side of the Xbox but despite two pretty good games Blinx disappeared after this one. You're a cat with a time manipulating vacuum, think Luigi's Mansion crossed with Prince of Persia and you use these powers to beat puzzle/platforming levels. Its simple but it's a ton of fun! I hope pappa Phil finds room for Blinx in the future.

8. The Lord Of The Rings: Return of the King

Remember when Movie Tie in games were not only actually pretty great but also a way to see glimpses of a film before the DVD release? Well back in the pre Youtube days of the Xbox, games like this and Revenge of the Sith were how i got my glimpses of films i simply could not afford or find the time to go and see at the cinema. Return of the King is a 3D Co Op Beat em Up that is simple yet incredibly fun and polished. It contains tons of Easter eggs and lore for the hardcore fan as well as a great retelling of the events of the film for those who were just into the films and i highly recommend it to any nostalgic Tolkien fan.

7. V-Rally 3

Ok, so if you've ever had a conversation with me about Rally games or have read this blog before you will know of my love for V-Rally 3. I fully admit, Colin McRae is a better game with better graphics, physics and content BUT V-Rally 3 has the best career mode of any racing game. The Arcade style of driving is also a personal favourite of mine but... there you go, i've indulged.

6. Call of Duty: Finest Hour

The Xbox era of consoles were really the dominant age for WWII Shooters. The excellent Medal on Honour: Frontlines was perhaps the most memorable with its outstanding D-Day landing mission but overall Call of Duty: Finest Hour with its excellent presentation of war footage gave it an almost documentary feel, smooth shooting and interesting mission set pieces got COD off to the start on Console that few seem to remember. 

5. Conker Live & Reloaded

As i have mentioned earlier in this list the Xbox was the transitional console from family friendly platformers to adult themed shooters and no game better describes that than Conker Live and reloaded. A beautiful remake of the cult N64 game by Rare, Live and Reloaded still looks amazing today. I Know people criticize the censorship but it really is very minor. The online was also pretty great with its Terminator spoof motif and its class based third person shooting.

4. Halo 2

The best selling game on the console, a cultural phenomenon and the foundation of Xbox Live.... What more can you say about Halo 2? It improved on the first game in almost every way whilst expanding the lore along the way. Its Online multiplayer was a revolution and really that is what this game did the best. For a console to have the Ranking system, DLC and player count of Halo 2 in 2004 was crazy. The game wasn't perfect though which is why i only put it at number 4, its campaign was great but weird difficultly spikes and the mother of all sequel bating endings left a very slight bitter taste in my mouth. Still a must buy though, even today.

3. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: Sith Lords

Although Bioware's original classic is...well.. classic, i actually prefer the much overlooked sequel. Buggy as it was, Sith Lords expanded greatly upon the first games combat and squad relationship dynamics while also delivering a story of twists, turns and shocking betrayals. Its shame KOTOR 3 never happened but as you can play this on Steam or Xbox One right now, it deserves another look.

2. Project Gotham Racing 2

Another genre that really peaked during this Gen was Racing games and man did the Xbox have a ton of greats. Forza, Burnout, Juiced, Midnight Club and Midtown Madness may of missed out but there was no way i wasn't putting PGR2 near the top of my list. Its mix of simulation physics with arcade Kudos mechanics made for a fast and exciting racer that at the time could not be topped at the time. Online multiplayer was frenetic fun too in the early days of Xbox Live. Although its two sequels were great games PGR has sadly gone the way of its Developer Bizarre Creations and its a thing of the past.

1. Halo: Combat Evolved

The game that defines the Xbox, The killer app, the game of the decade, etc Halo has many titles and accolades but for me it was THE game that got me into both shooters and more adult orientated games. Its sprawling landscape and epic sci fi music were mind blowing at the time. Its twin stick combat was perfect and still holds up tremendously today. Its level design in places wasn't perfect i admit (Oh The Library) but Silent Cartographer more than makes up for that. Although it pre-dates Xbox Live the Multiplayer experience was still amazing. I recall playing this in 8 player LAN at Uni and just losing hours to the mayhem.

The craziest thing about Halo is that i bought it on a whim. I remember shortly after i got my Xbox that i went into Gamestation (RIP) with my parents to pick up a few games. I wanted Kung Fu Chaos (A party fighter set in a Kung Fu Movie set....if you're curious) but i didn't know what else to get. My parents pushed me to hurry up so as i had played a PC demo of it before i decided to take a chance with Halo.... and wow, what luck.

Gears of War: Judgment (Xbox 360) Review!

