Good choice, I liked Dark Alliance 2 as well. I don’t recall ever traying Fallout BoS, I wasn’t enamoured by the shift in genre.
That’s all we saw in January, and of those 3 I suppose Vice city is my preferred game, but as I recall it came in a double pack with 3. Dunno. Being able to use the music on the HDD was good as well.
Well, it sucks much wasn’t released in your parts but those are some great games. I really enjoyed Vice City for its setting and music. So good. I think San Andreas eclipses it for those older GTA titles, but I can’t argue the picks!
Yeah the setting and soundtrack for vice city made it for me, every GTA has resonated in some way with me with the soundtrack, but none as much ad Vice City.
Sucker for 80’s music!
February 2004 had a fair amount of good games considering the usual post-holiday slump (much like we’re seeing now in 2021). I had a little trouble choosing as I feel somewhat similarly about all of my options, but in the end…
February 2004
Legacy of Kain: Defiance
I like the Legacy of Kain series. It always felt like an approachable but somewhat mature take on vampires and such that many games don’t nail. Often, “monster games” are either overly serious or silly, and finding a good middle ground is challenging I’d imagine. LoK was mature in content and story, but also had fun, accessible gameplay. It doesn’t hurt that this particular entry was quite a looker on the Xbox.
This is a later entry in the series, probably around #4-5? I think it can be daunting to try to jump in here from a story perspective, but the game did have some sort of recap that you could watch or read or something if I recall correctly. Or just use the internet, you know?
You could play as Kain or Raziel, each feeling different in the action-oriented gameplay. I can’t say it’s the best character action game I’ve played - it’s no DMC or Bayonetta - but it does a good job of holding your attention and moving you along in the story. And really, that’s why you’re here. The story is great, even better if you’ve followed the series from its inception. I’d love to see another LoK, come on bring it back!
Shoutouts this month go to 007 Everything or Nothing (probably the best Bond game other than Goldeneye?), Unreal II, and Steel Battalion: Line of Contact. I never played the Steel Battalion sequel, but I think it needs to be mentioned as it gave owners of the original and that giant amazing controller more to play. Your picks? Please share!
March 2004 was stuffed with games, what’s the deal with Spring? There were two in particular that gave me trouble choosing between, but the end choice was one I’m good with.
March 2004
Ninja Gaiden
First off, can we just all agree that the box art is simply sweet? Lordy, that’s a box I’d have picked up as a kid without any knowledge of the game and begged my parents to buy it because I was “being good” 
. Ninja Gaiden, a reboot of the classic 2D platforming series, is one of the best character action games ever. You can make arguments for Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, or others, but I don’t think you can have the discussion without including the original Ninja Gaiden on Xbox.
It’s just a fantastic, hardcore game made for those with a decent set of gaming chops. Not to mention a good deal of patience! It was one of the first console games I played at 720p (“HD”) and it was an absolute stunner. It was also one of the smoothest moving games I’d played at that point, with fast, brutal combat. The camera is the one element that doesn’t hold up particularly well in my opinion, but otherwise this is an absolutely legendary game. I almost didn’t include it as Ninja Gaiden Black released about a year and a half later, but when I look at the month it was the best game.
Shoutouts go to Spinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (my second choice), Breakdown (recent GWG), and Mafia. There’s just so much here this month. I’ve noticed a lack of family-friendly games of any real quality so far, but those are indeed coming down the pipeline. Am I spot on with my pick, or did I get it wrong?
Oh, wow. Ninja Gaiden, Splinter Cell, Mafia and Breakdown in a single month of March? That is a killer lineup.
February 2004 had many more than I thought to chose from,
I have such a soft spot for the Bond games of that time though, especially “Everything or Nothing”. Doubtless its aged terribly, but I remember it being a fun rental, with some movie style bombastic set pieces. It was also pretty short as I recall so it was one and done in a weekend.
March 2004, was a difficult choice between 2 for me too, though in the end I went for Pandora Tomorrow
Though I don’t have your memory Delory, I seem to recall it being just like the first only better, especially in terms of the story.
That’s exactly what it is, so your memory is solid haha. And my wife would tell you otherwise about mine 
That’s a holiday quality lineup, all fun games.
Apologies for the delay, next up is April 2004. Unfortunately, this feels like a weaker month but leading into the Summer I suppose it makes sense.
April 2004
Hitman: Contracts
Hitman is one of my favorite series, the newest iterations being the best in my opinion. IOI has always done right by these games, and Contracts, the third entry in the franchise, is no exception. It didn’t rewrite the Hitman game, but it did what any good sequel should: Improve what’s already working well, add a few new things, and make it look/play/sound better. Contracts on Xbox is just that, a good sequel. It’s the same formula, fairly open missions with various ways to accomplish your hits. It’s not a big leap over Hitman 2, but it tweaks what was there slightly and provides more insight into Agent 47 and the world.
Shoutouts to Fight Night 2004 and Manhunt. Manhunt wasn’t a good game, but it was unique and controversial, showing that the gaming industry wasn’t afraid to tackle “mature” subject matter.
May 2004 wasn’t a lot better than April, but once again there were a few games that were worth opening up the wallet.
May 2004
Thief: Deadly Shadows
Thief is a series I’ve enjoyed, but never been in love with. It’s odd, as I love games that feature stealth and planning, thinking a little outside the box. It’s why I love Hitman and Splinter Cell for example (and more recently, Prey). Perhaps it’s something to do with the setting? Regardless, Thief Deadly Shadows is one I’ve spent some time with back in the day and it was something I did like.
