By Jim Slavin: The story so far... Halo is a first-person shooter and ranked as the #1 game on the Xbox to date. You are a cyborg, known only as your rank: Master Chief. You are an elite marine. Pilot of any vehicle, and master of any weapon, human or covenent. You are the last of your kind. The rest of the cyborgs were destroyed where they were created, the planet Reach. You are on the inter-galactic starship, The Pillar Of Autumn. The ship has to make an emergancy landing on an alien ring, code named: Halo. This is where your adventure begins...

I think this is and might stay the best FPS ever. (well, until Halo 2) I've beaten the game, on all difficulties, at least 50 times and I still play it. If you don't have this game, GET IT! For those of you, who don't have the greatest console ever(and I do mean ever), the game is coming out on the PC and MAC. For those of you with the greatest console ever, Halo 2 is coming out in 2003 - 2004.

Halo: Combat Evolved Trailers and Pics The Eldar Scrolls III: Morrowind By Jim Slavin: This is the first offical RPG for the Xbox. Originally making it's first apperence on the PC, Bethada Softworks decided to deliver it to the good people at Microsoft. I must say, I'm simply amazed at the size of this game. It litterally would take you days (without an alteration spell), from city to city. There are different methods of travel. You could take a huge bug, called a silt strider, from city to city. Or, you could take mage teleports from mages guild to mages guild. Finally, you could just make a spell that increases how far you jump (like I did), or how fast you walk, to get from place to place. From the start, you pick your class, race, and skills. You also have the ability to go where you want, take what you want (as long as you don't get caught), or kill who you want from the get-go. If you break the law, you have the choice to: 1. Pay your bounty in gold, 2. Go To Jail, or 3. Resist arrest. If you go to jail, (you don't pass GO, you don't collect $200,) some of your skills may decrease. If you pay the gold, the gold is taken along with what you took, (including if you stole somehting from another place,) and your let free. If you resist arrest, prepare to fight guards wherever you go in Morrowind. I own this game and I just have to say it's one of the best RPG's I've played in a long time. As you do jobs for the different guilds, your reputation goes up. The more your rep, the more people like you the first time you talk to you. Although, you can change people's opinion about you in with a varity of ways. You could Admire, Intimidate, Taunt, or Bribe them. The successfulness of the person actually believing you depends on your Speechcraft skill. Admiring, or Bribing a person puts there disposition of you up (if done successfully). Intimidating puts their disposition up, but later they hate you more. Taunting someone puts thier disposition down, making them want to hit you more and more. If you need to kill someone, Taunting them is the best way, as they attack you first and you wouldn't be charged with killing them (as it's self-defense). Over-all, it's a very good game. But I warn you. The game freezes with what's known as the dirty-disc error. Even if your disc is the cleanest it's ever been, this error might occur. This is why I encourge everyone with this game to save often. Not because some monster around the corner might eat you alive and but your head on it's mantel, but because the game might freeze for NO REASON. This has pist me off many times (especially after doing some long, tough quests for the guild). Get past the freezing, and the RPG for the Xbox. Though Project Ego is coming out in 2003... Morrowind Pics and Info NFL Fever 2002 By Jim Slavin: This is the football game for the Xbox. It has all the NFL teams, and a couple of fantasy teams that you can unlock. Also, you have access to all stadiums, and uniforms. There is also the Dynasty Mode. This is a mode where you can play up to 25 seasons, including the Pro Bowl at the end of every season. You can create your own player, and then sign him on your favorite team (as with other sports games). The thing is though, I have a Wide Receiver (who has 100 Speed and Acceleration). I have him on defense (as well as offense), by putting him onto the punt return team and then call an audible to line him on the line of scrimage. As soon as the quarterback hikes the ball, within seconds he is sacked by my guy (named after me). NFL Fever 2002 Pics and Trailers Brute Force By Carlson: In the realm of the first-person shooters for Xbox, Halo is the undisputed heavyweight champion. In the third-person genre, there has not been a clear and decisive king… yet. Brute Force may change that. Combine squad-based combat with a third-person perspective. Add a healthy dose of Special Operations and a dash of Xbox-flavored graphical magic. The result is what may well be the best third-person shooter title seen on the Xbox so far. The Squad consists of four unique soldiers, each with his or her own distinct personalities, strengths and weaknesses: Flint is a cyborg whose skill as a Sniper is without equal. Her advanced targeting system makes her exceedingly deadly at any range. Hawk, a young woman with a specialty in reconnaissance and stealth, can eliminate a threat silently and without warning if necessary. Brutus, the only non-human member of the squad, is the best combination of agility and power, combining the strength, speed, and reflexes of his Feral race along with his preference for heavy weapons. And then there's Tex, a one-man wrecking crew with a penchant for big guns. Lots of them. Now that we've got all this firepower, what do we do with it? Well, Special Operations assignments can vary extensively: Reconnaissance, assassination, hostage rescue, espionage, and of course the ever popular seek-and-destroy missions. Different