Alright my local Walmart finally has their Xbox 360 working now so I checked it out.
The controller:
Overall I think they did a fairly good job with their new controller, much better then the original xbox one. The main buttons (although not analog) had a pretty good feel to them...maybe a bit small but I'm used to the Cube controller so probably just not used to it. The triggers felt very nice and smooth. The shoulder buttons felt ok and all...but I hope that they don't expect you to hold the controller with your index fingers on the shoulder buttons and your middle fingers on the triggers. I simply can't comfortably do this because my hands get really cramped. I found myself akwardly moving my index fingers between them. The "X" button was snazzy and looks to be quite useful, easily pausing the game and opening the menu. The joysticks were very smooth. Maybe too smooth though because in the CoD demo I had trouble moving my thumb small amounts due to the lack of resistance.
The interface/OS:
Very sleek and sexy. Not much to say about this except it seemed well organized and simply yet robust all at the same time. Nothing amazing but easy on the eyes and functional...can't ask for more.
The games:
CoD2 - this game was pretty awsome. It's not that the graphics were any better then the PC (they are probably "worse") but the fact that I was actually playing a game kiosk on a HDTV with widescreen was what amazed me. It kind of made me sad in a way, knowing that the Rev won't support HD or widescreen (at least not fully). Overall I would rather play the PC version with similar graphics and mouse support but the 360 version was mighty impressive and emersive.
Kameo - another rare platformer. I don't see it adding much in the way of innovation or new play mechanics, just improved visuals. The game did look pretty damn nice with the shaders and bump mapping...but I couldn't get over the fact that all it was was another platformer-type game. I found myself not caring and handed the controller over to someone else after a little while. The different animals you turn to reminded me somewhat of Majora's Mask. The control I found to be awkward. You use the main face buttons to turn into different creatures and the trigger buttons to perform actions. I have nothing against Rare but this game just didn't strike me as anything special.
What I walked away with:
After giving it a play I walked away with both excitement and dissapointment. The fresh feel of the new controller and the new technology got me excited for what the future might hold this next generation. On the other hand though, I left thinking about what Nintendo has been stressing for the longest time, innovation over horsepower. Today's play further proved to me that graphics are a plus but not all of what next gen should be all about. I mean, I played Kameo...it was in high-res and had flashy graphics but underneith it was the same old play mechanics recycled since Mario 64. It's like a really hot chick that has a terrible personality.
I'm not saying the the Rev is the only console that can bring forth new innovation because it has its new controller, what I'd like to stress is that even without that interface the developers this next time around have to really dig deep and utilize the greater horsepower in more constructive ways then purely graphics. I'm talking about physics, amount of characters on screen, AI, etc. While it would be easy for developers to simply continue on their (lazy) path of upgrading what "works", the ones that strive for more will be the ones with the potential for true greatness.
Just like with people, in the end it is what's on the inside that truely counts
Show Posts
