Xbox 360: The Games

Most, if not all, of the world’s greatest game creators have signed up for Xbox 360. Microsoft finally nailed Squaresoft and ongoing support from 2K Games (GTA, etc) is a sure sign of great things to come.

We’ve seen some impressive debuts on Xbox. Usually, when Microsoft says it’s going to be big that’s exactly how it turns out to be. Although we won’t see Halo 3 at launch, we think Xbox 360 has enough big guns to keep us sweet until the mother of all sequels arrives next year. Here’s what the almighty Redmond corporation says will shock and awe on Xbox 360.

Project Gotham Racing 3
By: Bizarre Creations
Developers Bizarre Creations wrote the book on realism in console motor-sports. They created the groundbreaking Formula One for PlayStation (1996), before being snapped up by Sega to engineer the equally stunning Metropolis Street Racer for Dreamcast (2000). The Project Gotham series is, unofficially, the spiritual successor to MSR on Xbox– one of Microsoft’s biggest coups. It is famed for realism, of course, but PGR2 also helped Xbox pioneer how online games really should be played. In PGR3, online notoriety as the classiest driver racing snazzy cars in the world’s most spectacular cities is promised to go beyond ranking and versus races. Bizarre, together with Microsoft, intends PGR3 to be viewed – literally – as a sport in its own right, with professionally organised championships taking place in front of online spectators. All this is going to take place on ‘Gotham TV’, reserve your seat soon as you can.

Anticipation rating: 5/5

Kameo: Elements Of Power
By: Rare
Rare – famously one of the UK’s most prestigious development studios – is sure to deliver something wonderful in Kameo. Its blend of children’s fantasy adventure, combined with puzzle-oriented gameplay should prove irresistible to young and the young at heart. Realising unfamiliar and magical worlds is a hallmark of Rare, and by utilising the unbridled power of the Xbox 360 we’re sure to see the full extent of the studio’s imagination. This one had us wowed when it was originally previewed as an Xbox game in 2003. The heroine, Kameo, is able to transform (‘morph’) into weird and wonderful creatures to traverse obstacles, and trounce wicked monsters. Prior to Xbox, Rare had this one in the works for Nintendo’s N64 console... before Microsoft swooped in to secure yet another major exclusive. It’s going to turn out to have been a smart move when people see something so breathtaking on their TVs this year.

Anticipation rating: 3/5

Next: Perfect Dark Zero and Gears Of War