Despite my lack of interest in most things Halo, the more than 7.3 million copies of Halo 3 and apparently Halo 3 Limited Edition that have miraculously flown off store shelves are increasingly difficult to ignore. Besides, it’s not such a bad game after all. Rather enjoyable, really. Anyway, surely Xbox 360 owners will be thrilled to know that Microsoft and Bungie announced that 15th April will mark the release of the next pack of Halo 3 downloadable goodies. Yours for 800 Microsoft Points, the Legendary Map Pack will add three new maps to the title’s multiplayer experience: Ghost Town, Avalanche, and one map yet to be revealed. The pack will also come with some new Forge options too.

On to the maps then. Ghost Town, the first one on offer, is a battle-scarred maze of narrow passages and appropriately ruined ruins just outside the once-prosperous city of Voi. According to Bungie, collapsed ceilings and shell-battered buildings will both provide cover and offer a selection of deadly traps, as catwalks and stairways take the fight from claustrophobic ground combat to dizzying rooftop battles. Ghost Town should turn out to be a mid-sized map ideal for Team Slayer games and smaller, objective types.

The second map, Avalanche (pictured above), on the other hand, will be quite a tribute to Sidewinder, not particularly new and quite a bit of fan service too. This massive, vehicle-oriented objective map will adds a twist to its popular predecessor though, what with all the new interiors, dramatically reshaped exteriors, graphics update and brand new vehicle variants. Oh, and the Hornet has also been updated.

The third map to be included, the same that has yet to be announced, will probably be something to keep the fans of smaller Slayer maps happy.

Football games, not unlike adventures and strategy games, don’t need fancy graphics, never truly age and are more than tricky to get right. They are, you see, one of them gameplay driven genres. That’s why Sensible Soccer still is a better game than the latest FIFA, that’s why thousands of people still enjoy Kick Off II and that’s why Football Manager -one of the most successful gaming franchises ever- is in essence a game without graphics. So, what are your options in digital football gaming, I pretend to hear you ask? Well, read on, read on.

Football Manager

Football Manager, the venerable series that began life as Championship Manager, has always been an immensely addictive time sink of a management game, an impressive ever-evolving database of the international world of of football and an incredibly fun game too. Nowadays, it can also be said that FM is a true football RPG, and one of those games we all take refuge in when our teams get disqualified/relegated/ridiculed. Traditionally FM 2008, the latest and best version of the game, is available for PC only, but you can also grab a stripped down version of the game for your PSP or go for FM 2006 for the Xbox 360. Oh, and a MMO should soon be released.

Pro Evolution Soccer

Pro Evolution Soccer is a rare yet happily popular attempt at realistically recreating football. There are no crazy scores here and precise crossing is a matter of technique. It really feels proper. Now, Pro Evo might lack FIFA’s official shine and impressive graphics, but -believe me- it still is the better game. By far. Makes for quite a brilliant party game too. Pro Evo 2008 can be played on the PS3, PS2, PSP and -provided you don’t mind less impressive ports- on the DS. The highly innovative Wii version of the game, a footie RTS of sorts, will soon be reviewed.

Sensible Soccer

This is the best football game ever. Want to know why? One word: pace. Care for more words? Well, how about after-touch, one button gameplay and lovely pixel-art graphics? To properly enjoy Sensible Soccer you should really play it on an Amiga, but lacking one, I guess you could try the equally retro PC or Atari ST versions of the game. Alternatively the best way to get some faithful yet up-to-date Sensi action would be via the Xbox Live Arcade. Sensible Soccer 2006 (PC, Xbox, PS2) is decent, as is the Mega Drive/Genesis version available via a certain TV plug-’n'-play thingy.

FIFA

Not much of a fan of the franchise really, but I must admit it’s quite enjoyable. And looks rather good too. FIFA 2008, quite obviously the latest offering in the long running series, can be played on virtually any console, meaning versions for the Wii, PS3, PS2, Xbox 360, DS and PSP have already been released.

Younger readers will be shocked to know that the survival-horror genre, just like many of the enjoyable things in life, is a French invention that first manifested itself as the 1992 critical and commercial hit Alone in the Dark or -as game journos came to name it- AITD. AITD, then, the first, best and still unrivaled survival horror game, and of cousrse something you absolutely have to play, went on to spawn three sequels. Actually, make that two decent sequels and one sub-par reimagining of the franchise in 2001, and do try to forget its filmic adaptation.

And now, in the year of our lord 2008, Alone in the Dark is coming back and hitting every major format from the PS3 to the Xbox 360, the Wii, the PC and the still enduring PS2. It’s so close you can even preorder it and, most probably, this will be a pretty wise pre-order too. The game, you see, might not be set during the 1920s or feature any traditional adventure gaming elements (let alone a properly Lovecraftian atmosphere), but it definitely looks fantastic, sounds spooky and will also sport some of the most innovative combat & physics mechanics imaginable. Besides, it all takes place in the astonishingly overlooked Central Park…


Oh, and here are some very reassuring words from Alone in the Dark lead designer (and apparently fan) Hervé Sliwa:

“We have great respect for the first Alone in the Dark and we want to respect the legacy of that, but we also want to put our souls into the new game. I would say the new game is not a sequel, it’s a new approach to the game with new innovations and new rules. Of course you don’t need to play the first one to start this one, but we have little connections between the two games.