With the Xbox One releasing in late 2013 most Xbox 360 exclusives that came earlier in the year got a much smaller marketing push than perhaps previous games on the console, tie that in with Microsoft's massive focus on the kinect and it is no wonder that Gears of War: Judgment is somewhat forgotten.

I'm personally a massive Gears fan and even i didn't feel the need to pick the game up till much later! Now in 2019 i've finally given it a go, so, does it stack up?

Well, sort of is my initial thought! Judgment is a different take on the rather consistent formula of the previous 3 games. People Can Fly, of Bulletstorm fame, helmed this title and it shows. The most interesting design choice here is a focus on more arcade style gameplay sections. In short, each chapter is split into combat scenarios interlocked with short CGI cut scenes. The killer aspect of this was the excellent Declassify system. The story, which i wont go into too much here, is told from the perspective of the characters and as such they can choose to "Embellish" on there tales. This gave each scenario additional objectives or constraints, for example, in this mission you can only use longshots or there is a 3 minute time limit. This gives the game a ton of interesting scenarios and difficulty spikes which makes Co Op particularly enjoyable.

Graphically the game still looks pretty good even when compared to high standards of current xbox one titles. It wisely keeps the dark and muddy colour palette of previous games with a slightly more pronounced emphasis on physics effects such as fog, mist and fire. The sound design is also typically strong with each the characters voice actors giving good performances. The weapons have the meaty impact sounds you've come to know and love from gears.

In addition to the main 4 hour Judgment campaign there is also a deleted section from Gears of War 3 called aftermath. This takes place about half way through Gears 3 and tasks Baird, Cole, Carmine and Padek with acquiring a boat and some hired guns to assist the war effort. Overall Aftermath is fun added section that has some excellent gameplay sections but as its part of Gears 3 it lacks the excellent Declassify mode of the previous campaign which is a shame.

In terms of multiplayer the game offers the standard Gears PvP modes and maps that you would expect. This play well from the very few games i could get into but i didn't really get enough time with it to pass too much...well... Judgement. The other mode is the Gears franchises ace in the hole - Horde. And, much like the rest of the game, this horde mode tries a few things. It's a mix of the Horde and Beast modes from Gears 3 but with an added class system. It works fairly well in Co Op with friends who you can plan with but it isn't as much fun online if you lack certain class types. This system is much more refined in Gears 4 but it is cool to see its beginnings here.

Overall Gears: Judgment feel likes the Gears franchise's equivalent of Halo 3: ODST. It has some interesting ideas that stray from the main games but perhaps not enough depth for a full priced game. That being said, it is a game that's incredibly cheap nowadays and is backwards compatible on Xbox One so if you are looking for a fun Co Op game and particularly if you like any of the previous Gears games, you should give this somewhat hidden gem another look, i had a lot of fun with it!

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox One) Review!

The original Gears of War came out way back in 2006, The Xbox 360 was barely a year old and i was a few months into my first year of Sixth Form college. It was arguably the first big first party new IP for Microsoft's sexy new HD box and my god what an important game it was.

Now, 12 years on, i sat down to play through the enhanced remaster that came to the Xbox One a few years back to mark its 10th anniversary with a buddy of mine  (Shout out to the Headshot surgeon that is Craig), does it still hold up? Well, in short - yes.

Gears Ultimate is a remaster in every sense of the term, instead of a drastic redesign it ops for subtle improvements. The game looks alot better with new textures, the animations are a little fixed, the frame rate is improved and the multiplayer has its own matchmaking system.

From an art perspective the game still looks great. It was an early showcase of the 360's power back in 2006 and while not being to the levels of Halo 5 or Gears 4, Gears ultimate does a good job of making you forget this is an old game. The soundtrack remains impactful and intense and the sound design in general is as beefy and brutal as you remember. Its also very well written, even if a little overly macho, the characters all come across with there own perspectives and motives without feeling like blank slates. I also loved the witty banter that Delta squad had in the original trilogy and that holds up great in ultimate.

The coolest addition for me to be honest was the added chapter from the original PC port. This chapter allows you to fight an enemy you saw in the original on Xbox 360 but you didn't actually get to fight so even if like me you've replayed Gears a number of times, there is something new to see. Overall this new chapter felt fairly good but did have a few instances of poor design which standout compared to the classic sections before and after. There is a few sections where it feels like the designer forgot how the cover system works causing a few frustrations for me and my Co Op buddy on our Insane playthrough but still its cool to play.

