Topic: The XBox 360 has finally arrived!!!Am I the only one disappointed with the XBox 360?

[Rhoq]

Am I the only one disappointed with the XBox 360? After all of the hoopla and fanfare subsides, I think everyone that camped out overnight to invest $400 in the XBox 1.5 will realize that they just wasted their money on a machine which appears to have failed to deliver what had been promised.

I hadn't really seen any screenshots or video of XBox 360 games, because I just didn't care to. I figured now that the release was finally upon us, I would check it out to see if it really was the gaming world's "second coming".

I watched a bit of G4's "Countdown to XBox 360" show last night. At midnight, when the first 360s were sold - they began showing reviews of the launch titles. G4 was gracious enough to point out, during it's review of Madden NFL 2006, that even though the game looks good, it comes nowhere near what those next-gen renders looked like that EA had released a year or two ago. As a matter of fact - every XBox 360 game they showed was unimpressive, looking no more different than what the original XBox and Nintendo GameCube are already capable of. The only game that truly looks remarkable is Project Gotham Racing 3.

There are 2 games this generation which look as good as what the 360 is delivering: the GameCube version of Resident Evil 4 and the X-Box/GameCube versions of Fight Night: Round 2. Don't believe the hype, the 360 is not delivering the future, only an alernate take on the present.  

[Bill Aurion]

As I've said many times before, this is the first generation ever where I just haven't been impressed by the visuals...

[attackslug]

Don't kid yourself, the visuals of the Xbox360 are much better than anything on current systems.  RE4 looks damn nice, as does Fight Night but they are still not on par with the new Xbox.  Don't be so quick to judge if you "haven't seen any videos or screenshots" yet.  Give it a try at walmart or on a friend's fancy HDTV, and save any comments till then.

Still it's true, the games don't look as good as they were hyped to.  But then again, remember how bad first generation PS2 games looked compared to current ones?  On average, they weren't much better than Dreamcast, and in some cases, N64 games.  Once developers have a bit more time with the system, we will be likely to start seeing games that surpass most PC titles.

[Avinash_Tyagi]

Unlikely, because by then PC software/hardware will have progressed substanitally.

I've seen the xbox 360 demos at best buy, meh, it doesn't impress me, I agree with what Ninty's been saying graphics are nearing that ceiling where thye won't get any noticibly better, improving gameplay and immersion is key to the future of gaming now.

[Rhoq]

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Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
As I've said many times before, this is the first generation ever where I just haven't been impressed by the visuals...

Bill, I'm beginning to agree with you.

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Originally posted by: attackslug
Don't kid yourself, the visuals of the Xbox360 are much better than anything on current systems.  RE4 looks damn nice, as does Fight Night but they are still not on par with the new Xbox.  Don't be so quick to judge if you "haven't seen any videos or screenshots" yet.  Give it a try at walmart or on a friend's fancy HDTV, and save any comments till then.

I made my judgement after seeing the video reviews on G4 last night. (The point of my initial post was that I hadn't seen any screenshots or video until last night). I'm not impressed with the system and I have no desire to seek out a 360 demo kiosk and give it a try.

[NotSoStu]

Frankly, I have to admit that X360 is tempting to me, somebody who has never owned a console or handheld that wasn't made by Nintendo. The hardware inside it is a true feat (the secondary core in the video card for AA/AF is pure genius.) The software, which is what I found lacking on the original Xbox, has a strong line-up this time around. I am a Rare junkie, and I'm finding it harder and harder to resist buying Perfect Dark Zero. And Banjo-Kazooie, personally one of the best platformers of all time, will probably see a sequel on X360 sooner or later.

And meanwhile, what does Nintendo have planned for its consoles? Twilight Princess and the promise of Metroid Prime 3 and SSB Revolution. Nintendo had better reveal some information about Revolution's games, and fast, or they're going to go under.

[couchmonkey]

Well, this is kind of like walking into a Church and asking, "Am I the only one disappointed with Satan?"   No, I'm not comparing Microsoft to Satan, I'm just saying, of course we are disappointed!  We're Nintendo fans.

I totally agree that the Xbox 360 looks better than current-gen games.  I also totally agree that this is the first generation where the graphics haven't impressed me.  They are improved, there's no doubt that the current systems can't do shading a lighting as nicely and dynamically as the Xbox 360; there's no doubt that you can't render a crowd with 1000 detailed people in it on the current systems; there's no doubt that many of the textures on 360 are amazing.  The graphics have improved a lot.