The project started in my mind 10 years ago when I was on a trip to New York city, my first trip to the US. Just after I arrived, I was walking in Manhattan and I went up to Central Park. New York at night is lights everywhere – the city that never sleeps. I arrived in front of Central Park very late at night and the park was very dark. I was in front of this huge dark square and it was really weird – it was such a contrast between the dark square in front of me and the lights in the street everywhere. It was like a parallel world, the world of the light and the world of the darkness – it was amazing. At that moment I had a flash in my head that it could be a great playground for a new Alone in the Dark game. When I came back from the trip I had lots of photos of the buildings around the park and I started to imagine lots of different situations and possibilities for the game, different scenarios in the park, adventure plots and so on. At that moment I was working on Sheep Dog and Wolf, so I put all my ideas in a box. After Kya: Dark Lineage we found out Atari had the brand and we had the opportunity to propose a new project, so I took all my ideas out of the box. We had a brainstorm at Eden and proposed the first ideas for the new game and that was the start of the new Alone in the Dark.“

Apparently the vast majority of the video gaming crowds already knew this simplest of truths and would probably even call the game a classic, but I just wasn’t convinced. All it took though were a few hours of playing through this Gears of War thing and I can definitely say it’s a fun game, a great shooter and an incredibly polished offering. Everything works the way it should: the camera is always well positioned, the graphics are excellent, the controls are responsive, the enemy AI seems cunning, the sounds are terrifying and even the story manages to be vaguely amusing. Happily it doesn’t take itself too seriously either and thus avoids being as offensive as, say, the over-hyped HALO 3. Oh, and its stealthy-shooty-third-person gameplay is a nice change from the standard FPS perspective too.

On the other hand Gears of War isn’t the masterpiece the average Microsoft fanboy would have you believe, but then why trust a MS Word addict in the first place? There’s no innovation, nothing particularly inspired in the art direction nor anything to remember in a few years, unless of course you thought the Doom movie was worthy of a Palm d’Or. Truth be said, GoW is a silly popcorn flick disguised as a quality video game. Simple as that. Enjoyable as that.

There are two kinds of Xbox 360 gamers: those who have already played Mass Effect to death, those that will soon do so and those with a bricked console. Uhm, yes, that’s three kinds apparently. Right. Anyway. What truly matters is that you either know what a great game Bioware’s latest epic is or you should really do bother and find out. Now, in case you are already aware of this simplest of truths, you’ll be happy -nay, elated- to know that the first downloadable expansion for the game has just been announced and will be available on the 10th of this very March for a very reasonable 400 MS points. Oh, and the expansion has been given the properly epic title of Bring Down the Sky.

Bring Down the Sky will include a brand new uncharted world and introduce the notorious, nasty and appropriately ugly alien race of the Batarians. It seems, that a Batarian extremist group has hijacked a mobile asteroid station in the Asgard system, setting it on a collision course with the nearby colony world of Terra Nova. It thus falls to the player to promptly save the millions of innocent civilians before the asteroid completes its deadly (though banal) descent and earn valuable xp while at it. If you must know, Bring Down the Sky should contain approximately 90 minutes of gameplay and even a new achievement worth 50 Gamerscore points.

Sonic the Hedgehog was really big, you know. Bigger than Horace ever was and definitely bigger than Zool. He almost won the 16-bit console wars too (if ever there was such a thing), and -admittedly- is still recognizable enough to sell the odd overpriced copy. Then again, everyone can see the character and his truckload of silly overacted friends aren’t doing half as well as expected and -that’s the ugly bit mind you- usually star in some shockingly dreadful games.

Now, as I’m not one to necessarily demand a return to Sonic’s 2D roots and 90s gameplay form, even though you have to admit that Sonic Rush for the DS was the best Sonic for what felt like ages, I think Sega should realistically have a long hard look at Sonic’s current-gen outings. Try to figure out what they can do right and what they simply should do away with. And you know what? It’s as easy as having a look at two 2007 games.

The first one is simply called Sonic the Hedgehog and debuted on the Xbox 360, though a virtually identical PlayStation 3 version did promptly follow. Oh, yes, and it is such an astonishingly awful game you’d think it was meant as a bloody interrogation tool for a consolized version of hell. Also, despite its title, this abomination has nothing to do with the implied return to form you might be hoping for. On the plus side though, Sonic the Hedgehog Next-Gen could probably also serve as a developer’s map of the things designers should avoid: tons of horribly unfunny Sonic Team written dialog, an overly complex control scheme, graphics without style or flair, a silly soundtrack, weird missions, a horrid camera system, pointless exploration bits, exhausting loading times, an interesting selection of bugs and glitches, a badly judged difficulty curve, nonsensical ideas regarding save points and only a few moments of fast platform (almost) properly Sonic action, that unfortunately aren’t that good anyway.