The level design in general has held up fantastically well and even on the hardest setting i was rarely frustrated too much. The atmosphere in Gears is without parallel for a macho 3rd person shooter and the first game has always been the best example of this. Whether its the amazing first encounter with a Bezerker or Speeding train at the end, Gears never feels stale despite its relatively simple gameplay and incredibly low amount of weapons.

In terms of Extras the developers have added a few little things for the Gears fans out there. They have tied the collectible Cog Tags to unlockable digital versions of the Gears of War comics which gives you a reason other than Achievements to hunt won the 33 cog tags throughout the game. They also added a vast array of statistic tracking and multiplayer skins to add to the longevity of the game which is a nice and harmless bonus.

I sadly wasn't able to test the multiplayer too much as the servers, at least here in Europe, appear to be very low on players but the few times i did get a match i got a great sense of not only nostalgia but of real quality too. The original gears multiplayer still had elements of classic multiplayer. for example the servers were peer to peer not dedicated so the host always got a massive advantage in the close quarter fights that occurred frequently, this is thankfully not the case with Ultimate. A modern matchmaking system has been embedded in the game and it works fairly well. The map design and game modes are still some of the best on Xbox and i do highly recommend you give it a go should you be able to get into a match!

At its core Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is everything a fan of the original game could ask for. It looks modern, has new content that most of us haven't played and adds a few little bonuses to keep us coming back. It sorely misses the Horde modes of later games but at its low £19.99 original price (you could easily get it for less than £10 now) and the fact that it is also now a part of the Xbox Game Pass program means i must highly recommend Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition to all Xbox One owners.

8.5/10

Moonlighter (Xbox One) Review!

Disclaimer: The code for this Xbox One game was obtained for free, from a source that had obtained it for free from the developer.

So many games recently have attempted to use a link to the past for the basis of there game but very few also combine them with another genre entirely to create a unique experience. Moonlighter is one such game that asks you a very simple question -  Are you an adventurer or a merchant?

In Moonlighter you play as budding adventurer Will. Now Will isn't your normal Link knock off, no, in fact Will is also the shopkeeper of his family's longstanding shop Moonlighter. Will's story is one of lofty ambitions but grounded progression which really makes you root for him throughout the games simple but fairly non linear story.

By day you tend to Wills shop, you sells items, dictate there price and market value and ultimately put the customers through the till for each transaction. This side of the game feels very reminiscent of Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon and is actually pretty rewarding. I found myself meticulously adjusting prices to get the best values and even skipped a few night dungeons to sell through my existing stock. Its a simple idea but it is deep enough to keep you hooked well into the 5+ hour mark. The money earned can also be used for a number of things which helps motivate the shop keeping aspects. This takes the form of Animal Crossing style town progression where Will can use his money as start up capital for other shop keepers around town as well as improve the Moonlighter to bring more business to the town and allow for other gameplay features to become available. Overall i really enjoyed the Shopkeeping side of the game and personally for me it was the main highlight!

The other half of the game sees Will become an adventurer. You go through Zelda like dungeons, slowly progressing more each time to collect items to sell in your shop, uncover the mysteries of the 5 dungeons through messages left by fallen heroes and ultimately defeat each of the bosses. Will's desire to be a hero is subtly told throughout this section of the game and is surprisingly intriguing. Here is where those other shop keepers come in too, you can buy weapons, armor, potions and various other items from the vendors to make the adventurer side of the game much easier. I like this because it again gives you a satisfying reason to do both sides of the game - you need loot to sell in your shop to make money and you need the money to make the loot collecting easier. It is a simple gameplay loop but it is very rewarding.

Artistically the game is beautiful. Its use of pixel sprites is exquisite with animations and designs very much up there with the very best in modern versions of this style. The cutscenes reminded me of early animated games like Another World, with its simple yet emotive character designs. Overall it is a very good looking game. The music reminds me of Harvest Moon again with its calming but catchy town tunes and the dungeon themes give you the right mix of foreboding and excitement to add tension to each encounter.

So how does the game feel? Well, OKAY is the best description i can give. The combat feels like a top down Zelda title with an elegant roll but the sword play early on can feel abit off. It just doesn't feel great to bash an enemy in the first hour or so in my opinion. I am not personally a massive top down combat fan and i always get caught not keeping my distances as much as a should but the game does a fairly good job of teaching you to not do this.As soon as you are able to craft/buy the larger swords and bows this isn't as big as a problem i think and the combat really starts to become enjoyable.