The problem is that those are mostly stupid little details.  I saw a 360 at Future Shop last week, and the only way I could tell it was a 360 at a glance was from the high-res graphics.  Often to appreciate the improvements on the 360 you have to purposely admire them.  Ooh, look at all the blades of grass!  Wow, that crowd looks so realistic!  Too bad I'm losing a race while I stop to check all these details out!  It's improved, but previous generations made truly useful improvements (getting four-player games to run at a smooth framerate on the GameCube, rendering 3D graphics in real time on the N64) where the Xbox 360 is pure eye candy, and not very dramatic eye candy at that.

That's not to say the Xbox 360 is bad, or that Microsoft has done a bad job.  It is to say that we're approaching the ceiling on graphical improvements, and in my opinion, the Xbox 360 is overpriced for the amount of improvement it has to offer.  If I were buying a new console this Christmas, I'd make it a regular Xbox or a PS2.   The games are just as much fun, the only thing I'm losing is graphics, and I would save at least $320 CDN, since there's no way I'll buy a 360 without the hard drive.

[Ian Sane]

The PS2 didn't impress me at all when it launched and it never really did graphically.  Now had the Dreamcast never come out then maybe it would.  The PS2 had a dismal launch.  There really wasn't anything even remotely on par with the best Dreamcast or N64 games being released at the same time.  But that didn't really matter because by the time the Xbox and Gamecube came out the PS2 was delivering and had a dream lineup of games like Devil May Cry, Gran Turismo 3, Metal Gear Solid 2 and of course Grand Theft Auto III.  So this could happen with the X360 as well.  One of the advantages of launching earlier than the competition is that by the time the competing consoles arrive developers have already gotten used to your console and are making better games.

Right now I would say it's a waste of money to buy an Xbox 360.  But this time last year I would have considered it a total waste of money to buy a DS.  Microsoft still has time to deliver when it counts.  In comparison Sony and Nintendo pretty much have to fire on all cylinders right from the get-go.

Plus we haven't even seen a Rev screenshot yet so don't be dooming MS when Nintendo literally has nothing yet.  MS has a real product in stores and all Nintendo has is a vague concept.  The X360 is already kicking the Rev's ass by default.

[mantidor]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane

Plus we haven't even seen a Rev screenshot yet so don't be dooming MS when Nintendo literally has nothing yet.  MS has a real product in stores and all Nintendo has is a vague concept.  The X360 is already kicking the Rev's ass by default.

I think no one is comparing its graphics to the Rev except you, and no one is saying that Rev graphics will be "better" than xbox's.

Microsoft's hype was about the graphics and they failed, end of story! Revs graphics are irrelevant here...

[PaLaDiN]

"Don't kid yourself, the visuals of the Xbox360 are much better than anything on current systems. RE4 looks damn nice, as does Fight Night but they are still not on par with the new Xbox. Don't be so quick to judge if you "haven't seen any videos or screenshots" yet. Give it a try at walmart or on a friend's fancy HDTV, and save any comments till then."

I gave it a try on a fancy HDTV. The graphics are extremely unimpressive and I'm sure they could be done on the current gen with very little downgrade.

[BiLdItUp1]

Umm...mantidor, Ian never said anything about graphics in that quote, you just took it out of context and tried to bash him. His point was we shouldn't be all 'MS is doomed' yet, considering that Nintendo has only shown a concept so far and x360 devs could push out real system sellers before Rev/PS3 launch.

-eli b.

[Darkheart]

I find it funny that two of Ign's big articles today is both why you should not buy a 360, pretty pretty sad.

[couchmonkey]

I agree with Ian's point about PS2 not being as impressive since Dreamcast was available first.  GameCube actually only impressed me because up to that point, I hadn't played much of the other next-gen systems (and of course, I'm always going to be a little more excited to see next-gen Mario and Zelda than next-gen games from the competition).

Revolution probably won't impress me that much graphically...I will definitely be excited to see next-gen Nintendo franchises, but I don't expect to be blown away by the graphics.  The thing is, that doesn't matter, because I'm looking forward to Revolution for something besides graphics.  I wouldn't pay $400 CDN or even $300 CDN for Revolution if it was the same thing as the 360, but I will pay those prices if they can make some great new games that take advantage of the controller.  I do expect some graphical improvements but it doesn't need to be as good as the Xbox 360 to make me happy.

