Project Snowblind is probably one of the most overlooked games on Xbox, but you know what? It was pretty darn fun. Sure, it was a fairly generic FPS on the surface but Crystal Dynamics made a good looking game with a nice single player set in a interesting “cyberpunk” world. Apparently, this game started as a Deus Ex spin-off or something like that, and eventually morphed into what it was. Everything about Project Snowblind may have been done elsewhere and perhaps better, but it did all those things very solidly.
The shooting and combat felt good and combined with your “Jedi powers” felt fresh throughout. I liked that the levels felt fairly condensed as they were filled with action and not much downtime. It’s a good length game as well, I think it ran around 8-12 hours which in my opinion is the sweet spot for a campaign in an FPS. I remember the game being solid from a technical standpoint as well, and after playing many modern games I can’t overstate how refreshing that is to say. If you have means to play it (it’s on PC somewhere I’m sure), give it a shot. It’ll hit you hard in the nostalgic area of your brain if you enjoyed shooters of that era.
Shoutouts for the month go to NBA Street v3, FIFA Street, and Street Fighter Anniversary Collection. You can’t go wrong with any of these games. What was your pick? Any memories or were you playing that backlog?
Speaking of “Jedi Powers” @anon98342452 Feb 2005 was the month KoToR II was released for us…
KOTOR KOTOR KOTOR, KOTOR? KOTOR!! KOTOR KOTOR KOTOR.
Yay
I"d not heard of that either @Zip , it would be fabby for the BC team to add a few more unknown games to BC. sometimes its those odd ones that are worth revisiting. Thats why I like watching LGR’s videos, for every big game theres tens of smaller ones.
@anon98342452 Sorry I hadnt noticed as I was expecting to see an alert, its been some time since we last posted. Going to Go crazy and go up to may so we match the current month
I had forgotten that this game existed, I played this game to death! As I recall it was a pretty even split between offline (with co-op) and online, with tons of unlocks, map makers and just a total suite of fun.
Best timeline Bioware. Coming on the heels of Obsidians KoToR II it was a while before I got round to playing it, but it was a great RPG, like KoToR II it had its flaws, but its was very well produced and had a great script. Its yet another game I forget that I could play right now while waiting for the next big thing.
Much like Gran Turismo before it this was a firm favourite of the crew room, customisation, realistic damage, online play, Drivatar (was there Drivatar in the first game, I think there was you could use in the endurance races). It was, at the time just the perfect game for us.
Agreed. It is a highlight of the site and criminally underutilised Its a lot easier to argue about acquisitions and/or delayed future games though I guess.
If it helps anyone else join in, here is the wikipedia article I use.
We need to bring the focus of the group to gameplay experiences, now that Gamepass binds us all together.
The other thread about longform game critique is also a gem.
But you know what - people love juicy gossip stories about acquisition and conspiracy theories about exclusivity and game releases. You cannot beat those threads. This thread will eventailly rise to the top, once ppl play more.
Pandemic + Gamepass + FPS Boost + Auto HDR is an excellent combination. I don’t weep for a single delayed game while the world is suffering like it is, we have a dearth of content to play and the opportunity to highlight those old gems by generating buzz and engagement.
Alright, alright. I get it, I’m a lazy boy! I’ll get back to this here in a bit. I think next up is March 2005. It’s hard to keep motivated to doing this with limited engagement but you all have inspired me to continue so thanks!
March 2005, holy cow a metric ton of releases on the ol’ Xbox! Unfortunately, not a lot of them were standout titles in NA. As always, gems exist and there’s stuff worth playing.
This must be the third SC game I’ve included. Yeah, I like the series and it needs to come back. Ubisoft please! Stop with the teasing and beating around the bush and give us more Fisher! Chaos Theory is the best of the entire series in my opinion. It built upon what preceded it, polished it to a shine, and had one of the best multiplayer mode I’ve engaged in in my (limited) memory. Cooperative was available in some offshoot story mode aside from the single player campaign which was awesome. Competitive features Spy vs. Mercs, which marked its return from Pandora Tomorrow. If you’ve never played this mode, try to find a way to. It’s amazing. It shouldn’t need to be said, but Chaos Theory is also a graphical stunner, and Michael Ironside cements his iconic status as THE voice of Sam Fisher. What a game! PAL box art was cool, but the NTSC box has Fisher doing the Spider-Man so it wins.
Shoutouts to Star Wars Republic Commando (thought this would be the one but after playing recently…), Mega Man Anniversary Collection, Phantom Dust, and Super Monkey Ball Deluxe. Cold Fear also came out this month, not a great game but interesting premise. What were your picks for March 2005?
I hadnt seen Chaos Theory when I looked at the list, but when I looked again it was released PAL April 1st rather than March 31st (Hence the Timesplitters choice). Was that the Friday I wonder, Games always used to release on a Friday. The Majesty of Jade Empire drew me in before I gave any other April game a second glance.
I think I thought Chaos theory the best of the franchise too, was just a lovely looking game, I didnt play much of the MP but the rest of the crew room loved it.
April 2005 was an absolute monster of a month for gaming, but Xbox in particular. A slew of high quality releases that stand the test of time released this month, but make this guy’s job choosing just one a challenge!
First, I loved this box art. As someone with Asian blood, this spoke to me at the tender age of . And I have to say the PAL box art might be even better (look it up).
Anyway…Jade Empire is still one of my favorite RPGs, western or otherwise. It’s themed so fantastically for the time it releases, taking place in China and using that mythology and culture versus the standard European-themed Tolkien/D&D fantasy tropes you find 99% of the time. It was a lovely change of pace. A colorful, fantastic looking, sounding, and most importantly, playing game. The combat was plain fun, action packed and some of my favorite BioWare has done outside of maybe Mass Effect 2-3.
