Continuing their push for the Xbox 360, Microsoft was the key element and biggest draw for the 2005 Osaka Game Festa. Held over two days in MyDomeOsaka, the Osaka Game Festa pales in comparison with the September Tokyo Game Show, but still has its own unique, Osaka flavour. This year, that flavour was the green Midori of Xbox 360. I had the chance to sample a variety of both launch and near-release titles. The smallish crowd allowed for a greater experience of the games and the ability to get a closer view of the 360 in action.
Perhaps our man in Japan needs some photography lessons
First off, then: Need For Speed: Most Wanted was jaw-droppingly beautiful, from the individual splashes of rain on the windscreen to the flawless replication of car models and environments. The cars handled well, standard drifting and boost ever-present, and your opponents were both fast and clever. The best element of the entire game was the ability for a lot of things to happen away from your car, changing the dimensions and elements of the tracks and the dynamics of the race. Other motorists will crash ahead of you and parts of the terrain and environment will be destroyed by people other than you.
Meanwhile, Dead Rising had the longest line and playtime of any of the 360 titles - and what better after a long wait than killing hundreds of zombies using a huge multitude of weapons? The game looks a treat, with zombie death animations that featured huge fountains of blood spouting from various body parts, all in a shopping mall environment that can be interacted with in countless ways. But Dead Rising's greatest benefit could also be it's downfall, as a vast majority of time is spent trying to find new and innovative weapons, while not really having enough control over the weapons to do what you want.
Project Gotham Racing 3 was simply stunning. Even just waiting in line for the game was mesmerising. The cities are beautifully recreated, the cars are freakishly real and the game brilliant fun to play. Anyone who has played the previous games, or even Metropolis Street Racer, will be instantly familiar with the control and Kudos system. The full game is sure to contain a glut of extra unlockables and tracks from around the world and would have been a great addition to the Japanese launch line-up (it's already been confirmed as a title in the European launch line-up of course, though in Japan it's likely that the game is being held back until 2006).
Fans of FIFA 06 and NBA Live were in for a nice surprise as these titles both benefited from the smallest lines of the show. FIFA 06 was very easy to get into, the 360 controls feeling just that much better than on the old Xbox brick. Graphically there isn't all that much to shout about, although the player models were, inevitably, extremely realistic (slightly too realistic when it comes to Ronaldo). Most of the play is seen from far above the pitch and looks similar to the last few FIFAs. A nice addition to the loading screen was the ability to play a one-on-one game while waiting for the game to load. Nice stuff from EA.
NBA Live was looking tremendous, the closest I've seen to replicating a television broadcast yet. Not much has changed in the control and the game still had some player collision issues, but Live seems to be a great addition to the franchise.
Ridge Racer 6 was disappointing. The graphics pale when placed next to either of the other racing games, with weak lighting effects and an overall sense of sophistication missing. The controls replicate the same drifting sensation that the previous games possessed, a gameplay style that tends to polarise opinions somewhat. The game has slipped down in my opinion since the Tokyo Games Show – it’s still a beautiful title, but lacks the polish and feel of most of the other 360 games.
Despite its shortcomings, Ridge Racer was popular at the show
Finally, we come to one of the highlights of the show: Perfect Dark Zero. The game is simply stunning - it controls like a dream. The generous folk at Microsoft allowed a series of four player games across a varied amount of maps, and the game played as well as it looked. It's this game, combined with NFS: MW, that could hopefully allow the Xbox 360 to explode upon release in Japan. With that said however, turning the tide away from Sony is going to be every bit as tricky as it was in 2001.
- Kris Polglase
Kris also took a few videos of the games in action. The quality isn't terrific, but they're worth a look.
Dead Rising - 3.5MB
NBA Live - 4MB
Ridge Racer 6 - 3.5MB
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