[mantidor]

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Originally posted by: BiLdItUp1
Umm...mantidor, Ian never said anything about graphics in that quote, you just took it out of context and tried to bash him. His point was we shouldn't be all 'MS is doomed' yet, considering that Nintendo has only shown a concept so far and x360 devs could push out real system sellers before Rev/PS3 launch.

-eli b.

screenshots isnt graphics?

I really think the topic of discussion here is underwhelming graphics in the xbox, did I read wrong? people are complaining about gameplay on the xbox? the form factor? the controller? xbox live? I dont think so.

And I wasnt bashing Ian, I dont know how you came up with that! did I call him names or something?

[Ian Sane]

"screenshots isnt graphics?"

Yes screenshots are graphics but they're also information and that's what I meant.  We know so little about the Rev that we haven't even seen a screenshot yet.  Screenshots are usually one of the first things you see so to not even have a screenshot means we don't know much at all.

So predicting any sort of doom for the X360 is kind of premature when the console most of us are looking forward to is not much more than glorified vaporware at this point.  I know as much about the Rev right now as I did about the Phantom.  How do we know that the Rev will not also be a waste of money at launch?  We don't know the price yet and have no real idea what games are coming out for it or how they play.

[mantidor]

I still dont see how Rev graphics or Rev info or Rev whatever has anything to do with 360 underwhelming graphics, and also, no one yet has said that microsoft is doomed...

the only one mentioning that is you

[cubist]

Microsoft isn't doomed...not by a long shot.  It still has a killer app planned for the PS3 launch...and that's Halo 3.  Halo 3 will outsell MGS4 and it won't even be close.  Not to mention, they've got Japanese support for the immediate future (=before PS3) to try and steal the PS2 crowd early.  

Back on topic:  I wasn't too impressed with the visuals either.  Of course, we are still in the first generation of XBOX360 titles.  Right now its looking more like XBOX180...

[attackslug]

Quote
Originally posted by: PaLaDiN
"Don't kid yourself, the visuals of the Xbox360 are much better than anything on current systems. RE4 looks damn nice, as does Fight Night but they are still not on par with the new Xbox. Don't be so quick to judge if you "haven't seen any videos or screenshots" yet. Give it a try at walmart or on a friend's fancy HDTV, and save any comments till then."

I gave it a try on a fancy HDTV. The graphics are extremely unimpressive and I'm sure they could be done on the current gen with very little downgrade.

Personally, I think the graphics are pretty nice, but certainly not as earth shattering as one would hope given the technical specs of the machine.  Again, I think we will see some very impressive things from the Xbox360 once the developers get a better hang of it and start figuring out how to properly utilize the second processor.
For the time being, however, it's tough to see the system as being worth all that cash for games that are marginally better than what we've been playing for the past two years.  I'm not sold on any of the three systems until I can actually experience (good) gameplay that would simply not be possible on current systems, which is why the Rev has most of my attention at the moment.

[Uglydot]

The only thing that ever excited me was Xbox Live.  I thought they would have pushed that harder than graphics.  Since it will be a long time until we have a transition ala the SNES ->n64.  Graphics are in fact getting far more detailed, but it comes out in things like lighting and texturing, nice smooth surfaces, AA, etc.  They are cool things to see, and can be brought into gameplay, but the designers need to take that into account.  If there are just extra realistic shadows just thrown in that don't help you at all, such as maybe spotting an enemy before he comes around the corner, it's a waste.  It doesn't provide more immersion.

So I guess I am not really dissapointed in the Xbox, hell, it's been out on freakin day.  I will wait for the games to come out to really form an oppinion on it.

[stevey]

I have played the 360 and it not even half of 3x the power of the xbox ms has promist. The controller from what I played I just the s wirerless. The xbox 360 is more like xbox 1.5 in every way; and that not just the fanboy talking.

[Don'tHate742]

Quote
Originally posted by: cubist
Back on topic:  I wasn't too impressed with the visuals either.  Of course, we are still in the first generation of XBOX360 titles.  Right now its looking more like XBOX180...

That argument is BARELY relevant here. I remember Rogue Squadron coming out at launch and it being one of the most beautiful games on any system.....and guess what... it still is. Also, WaveRace came out and showed us water graphics and physics like no other. I have yet to see a game with such beautiful water. The only game that comes close is Sunshine.

