Mar 14, 4:03 pm
It doesn’t matter how anticipated, how hyped, or how successful a console launch can be - everybody knows that the first few months of tender steps into the gaming arena can completely dictate the rest of that little machine’s life.
Like meeting in the in-laws, prospective employer or cute behind in a nice pair of jeans, the first impressions count. And, I have to admit, if the Xbox 360 was asking to take me to the cinema on a Saturday night, I’d probably give it a go. Not even that, but I’d probably allow it to buy popcorn without interrupting and demanding the sweet variety only.
What I’m saying is, it’s three months on, and the 360 is doing pretty darn well. Already it has managed to integrate itself into the lives of the many, with those who have not conformed to its ways being met with gasps of “What? You mean you DON’T OWN ONE YET?”
I have to admit, it was pretty touch and go for me at the start. The launch had a pretty healthy line up - Condemned: Criminal Origins, Peter Jackson’s King Kong and Perfect Dark Zero (even if she had changed nationality overnight), supported onwards by Dead or Alive 4, but everyone knew we needed more than that. We needed longevity. We needed commitment. We needed a second date and the promise of a trip to the seaside.
And we’ve got it. Last Friday - Frag Doll Friday, that is - was the first time ever that 60%+ of my Xbox Live’s friend’s list was flooded with people online. 70% of that was people playing on their 360’s, and 90% of the games being played were Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. And that’s pretty impressive.
It’s been so, so easy talking about Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, because really, it’s one of those rare games that sells itself. Anyone who plays it loves it. It’s like a highly obedient Andrex puppy who offers to bring you your slippers and find your loose change underneath the sofa.
But the 360 isn’t resting on its laurels, and whatever you think of it, you have to give it credit where credit is due. Far Cry Instincts: Predator is hitting our shelves this month, Tomb Raider: Legend is due out in April and Splinter Cell: Double Agent is giving a cheeky hello later in the year. What more could you ask for?
Well, there is always Rainbow Six. In Vegas. With lap dancers!
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Okay, okay, maybe I made up that last bit (or DID I?), but I have to admit, when I heard the announcement, this game just shot straight to the top of my most wanted list. Yes, I shall play GR:AW until my thumbs bleed, and I shall dance and cavort through the air like a busty whippet when Lara returns to form, but ... it’s RAINBOW! (and no, not the King’s Royal Rainbow in Katamari ... ) And it’s, er Six!
Look, the point is, Rainbow Six: Black Arrow was a stroke of stealth shooty shooty genius. And Lockdown was a misunderstood barrel of squishy squishy fun. No FPS series has held my interest so firmly for so long, and I know it is squillions and squillions of miles away from being released, but I still want to dribble over it! I wanna! I wanna! I wanna!
So, to sum up - GR:AW is an Andrex puppy, and R6: Vegas may or may not be a lap dancing rainbow, and the 360 is, well, good.
I’m really rather rubbish at summing up consoles, aren’t I?