Overall Moonlighter is a curious mix of two very different genres that hits more than it misses, it starts slow but once you get hooked it can be a very rewarding and addictive gameplay loop. Great visual and sound add to the experience but be wary of that first hour of Will's story.

8/10

Tales From The Borderlands (Xbox One) Review!

Going into Tales From The Borderlands i was worried that my few days worth of Co Op of Borderlands during university and a 2 hour stint of the Vita version of Borderlands 2 would drastically impact my enjoyment of the telltale spin off game and thankfully i could not of been more wrong.

Tales from the Borderlands is a point and click adventure by the masters at Telltale games set within the Borderlands universe. The story follows corporate douche bag Rhys and Gutsy con artist Fiona as they attempt to survive and make abit of cash on the desolate and frankly crazy world of Pandora. The game is set after Borderlands 2 and as such the ending of that game is referenced frequently throughout (and actually becomes a major plot point) but it didn't ruin the previous game for me, if anything its made my want to go back!

 A game like this lives and dies by its settings and characters and TFTB does not disappoint. TFTB does an amazing job of fleshing out the world of Pandora, you understand its people, creatures and way of life by the end of the first episode and it entices you to play on. Fiona and Rhys are themselves likable but flawed characters that constantly screw up but still manage to survive and move forward. They are backed up by some of my favourite supporting characters of any of the Telltale titles. Its hard to talk about without getting into spoilers but from Loader Bot to Vallory everyone feels unique without feeling too cliche unless the writing dictates it.

Now this is the real shining light of TFTB - The Writing. It is incredibly cleverly written, with characters poking fun at the situations they are in and how unlikely it is for them to survive. It is believable that Rhys and Vaughan are bros, its clear that Sasha and Fiona are sisters and it is amusing how many little decisions are called back throughout its 8 hour play time. It is also supremely funny, there are a few moments where i genuinely laughed and i cant say that happens too often!

In terms of Music and Art the Telltale team's graphic design mixes well with Gearbox's wacky cell shaded world. The pop music intros for each episode fit the games themes well and are tastefully done, it doesn't feel like laborious to sit through these. The voice acting is spot on too with a couple standout voices that are easy to notice. And possibly most exciting of all is that the game engine actually feels great, during my whole Xbox One play through i didn't experience one instance of slowdown which is certainly rare for Telltale!

Overall, it is very difficult to talk about Tales From The Borderlands without ruining the stellar story and characters but i can say that it is one of the most hilarious, clever and enjoyable experiences i have had for a long time. You don't need previous Borderlands experience but you do owe it to yourself to give TFTB a shot, it is really that good.

9/10

Trailblazers (Xbox One) Review!

Disclaimer: The code for this Xbox One game was obtained for free, from a source that had obtained it for free from the developer.

Trailblazers speeds its way onto every console in a blur of bright colours and paint but is it a winning formula?

Well, im happy to say, that for the most part, yes it is! Trailblazers is an arcade racer that tasks you with winning races, painting tracks and getting huge combos in team based races across a variety of tracks and modes. 

The first thing that really strikes you about trailblazers is its vibrancy. The game is very colourful and upbeat, the menus are full of bright colours and popping graphics that remind me of Xbox One exclusive Sunset Overdrive and that is not a bad thing. This really helps the game standout compared to relatively similar titles such as Redout or Fast Racing Neo. The characters are also designed in this way, with designs that can't help remind you of Overwatch but again, this is not a bad comparison for a Multiplayer game in 2018.  

The in game graphics are also bright, colourful and cartoony with cel shading used throughout that gives the game a style very much of its on in the racing genre. Each track has an overall theme and the colour pallete reflects that, for example in the swamp track there are lots of greens and browns whereas the city tracks are full of bright neon lights. This is fantastic and makes each track more memorable as a consequence. In terms of performance the game runs pretty well on Xbox One though i did notice a small amount of slow down on busier sections of the tracks, particularly in the gate mode due to the amount of paint being laid on the track at once. The soundtrack is also perfectly suited to the game, with upbeat tunes, disc scratching and bass beats pushing the game along nicely. 

Gameplay can easily be summed up as F Zero but with paint but i think that does the game a disservice. You gain a boost for driving on your own colour so the two type of painting becomes very tatical. You can paint behind you to create paths for your team mates, which is great for leading races and building up your teams overall score and you can also shoot out a line of paint in front of you, this damages enemy vehicles but also lets you boost quickly which is key for catching up or protecting your lead driver. This feels like a much more nature balance than the typical rubber banding of other games and as such rewards skilled players just as much as great teamwork.