The reason why the argument is BARELY relevant and not just irrelevant is because systems are getting more complicated. The Xbox 360 is most likely a bitch to program for. I also heard that all the launch games don't even use a multi-core setup. That's the only reason I'm not judging the 360 graphic wise. First generation is actually a valid argument here.

However, I'm almost positive that when Metriod Prime 3 comes out, it will rival any games graphically (in art and technicallity) that proceed it. Just like RS did with the GC.

[kennyb27]

I was listening to the radio this morning on my drive to work.  A CBS news analyst came on with the story of XBox 360 launching.  He was obviously excited when he said the following (paraphrasing, of course):

"The Xbox 360 is new in many ways: not only does it have impressive graphics, but you can play your DVDs and even CDs on it, you can play online and you can view videos from your computer on your television screen!"

I couldn't believe this guy.  He was genuinly impressed by this.  The current Xbox, some $250 less (USD) has all those "features" except one. It made me think how right Nintendo could be if they pull it off with the Revolution, they could create something that would trully change something about the industry.  

[IceCold]

Quote
But then again, remember how bad first generation PS2 games looked compared to current ones? On average, they weren't much better than Dreamcast, and in some cases, N64 games.

You meant to switch those around right?

Anyway, the Xbox 360? More like the Xbox 3-SUCKS-ty!!1 hahaha...

Uhh, yeah. Now that we've got that over with, I'm also quite unimpressed with the 360. You can't jump from 2-D to 3-D again, so now graphics are just becoming less and less important. Like someone said, who cares if, in a racing game, the crowd is as detailed as the car? Graphics don't help, they just add a glossy coat to a game, which wears off quite easily. And to top it off, the graphics on the 360 aren't even that much better! Sure, if you look closely, you can see that they're improved, but it's getting harder and harder to wow someone with graphics. Soon, art direction will be the only important thing.

And I'm not sold on the "HD Era" either. Using a HD TV for games is like getting your first pair of glasses when you're at -0.75 or -1.00 dioptres. Yes, it's clear, but suddenly you see so much more detail that you notice things that you don't want to see. Like when you sweep the floor .

It's the same with games... HD will bring out a lot of texturing flaws in games. It has the potential to be an ugly affair.  

[Don'tHate742]

Alright. So I've played the 360 at my friends house. I must say, I am impressed.

I'm not talking about just the games, but the whole system. It felt so clean and sophisticated. For example, when you hold down the "X" logo in the center of the controler, it flawlessly searches for controllers and whether to hook up to the number one spot. Then it signifies it's spot with a quatere of the circle being lit up. It was brilliantly intuitive. The whole system is like that. The controller is VERY comfortable. The addition of shoulder buttons and lack of white and black buttons is a major plus. That's about it though. Apart from that, it's just an S "+."

Now, about the games. I only played Call of Duty. The first thing you'll notice about the game is the textures. The textures are definitely impressive, but sadly that's reallly the only thing going for it graphically. The textures basically accounted for everything "cool" in the game. I liked how enemies were hard to see due to high detail. Also, the players guns and jackets are nice. That's about it though. I guess some structural modeling was well-done, but again....strictly speaking about graphics, that's it. I was dissapointed about all the enemy charachters looking exactly the same. I was expecting some diversity (even goldeneye and PD had diversity).

One thing that was impressive was the immersion factor. It seemed like a SH!TLOAD of things were going on. There's a bunch of visual and audio distractions. Actually, the most impressive thing about the entire game was the audio. It felt nuts. I heard rifles blazing and I could tell if it was up-close or far away, behind me or in front of me. It was great. Honestly though, textures and audio can only do so much. As soon as you get past the "wow, this is crazy" aspect, it feels like all the rest of the games made this gen. And even more so, it felt like I was doing the same thing over and over again (however, it is a war game so i'll let it slide).

All in all, I had fun (though the game was more rinse and repeat then I would of liked). I definitely wouldn't pay 400, or even 300 for it. I had much higher hopes only considering the graphics for next gen games. Now I'm even more hyped towards REV gameplay possibilities. As a core system though (menu and all), the Xbox 360 nails it.

[BigJim]

Nice review, DontHate.

I have to give credit to Nintendo for calling it... they said graphics wouldn't matter, that better graphics were "just the cost of entry". They're right. The market is getting harder to impress and growing in sophistication faster than the graphics alone can keep up with it. "More of the same" may become a real detriment.

I think we really will need a big change. I hope the market understands Nintendo's direction before Xbox 720 gets the chance to copy it.