E3 2002: Adam's Xbox Picks Special @ Gaming Target

Written by Adam Woolcott on May 30, 2002

Special: If we could combine these 3 games, you'd have Solid Snake sneaking around a football field to give the quarterback a Stone Cold Stunner.

As usual, E3 brought us many surprises & eventful news, along with the latest builds of games that have recently been announced. All the major systems (including Game Boy Advance) had great shows, but the point of this article is to look at 3 of my most anticipated games coming out of E3. Not all of the ones I'm looking forward to (if this was the case, this article would be 5,000 words long and you'd pass out from boredom), but 3 games that have piqued my interest for the mighty Xbox. So without further adieu, here are those picks for Xbox at the 2002 E3 show.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance Ц Konami Ц November 2002
For the last year or so, Xbox fans have been wondering when and if Metal Gear (and specifically, the sorta-announced Metal Gear Solid X) would see the light of day on the Xbox. This talk somewhat simmered down after the release of MGS2, as many of these people broke down and played the game instead of waiting around. I considered MGS2 the PlayStation 2 game of the year for 2001, so it's not a wonder why anticipation was high for any sort of Xbox announcment.

Just prior to E3, Konami finally spilled the beans Ц Xbox was getting an MGS game, in the form of Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance. While this is not an Xbox exclusive forever (PS2 and PC will get it a couple months afterwards), the limited period of time when you can only get the game on Xbox will possibly push a few more systems at release.

If it was a straight port, I wouldn't be as interested Ц but Konami isn't doing this. Instead, Konami has blow this game out, with tons of new things to do, making the game worth buying again even if you already have played the PS2 version. Most important to the mix is the ability of playing as Solid Snake through the УBig ShellФ portion of the game, instead of Raiden. I'm under the assumption this means that the game will show things that were only described the first time around, instead of a simple character swap, but it's probably too early to know for sure. And it wasn't helping that Kojima and company created an intentionally deceiving trailer for the game, leaving even more speculation as to what the hell is going on.

Also, you can play as other characters, like Raiden through the tanker, and even the super-cool Ninja character. Along with that, there will be 5 new missions involving Snake, and 300 new VR training modes to go through, like MGS: VR Missions for the PSOne. Unfortunately, the rumored MGS1 remake is not part of the massive package (it will take an entire DVD-9 Ц the whole Xbox disc), but it's not out of the realm of impossibility, though I doubt it will happen.

This whole thing reminds me of the packed DVD special edition movies that are standard procedure nowadays Ц you get a full package of good stuff on one disc. This feels like MGS2: The Ultimate Edition, which is why I'm so interested in checking it out.

NFL Fever 2003 Ц Microsoft Ц August 2002
Last year's NFL Fever caught me by surprise Ц I had little to no expectations, given how poor I felt the original PC version was back in 1999. However, Microsoft surprised me by giving the most feature packed football game for the Xbox, and possibly the best football game on the system, despite some stiff competition from Sega and EA Sports.

This year's Fever will build upon this new franchise with one new element Ц online play. Through the newly created Xbox Live service, Fever owners can hop online and play opponents around the country (not world, since I doubt Fever will be released outside of North America). Of course, the online play will not come at a cost of the single player modes Ц the outstanding Dynasty mode is back (hopefully with the ability to change quarter lengths instead of being stuck at 5 minutes), complete with total stat tracking, hall of fame inductions, and a huge list of records that were made to be broken. The game doesn't seem to have changed much in terms of graphics and gameplay Ц but given how great the 2002 version was, that's not a bad thing. Hopefully the sagging commentary will get a beefing up Ц it was decent in 2002, but still had a lot to be desired.

Despite my enjoyment of Sega Sports games (especially their football games), Microsoft's sports department has slowly begun to woo me with a pair of great sports games. Fever 2002 and Inside Drive 2002 are both amazing sports games Ц giving MS a track record for sports game excellence. With Madden, NFL 2K3, and Fever 2003 competing for your money, football fans will definitely be satisfied by the offerings.

WWE Raw 2 Ц THQ/Anchor Ц 1st Quarter 2003
The original WWF Raw game was decent enough Ц it wasn't a terrible game, and certainly fun with multiple players. It was lacking in the single player department Ц the modes of play were plain even compared to 16-bit wrestling games, and the inability to save in between a 12 match ladder for the WWF Championship (with each fight taking anywhere from 5 Ц 20 minutes each) hurt as well. The Create-A-Wrestler mode was pretty good. Really, Raw was a good first attempt by Anchor, and one that certainly would get better as the engine developed with future games.

That future is now, and complete with a name change. WWE (it pains me to call it WWE, really) Raw 2 is looking great Ц the early word is the game improves on all that was wrong with the first, for a more enjoyable experience. I'm usually a little concerned about wrestling games because they usually wind up being disappointing, but Raw 2 looks like it will live up to at least some of the hype.

Most importantly: there's a ton more modes of play and match varietys. All the usual WWE gimmick matches are present, so no more bland fights that don't carry enough action. The roster does include both the Raw and Smackdown wrestlers (of course, can you see someone buying the new Smackdown game on PS2 and Raw for Xbox just to have all the rosters? I doubt that), with around 40 total. Best of all, Raw will feature a career mode for the 1 player experience. Hopefully it will be a deep and satisfying mode of play to keep you playing longer than a week, and making sure it's a game that doesn't only come out when friends drop by.

CAW is back also, with an important addition Ц the ability to use music ripped from the hard drive. This means so much to the realism of the mode Ц if you can hunt down the themes from past superstars, stick them on a CDRW that Xbox will accept, and rip them to the HD, you can create a truly accurate superstar. Imagine being able to recreate such WWF stars as the Ultimate Warrior, Rick Rude, even Bret Hart Ц all using their trademark WWF entrance music. Sounds good to me!

Despite my disinterest in wrestling these days, wrestling games always get my interest Ц playing the promoter instead of being armchair promoter is a lot more fun and involving, and as long as things are enhanced even more from WWF Raw, WWE Raw 2 should be the wrestling game Xbox fans have been waiting for.

Final Thoughts
Xbox certainly had a great E3, with lots of great looking games announced and showed. The previous 3 are just a snippet of what's to come Ц but I know that these 3 games are some of the ones that make me pretty darn happy to be an Xbox owner.