Content wise Trailblazers is fairly well stocked, there's plenty of characters and tracks to pick from the off. Each with different strengths and strategies and thus far i haven't found an obviously overpowered character which is key for games like this. There is also a good Oval track (Robo Ringway) for all the Baby Park fans out there! Single player is covered with a surprisingly robust Story mode which tasks the player which completing different objectives within different race types, each rewarding you with 1 of 3 tokens which act somewhat as the collectible of the game for achievement/Trophy purposes. Each chapter has short character cut-scenes which aren't very big budget but serve to give each character there own personalities and relationships which is a nice bonus for a racing game.

Multiplayer is where the game shines the most however, with local split screen and online multiplayer options a plenty. The option to take up to 4 players online with you in split screen is a very smart decision, not only for the whole "party game" scenario but also for populating the online lobbies which, as of writing, is really the only big issue i have with Trailblazers. On Xbox One in Europe i have really struggled to find games but as its been out for only a few days i hope that players flock to it!

Overall Trailblazers gets an awful lot right, it looks, feels and most important plays like a well polished arcade racing experience. It shines brightly in multiplayer where its unique co operative mechanics make it stand out compared to other games in the genre. If players gravitate to its fun and fast online multiplayer and a few of the slowdown issues can be addressed then i could see it being a big hit.

8.5/10

Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edtion (Xbox One) Review!

Back at the tail end of 2012 Sleeping Dogs hit the Xbox 360 and to be perfectly honest blew me away with its interesting Hong Kong setting, fantastic voice acting and truly fun combat mechanics, but going back to the Xbox One version of the game do i still feel the same?

Well, the short answer is yes. Sleeping Dogs puts you in the shoes of undercover cop Wei Shen who returns to Hong Kong after years of working as a cop in the USA. Shen is tasked with going undercover with triad group the Sun On Yee and taking it down from the inside. However, the true brilliance of this story is in Shen's split loyalties as he becomes more attached to the group and starts to see the Honour vs Crime dynamic play out throughout the city. Think of it like a darker version of Rush Hour!

This shines so bright as a plus point due to the fantastic voice acting. United Front made a wise choice of hiring voice talent that is proficient in both English and Cantonese which gives the game a sense of realism that many titles like this do not have. The subtle switching between these languages again adds to the story and by the end of the main game you really feel attached to each character, especially Shen and his group of misfit friends.

Combat and character progression is also a leading light for the game, with the melee combat drawing heavily from Batman Arkham's Attack, Counter and Grapple system but Sleeping Dogs adds in classic Kung Fu style and moves which make the game feel like you're in a modern Kung Fu flick. The environmental kills are a big highlight here too with most of them being absolutely brutal! Shen also levels up through a variety of means, each mission has a Cop rating and a triad rating based on the actions you take throughout the mission. Generally speaking head-shots and violence will add to the triad score but causing public damage and hurting civilians will lower the Cop score. Thankfully every mission in the game can be replayed for those looking to get the best possible upgrades as quick as possible.

Side quests are fantastic in this game too. the world is much smaller than typical GTA fare but Hong Kong is much more densely populated with smart NPC's and a bounty of side missions, favours and events to take part in. There's races that are frankly good enough to be there own racing game, Cockfighting, Martial Arts Tournaments, Drug Busts, Lock Boxes, etc. Crucially all of these side aspects, even the health shrines, are given the benefit of a story beat. for example, taking one of the female characters on a date unlock a fully voiced mission that rewards you with the mini-map now displaying the whereabouts of one of the collectibles. For an achievement hunter out there this is a god send and pushes the player to actively seek out the collectibles organically as they are doing something else instead of waiting till the post game to hunt them all down.

The definitive edition also includes the short story expansions Nightmare in North-point and Year of the Snake. Both of these expansions are pretty fun and goofy bits of content that don't stray too far from the main games formula but are still a ton of fun and certainly worth giving a go once the main game is complete as they are full of spoilers if you haven't!

If there is any downsides to Sleeping Dogs is that in 2018 it does begin to show its age a little bit. The models and textures are a little muddy and its lack of any multiplayer can put people off but as a standalone single player game that you can pick up for around £12 at this point, i think there is more than enough content.

Overall Sleeping Dogs was a great game on Xbox 360 and it is slightly improved on Xbox One. Its fluid combat, fast driving, interesting setting and extremely engaging story easily outweigh the slightly dated graphics in my opinion.

If you haven't played it and like Kung Fu movies, GTA or generally great and well written stories, you could do alot worse than Sleeping Dogs: Definitive edition