It’s fair to say that when Microsoft originally launched the enormous, black box entitled “X-box”, I was less than enthusiastic. It happened during my final year at university and I can still remember pouring scorn over the copy of Edge which had the brazen audacity to sit open on a page in a lecture theatre describing how a game known as “Halo” had just scooped their highest possible score. As a self-confessed Nintendo fanboy, the thought of an operating systems manufacturer invading the console market irked me and I wished for their machine to go the way of the Virtua Boy.
Time makes fools of us all however, and I sit here typing with not one but two Xbox 360s to my name and an original Xbox sat in the loft, retired after a long life of service. The Xbox is now my primary gaming platform and quite paradoxically it is Nintendo who I now question, though that is a matter for another day.
What started this about turn was a small socket on the back of the box. I’m not denying that there were other network-ready consoles prior to Microsoft’s console debut, but the Xbox was the first to require more than dial-up. Though initially limiting its own market, you either had to have a LAN or a broadband connection to make full use of the multiplayer features and what this leant to proceedings was a level of expectance: the extra bandwidth meant voice was standard; you had a unified match-making system rather than selecting random servers from a lengthy list; there was the ability to keep a friends list. Many of the seeds of what we now see as commonplace were the bedrock of Xbox Live 1.0.
Others have iterated on it, and some have even surpassed it, but those first few online games were enough to mean that since 2003 – the launch of Xbox Live here in the UK – I have been registered BIGsheep on its books, and not even the potty mouthed US youngsters that you so routinely encounter in voice chat will put me off renewing my subscription for an eighth consecutive year.
With Microsoft choosing to discontinue Xbox Live support for the original console today, an admirable five years after it was superseded, I’d like to mark its passing with the games that saw me drawn in to my very first online community.
Moto GP 2
This was the trail blazer: the first Xbox Live title. Thankfully, though, it was more than simply “the first”, as it revealed itself to be an incredibly deep game for me. Not usually taken in by racing games, the extra skill needed to ride a bike through the twisting, tight bends of the Moto GP calendar proved fascinating. The need to line your bike up in preparation, the dual brakes, and the want of not ending face first in the gravel, all in all made me play this far more than any straight car racer. Plus, with fastest laps also being regularly traded in the office, this was also my first exposure to the power of leaderboards.
Furthermore, from a professional point of view, what made this even more incredible was finding out that the entire Live implementation was fitted into the game in less than three months. An astounding feat given the infancy of the system.
Project Gotham 2
As mentioned above, I can give or take racers. Usually the thought of spending time retracing my steps around the same piece of tarmac multiple times is enough for me to eject the disc and walk away. Rather than stick to the conventional, what Project Gotham presented us with was a meta-game: Cat and Mouse. Split your contingent into pairs; one will take a mini, the other a Ferrari; race as normal but only the Minis’ positions count. Oh, and the Ferraris can do whatever they feel justified in doing to “protect” their own mini.
Splinter Cell
The Spies v Mercs mode displayed to many that the online world did not have to be exclusively shooters and racers. This stealthy approach to multiplayer and online co-op is still the reason why I look forward to the imminent Conviction, in the hope that no matter what they do with the single-player the multiplayer will still hold the same sense of satisfaction.
It was Pandora Tomorrow that introduced the concept or pitting well-armed Argus mercenaries against the more nimble and stealthy spies, attempting to prevent them from reaching computer terminals. Chaos Theory then iterated and created cooperative missions and moves for spies to tag-team their opponents. This was real cat and mouse gameplay and the unbearable tension that came along with it was just proof of its success.
Top Spin
Looking back, I have very mixed feeling about this game. Even though I used to play it obsessively I seem to remember hating it by the end of my time with it, the problem being that I became too good. As conceited as that sounds, my doubles partner and I edged up to being ranked 8th in the world; an achievement wrought from sheer effort and teamwork. Sadly in our closing weeks we encountered far too many glitchers and standbyers for the fun to continue and my last loving memory of it is swearing loudly down the headset and shutting off the Xbox in a huff as we were cheated for the final time.
Halo 2
Last, and by no means least, Halo 2. Gameplay aside, this set a new standard in Xbox Live games with easy access to your friends list, skill based match making, clans, web-side stat tracking and large amounts of DLC. Several of its core facets turned out to be so successful that they were even taken into the heart of Xbox Live in future updates. If ever there was a game to mark and personify the original Xbox Live, this would be it.
Goodbye. You may be gone, but you won’t be forgotten.
I make my living as a programmer at a British games developer. In my spare time I try and spread myself between writing, gaming, drumming, goalkeeping, rolling dice and keeping my hair blue. Somewhere around that my wife fits in.
Disclaimer: the views expressed are my own and do not neccessarily reflect those of my employer. "
9 Comments
You seem to have forgotten to include Crimson Skies in that list!
And from a personal note, dicking around Paris and Washington in Midtown Madness 3 with a host of strangers was awesome fun, at least we now have Burnout for that.
I did consider Crimson Skies, but it didn’t quite have the magic moments of the others in my mind. In fact most of it, spectacular scenery aside, was spent doing large circles with another plane as both attempted to get behind the other.
Cracking call on Midtown Madness, though; I’d completely forgotten about that one. That was just ridiculous and harmless, but awesome, fun.
Fusion Frenzy!
Fuzion Frenzy wasn’t Xbox Live???
Dammit. Frenzy fail!
That was an Xbox launch title dude. Live didn’t even exist then
Good point. Must be all the sentementality. It’s been a long day.
While Halo 2 was the daddy, I always enjoyed blowing shit up on Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. Street Fighter 3rd Strike should also get a mention.
How Many Xbox Live Gold Stars have you all got? I got 5 chamone’