On the other hand, the other extreme if you wish (you know, to, uhh, justify this post’s title) we have Sonic and the Secret Rings for the Wii, an impressively better game that really tried to focus on the basics that helped define and elevate Sonic to classic status, while also trying to keep up with the gaming mainstream of today: it’s in 3D and uses the Wii Remote. Happily it also offers a simple -almost intuitive- control system, great speed and what can essentially only be described as 2D gameplay. It is thus a fun game that feels properly Sonicy. Mind you, it’s not perfect, not by far, but definitely a step in the right direction. And it does spare us those anime cartoon anthropomorphic animals that aren’t Sonic…

I know I’ve already talked about 10 of the best (mostly retro inspired, definitely indie developed) games available for the Xbox Live Arcade, but that was before Space Giraffe and thus before the llamas, disguised as Yaks and via the Trojan horse of Lllamasoft, invaded your average unsuspecting Xbox 360. Or at least before I noticed it. For I am generally absentminded and for Space Giraffe is not only among the best, but the best game available for this very MS console. Actually, I’d go as far as saying this game should be reason enough for the truly hardcore and properly old-school gaming masses to go on and buy an Xbox 360. Yes, it’s that good. It’s for the Xbox what Tempest 2000 was for the Atari Jaguar. No, really. I swear. Have a look at the screenshots, try the demo, spent a few Xbox Live points and you’ll see.

After all, this is a game created by legendary game designer, bearded visionary, all around nice-guy Jeff Minter that evolves the concept of Tempest almost beyond recognition. Space Giraffe, you see, is a psychedelic shoot-’em-up spanning 100 levels all set against trippy backgrounds that synchronize with your very own mp3s and a game that features bonus levels, hidden modes and nifty power-ups. Brilliant!

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, though no Starcraft , admittedly offers a great and immensely addictive if not particularly original RTS gaming experience, complete with classic game mechanics and a gloriously tacky storyline. Happily, things will soon get better, more innovative, bloodier and -yes- even tackier with Kane’s Wrath. Well, Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath to be exact, that will apparently be the expansion C&C has been waiting for and a (probably) lovely strategic offering that should be hitting both PCs and Xbox 360s sometime before this Summer.

Interestingly, the game will be adding a Risk-like strategic level (soon to be known as Global Conquest Mode) to the RTS proceedings, which will incidentally break the linear structure of the single player campaign and finally challenge the players’ turn-based, more strategic, gaming skills too. Then again, besides the added fun of moving armies around a digital board, more of Kane should be all you care for and obviously you’ll be getting that in abundance. Oh, and the thing will be a looker too.

Here are some glorious new screenshots to get you impressed and waiting:

It’s true, Microsoft told everyone. 17,700,000. Really, though, why should we care? Why does Microsoft bother telling us its console is selling in the millions? To prove the success of the thing or just to irritate Sony? To demonstrate Japan its folly? Is this thing part of an advertising campaign? Is it just a way to keep them fanboys from abandoning the forums and turning the Internet into a slightly better place? I mean, as most of us probably aren’t MS stock-holders and definitely wouldn’t want to go around chatting with each and every of the 17.7 million Xbox 360 owners, that’s quite a bit of useless info. Exactly as uninteresting as the number of Wii consoles that have been shipped. Or the unimpressive PS3 sales. Or the fact that people actually think there’s a console war.

Pointless stuff. As far as video gaming is concerned it’s not the numbers that count. Well, not for me at least. I thoroughly enjoyed -and frankly still enjoy- the Dreamcast and it didn’t sell half us much as the PS3, while Beyond Good and Evil is still a million times better a game than the million selling Halo 2. No, it definitely isn’t numbers. It’s quality, flair, beauty, horror and originality. Artistry if you will. Trouble is that numbers usually go against it. When talent and care are lacking, advertising money makes the difference, and when people start caring for the well-being of this or that game producing corporation, well, frankly that’s all for the worse.

So, yes, there are 17.7 millions of Xbox 360 consoles around, but do you care?

</short rant off>

I could have named this post The top 10 Xbox 360 and Live Arcade games, you know, but I can’t say I’m fond of this “top” thing. Actually, I usually hate it. I mean, what’s the point? How can somebody objectively prove that Call of Duty 2 is better than Viva Pinata? See what I mean? No? Well, that’s what the comments section is all about. This post, on the other hand, is all about the tens of Xbox 360 games I consider excellent, fun, beautiful and/or innovative, and though they have all been rated pretty highly by most reviewers, these lists have no claim to objectivity. Good taste, you see, is both more important and above objectivity…

10 excellent Xbox 360 games
- Bioshock
- The Orange Box
- Gears of War
- Mass Effect
- HALO 3
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
- Guitar Hero III
- Viva Pinata
- Project Gotham Racing 4

10 excellent Live Arcade games
- Sensible World of Soccer
- Pac-Man Championship edition
- Carcassone
- Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
- Bomberman Live
- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
- Catan
- Wik - The Fable of Souls
- Smash TV
- Jetpac Refueled