The story was awesome - I won’t spoil it - and refreshingly on the shorter side. I think the main story is around 15-20 hours from my last play through (on PC admittedly) a few years back. Even with the shorter runtime, it still felt epic and I think a lot of games out today can take some hints (Outer Worlds is a good start imo) and offer a solid, condensed experience that respects the time of gamers who have such an overabundance of choice and limited time. I still enjoy playing this game today, even after multiple play throughs. It’s an all-time classic, definitely find a way to play it. It’s cheap on PC quite often and runs on most machines.
The rest of the month, I feel shameful leaving out some of these titles as my pick but that’s what shoutouts are for, right? Doom 3, Lego Star Wars, Dead to Rights II, Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition (I remember “rapper” Birdman was a voice in this lol), Unreal Championship 2, and Psychonauts. Psychonauts…I can’t believe it’s been that long!
I approve of the choice @anon98342452 though as you said April '05 was a busy month.
I had a bit more time to think and remember Jade Empire last night and it really was quite special. Not being “yet another” Fantasy RPG with Tolkien/Euro setting was great. I really have grown so tired with the fantasy genre in that respect.
Absolutely agree. I love my nerdy Tolkien-based fantasy, but find myself craving experiences in new settings. I think that’s a lot of the appeal that Mass Effect has for me (ugh stop tempting me to buy the remaster!). I used to really enjoy JRPGs when I was younger, but that’s another genre with a specific series of tropes that’s beginning to wear quite thin.
Yeah I can cope with 1 “medieval” Fantasy RPG, it just seems like they all end up either that or Tolkien. “Fantasy” can cover so much its a shame they always end up pretty similar. Sci Fi is a favourite genre but it seems it allows for a little more variation at least.
May 2005 could be considered slow compared to the prior month, but brought Xbox users a core franchise that’s still a big part of Microsoft today, earning multiple spin-offs and considered by many the best in genre.
Forza was Microsoft’s big answer to Gran Turismo. A gorgeous sim racer with an awesome feel, Forza managed to be an additive part of a crowded racing scene. It introduced damage to a sim racer which was unheard of at the time, but more importantly it opened up the genre to more casual players with the suggested racing line that displayed on the track. Gran Turismo often feel unapproachable due to its difficulty and need to really learnt the tracks. This made having casual fun quite difficult for many who didn’t have the time to devote to it. Forza innovated this, and was easily a more accessible racer.
One area it fell short of its direct competitor was the number of cars and tracks, but for a first effort over 200 cars and north of 30 tracks wasn’t too shabby. The music is also meh, but being able to plug in your own tracks off the Xbox hard drive and race was amazing. The AI was smart and provided a good challenge, and of course the multiplayer was great on XBL. It’s a total package of a racing game, one that made its mark and hopefully continues to innovate and move the genre forward in the coming years.
Just one shoutout this month which goes to Advent Rising. I don’t think it’s a great game, but there’s some AA quality here that made it a decent weekend play. I wouldn’t go out of my way to play it, but it’s a game!
June 2005 brought a few classics to the Xbox platform which many people still look back on fondly. The best game of the month is probably one of the biggest games ever both in terms of quality, scope, and hype.
I can’t believe this game came out in June, outside of the holiday window, but that just goes to show you the impact and appeal of GTA. I suppose it made sense with the Xbox 360 just around the corner, but it’s still mind blowing to see a title like this launch during the summer. And launch it did! I remember the hype for this game. All my friends wanted it, the media flooded the internet with articles, and forums/communities were populated by thread after thread about it.
San Andreas is the last of what many call the “GTA Trilogy”, and take what the prior two games did and amp it up to an extreme level. Everything about San Andreas is massive, from the sprawling, detailed California to the lengthy, voice acted campaign. The soundtrack once again shines, this time putting the emphasis on that West Coast G-Funk of the era. It was a mature game about gangsters, telling a story that was compelling with characters you actually likes and cared for.
The gameplay wasn’t a lot different, but subtle improvements were made to the driving and shooting which make it the most playable in the trilogy. There’s just so much to do in this world, it was one of the best “life simulators” of the time that was actually fun to play. I dumped an incredible amount of time into this one, often just cruising around in my lowrider bumpin’ that Warren G or Snoop Dogg. It’s really hard to capture just how good this game was at the time, and while the series has continued I often think of this as the pinnacle. I’d love a remake of sorts, or a least a new game revisiting the area, era, and characters. Maybe we’ll see that in GTA 6? Please Rockstar.
Shoutouts go to Conker: Live and Reloaded and Destroy All Humans. It should be noted that all of this months picks can be played on modern Xbox hardware via BC. I don’t know if Conker holds up, but I know GTA is still fun. Destroy All Humans has both a BC Xbox original available, as well as a remaster which was received fairly well and is now on Game Pass.
Damn, I’m realizing 2005 was actually a pretty good year for Microsoft first party published games. Between the already posted Jade Empire and Forza, there’s Conker and the 360 launch games.
Which means Rare put out three games in one year. Crazy.
I’ll admit I dont particularly like GTA games after Vice city. I played 4 for a little until having to ferry a string of NPC’s out on dates as a gruff Serbian Man lost its sheen. 5 I played a little, mostly messing about online with friends.
I have similarly only played a little San Andreas. That however seemed a lot more fun that what came after. A little more RPGness about it, A lot less po-faced?
Regardless though it wasn’t and isnt for me it is clearly the cream of June 2005. I recall I bought Advent Rising and found it “meh” it was ok for a rent, I had only picked it up as Scott Card was involved in it, and this was long before I realised that the man was a massive c**t. Advent Rising not a few short months later was being practically given away as I remember.
Its a lot easier to argue about acquisitions and/or delayed future games though I guess.
Just everyone else to engage 