missions require different tactics skills, and weapons. While some missions lend themselves to a discreet and cautious approach, others require sheer—well, brute force. In this game you have direct control over one of the members of your squad, while the other squadmates are controlled by a combination of AI, and your commands. You can switch freely between squadmates at any point with the push of a button. Since each one has its own personality, they don't all react the same way to situations. For example, unless you order them to do otherwise, Tex and Brutus tend to go charging straight in with guns afire, while Hawk and Flint will look for a less direct approach. The control layout is familiar enough that gameplay is intuitive and easy to learn. You handle movement and aim with the thumbsticks, along with the familiar Right trigger to shoot (very similar to Halo). This game has all the hallmarks of a great shooter, with a definite chance of being an instant classic. Brute Force Trailers and Pics MechAssault By Carlson: For more years than I can remember, the battlefields of my imagination have been dominated by the lumbering shadows of colossal BattleMechs. So far MechAssault, the latest addition to the MechWarrior universe, appears to be fitting into my mental picture quite well. Between the thundering report of auto-cannons and the crackle and hum of PPCs the world of the MechAssault is a vivid one. Crisp graphics, stunning lighting effects, and beautiful textures mean that there's plenty of eye candy to go around. The third-person perspective is different than what most 'Mech fans are used to, but it is well suited to console gameplay. Instead of focusing on the finite technical details and micromanagement of the MechWarrior simulations, MechAssault is geared more towards the action genre. Gameplay is intuitive and fast but maintains the technical background of the BattleTech universe. The difference is one of scale… back in the early days of the pen-and-paper game, combat was rather time consuming. With the MechWarrior games on the PC, the pace picked up to a level that was closer to "reality." MechAssault kicks it up another notch by pushing the pace of action beyond previous games, but keeps it within reasonable limitations. The resulting feel is quite different than fans of the previous titles would expect, but not at all unpleasant. Having spent countless hours in the infinitely detailed pen-and-paper version of the BattleTech universe, as well as in the numerous PC simulations that have been released over the years, I can honestly say this new addition is a strong addition to the MechWarrior universe. Exclusively for the Xbox, MechAssault offers gamers a new feel and pace to a classic genre. MechAssault Trailers and Pics Dead To Rights By Ben Barker: Jack Slate, hero of Namco's new action game Dead to Rights, is a cool K-9 officer of the law who can dish out hot, leaded justice from both barrels without breaking a sweat. When a shootout at a construction site ends in personal tragedy, Slate finds himself betrayed and surrounded by enemies. He'll have to use every weapon at his disposal—fists, bullets, makeshift explosives, and his canine partner Shadow—to solve the mystery of his father's murder and bring those responsible to justice. At first glance, Dead to Rights might seem very similar to last year's action hit Max Payne. After all, Jack Slate prefers to tote two pistols at a time, has a tendency to talk to himself in tough-guy lingo, and can even slow down time in a way that would make Keanu say, "Woah." But the similarities end there. Where Payne was an action-packed graphic novel come to life, Dead to Rights is an unabashed—and unrelenting—action movie in the Hong Kong tradition of John Woo, Sammo Hung, and their contemporaries. Dozens of enemies at a time pack the screen, sometimes when you can only fight them off with your fists. Timing, aiming, and keeping track of your vitality are crucial to survival. The hardboiled town of Grant City does not give up its secrets easily. The game mixes up the gunfights and fistfights to great effect. Jack can use all manner of weapons dropped by enemies, including several varieties of shotguns, pistols, rifles, artillery, and even flame throwers. Of course, the most effective tool in Slate's arsenal doesn't need any ammo except Alpo. You can select your faithful K-9 attack dog Shadow like any other weapon, and send him in for a guaranteed kill. Good dog! A number of special moves and attacks help Slate survive his adventure. Along with bullet time, Jack can lean up against a wall, then pop out around the corner to pick off enemies. He can sneak up on a bad guy and disarm him with lethal force (picking up a new gun in the process). In what's sure to become a signature move, our hero can grab enemies and use them as human shields to soak up bullets when things get hairy. Jack also picks up compressed CO2 canisters that, once ignited with a bullet, make excellent makeshift explosives against groups of foes. Like any good action movie, Dead to Rights gives viewers (and players) just a few spots to catch your breath. Several mini-games break up the game's longer combat sequences. Most allow Jack to work his way through his mysterious adventure—lockpicking, arm-wrestling convicts, that sort of thing. You also might find yourself taking on another role entirely, such as Shadow the bomb-sniffing wonder dog, or Jack's stripper friend Hildy, who you control as she "distracts" some bad guys, allowing Jack to sneak past unseen. Dead to Rights is not an easy game, and Jack Slate's life is no walk in the park. But if you're looking for an addictive, unique cinematic experience with relentless action and non-stop thrills, look no further, you've found your cup of hot lead. Dead To Rights Trailers and Pics Back to Homepage

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