If memory serves, Deadly Shadows had a fairly decent plot and Garrett is a moderately interesting protagonist. He’s no Sam Fisher or Solid Snake, but he doesn’t just “exist” like many other characters in games where gameplay is central over story. Speaking of, this is stealth gameplay. You’re sneaking about, picking locks, eliminating NPCs, and stealing stuff. Basically, you’re making a nuisance of yourself to rich folk.
The game rewards stealth above all, as you’re not going to be winning head-to-head battles. You stick to the (deadly) shadows to make your way to your various missions and objectives which have some variance but ultimately end up similar. It’s a solid formula and works well here. Enemy AI was a bit dumb, it was easy to fool them which removes a lot of the challenge but hey, not every game needs to be super tough.
Shoutouts to Metal Slug 3 (GWG next month!) which is a top-tier arcade action game, and Red Dead Revolver, the predecessor to the mega popular Red Dead Redemption franchise. What was your favorite from May 2004?
This thread is one of my favorites here.
We will have caught up by June maybe? Nah too many months still.
I try to do around 1/day, but sometimes I’m busy or tired and miss. It’ll take a while, long term project . Glad you enjoy the thread.
Well you will have a lot of time once we catch up.
Ok, June 2004. Now we’re getting into the good stuff. This could be the most difficult month to choose one game for me personally as I have a lot of fondness for the ones on the list.
June 2004
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay
Right up front, this is one of the best and most overlooked games on the original Xbox. I think many people saw the Riddick IP and Vin Diesel attached to it and wrote it off. Their loss. This is an incredible game. It was a visual stunner with challenging gameplay and a story that could easily hold your interest, in my opinion more so than the movies it was based on.
This is a third person game starring Vin Diesel…I mean, Riddick. Much like the movie character, you’re a tough dude that can hold his own but definitely do better to play it more stealthily. It was a tough game, you’d die a lot, but the checkpoint system was solid so you were never set back too far. The voice-work was well acted, by Riddick and most NPCs. It was a decent length single player campaign, I think it clocked in around eight hours. This is definitely a hidden gem, but somehow received a sequel (Dark Athena) so I guess either Vin had deep pockets or it did we’ll enough. I’d absolutely love to see another, but doubt that’ll happen. I also don’t know if it’s BC, but if you can find a way to play it (maybe PC?), I recommend you stop reading and do so!
Shoutouts go to Psi-Ops, Driv3r, and Spider-Man 2. I really like all of these games, almost a shame that Riddick is just so excellent and overshadows them.
July 2004, over the hump of the year. July was a slower month, but I suppose it was a good excuse to get outside or catch up on that backlog. Still, July saw the release of perhaps the greatest America football game ever made, still held in that regard by many today.
July 2004
NFL 2K5
Another cool cover, wanted to mention that up top. TO with a one-handed grab is pretty slick, even though I don’t particularly care for the cyborg of a man. If memory serves, this was the last NFL licensed direct competitor to Madden before the license was bought by EA. A shame, as NFL 2K5 took what was great about the series to this point and absolutely perfected it.
The gameplay, flow, presentation, graphics, this was all top notch. The ESPN branding was additive to the game, making it feel like something you’d watch on TV vs. a video game. It felt so big, in your face, and filled with energy and life in a way that Madden hadn’t, and hasn’t, in years. I also believe this was the year that 2K went hard at EA, pricing the game at an unreal $20 at launch. I loved this game. It makes me so sad to see where the genre has went since Madden became the only game in town.
Shoutouts aren’t great, but the titles I thought were worth a mention are Samurai Warriors (SW5 due out soon on Xbox consoles) and Sudeki. I don’t think either are particularly fantastic, but it showed that early Japanese commitment that Xbox strived for at the time. Cool stuff, just not the best in class.
August 2004 might be the first month where I’d be ok not picking a game because non are exactly “my thing”, but “them’s not the rules” so…
August 2004
NHL 2K5
Look at that, two 2K wins in a row. Slow time of year? You betcha! NHL 2K5 is a solid hockey game. It’s fun, it looked nice at the time, featured that great ESPN presentation. It’s a good sports hockey game. Sure, it’s not an all-time classic like Blades of Steel or Ice Hockey (NES love!) or NHL ‘94, but for the era it was a good one. Not much more to say on it as I didn’t own it but had friends who did as they bought every sports game every year.
Shoutouts are rough…Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow and Test Drive: Eve of Destruction. Yup. They aren’t bad games, but just not memorable in any real way to me personally.
Sorry Delroy, keep getting distracted and I hate writing these posts on mobile so I can’t do it quickly.
OK so April, I agree with your choice with Hitman Contracts, was a great sequel.
May was pretty low on options PAL side, but we really enjoyed Rallisport 2
Again a lot of my choices are based on the fun we had playing in the crew room so its more games that I thought over the time of this thread which I probably wouldn’t enjoy as much now. Its the place I played most though, and everything is better with friends… EVERYTHING! 
June 2004, I’m going for Full Spectrum Warrior. We enjoyed the non direct control of the squad and the cover-move dynamic though my memory is hazy on the plot and story of the game, I’m not too sure how it holds up politically. Still mechanically I enjoyed it.
July, has to be Spiderman 2 Just for the Bruce Campbell phwoar!
August was Riddick, for all the same reasons you gave, such a shame they are not on BC, would be fun to try them again.
And to jump ahead of you Delroy, September has to be (and I don’t think I have been so sure about a choice before)
Burnout 3 Takedown. My favourite burnout game and perfect in every way.
Phew, time for a cuppa.
I love Burnout 3, but September is a tough one to pick a single game!
My love of Burnout 3 is equalled only by my hatred of Paradise 
