Wrapping up the Xbox

Halo Wars

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• Many are hoping for Halo Wars to prove that a console controller can work for an RTS game.
• The main issue I have with Halo Wars is tied to the source that created such hopeful people in the first place. Halo Wars, though designed for the 360 from the ground up, still looks like a PC RTS. The reason why so many other developers have struggled to adapt the PC controls to a console controller is because they're still trying to play a PC game on a console.
• If Halo Wars is really designed for the Xbox360, then the developers would have created their own unique brand of RTS gameplay that would only make perfect sense using a console controller. I can't tell whether they did or not at this point.
• Pikmin did it. Pikmin 2 did it again. Both of the excellent games feature the best console RTS controls around. Is it a surprise that the gameplay in Pikmin1&2 is some of the most unique gameplay in grand scheme of RTSs?
• I will be watching Halo Wars in the future for its overall gameplay style and its controller scheme.

Fable 2

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• The graphics are nice, but the combat looks really weird.
• In the heat of battle the graphical clutter increases and the frame rate drops.
• From what I know about the approach that's being taken with Fable 2's combat, it seems like the idea of simple (one button)/fun combat was taken too far. From what I can gather, it looks like after the combat was simplified, the developers sped up the combat while reducing the dynamic interactions between the elements in order to keep things "fun." This is very dangerous because it's far to easy to sacrifice weight, timing, commitment, and dynamics in the process.
• The result is a game that is designed to feature cool combat on the base level instead of creating situations for the cool combat to emerge.

Too Human

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• Looking better animation wise.
• I don't have a 360, otherwise, I'd simply play the demo instead of watching videos.

Fallout3

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• Looks a lot likeBioShock... especially with the menus.
• The turn based combat looks a little too much like an RPG, which means it's bad.
• Lock picking reminds me of BioShock's hacking.
• The gameplay looks silly. Even the simple interactions within the action combat seem very unpolished and even laughable. On some levels, it seems like Fallout3 isn't taking itself seriously.
• An open world means nothing if there's no "game" to experience it with.

Mirror's Edge

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• I'm afraid that Mirror's Edge will be like Price of Persia: The Sands of Time's platforming mixed with Assassin's Creed's free running. In other words, I'm afraid that Mirror's Edge will be all looks and no play.
• POP's platforming is so strict, linear, and unforgiving that the game heavily used the rewind time power to cover up the substantial trial and error platforming. I've heard from 1up Yours that Mirror's Edge is very similar and that you'll be falling to your death a lot. When this happens the game resets you to the point before you died. Sound familiar?
• Assassin's Creed's free running looks amazing. Unfortunately, Altier practically does all the work for the player. Such a high level of automation takes away a lot of the play from the player and the game.
• How deep can Mirror's Edges puzzles be when the Runner's Eye turns important areas red?
• How tight can the platforming be in first person? Hopefully we won't have to relive Turok on the N64 again.
• So far the game is in first-person, features bullet time, and has the "yellow brick road" that paints the way to success. This game is going to have a tough time overcoming these design hurdles. Nonetheless, I'm rooting for this one.

Geometry Wars 2

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• I own Geometry Wars: Galaxies for the Wii. After writing my article on clutter, I've been slowly realizing how limited the design of Geometry Wars is. Even in the Wii version's 40+ levels and with the addition of personality bots, , there is very little variation to the gameplay.
• So now we come to Geometry Wars 2 for the Xbox360. And it's 4 players.
• It was hard enough to see through the clutter of firework like special effects with just one person playing. Good luck with this game. Strictly from a design perspective, this game will probably be a mess.
• Also, there's no word of online play. Because of the nature of Geometry Wars, there is a 90% chance that there will not be any co-op online play unless they want to slow the game way down.

It's been a busy day, and it's only going to get busier tomorrow. See you then.