Is the original Xbox underrated?

I've owned this system for about half a year, hunting and collecting games for it wen i had the time. And i think it really is underrated for the simple fact that most of its quality exclusives are hidden gems.

Wen people think of the Xbox, they usually think of Halo and popular PC shared multiplats like Splinter Cell, KOTOR and Fable, all of which overshadow anything els on the system. I personally thought the original Xbox was practically useless if you have even a low end PC, and not even near the quality of, for example, Gamecube's exclusives (i own a Gamecube aswell).. until a guy slapped me with a list of exclusives that i haven't heard of.

One of them was Panzer Dragoon Orta, and given that i'm a Panzer Dragoon fan, i had to have that game. Suffice to say that Orta is one of the greatest games i've ever played in my entire life, but besides that i've also amassed a wealth of quality exclusives like the Otogi series, Jet Set Radio Future, GunValkyrie, Outrun 2, Ninja Gaiden Black, Phantom Dust and Metal Wolf Chaos. There are a lot of unique, fantastic games on this rock of a system, and i don't have even one game in my collection that's also on the PC (because i'm a PC gamer). I think it's easily equal to the Gamecube as far as quality exclusives go.

Definitely a great system, it brought me back to console gaming after many fairly painful years of PC gaming (all the FPS and WRPG were PC-only before the Xbox ).

Definitely an underrated machine. A cutting edge beast for its time. I'll remember it for Halo 1/2, KOTOR 1/2, Ninja Gaiden, Oddworld Stanger's Wrath, MechAssault and Blinx.

Oh yeah, FPS games work nicely on the Xbox, mostly because of the S-controller. I really like that controller, probably my favorite from the 6th generation. The d-pad is actually better designed than on the 360 controller, works really well for fighting games and 2D gameplay in general.

It definitely got overshadowed by the PS2 which gained a market penetration that was pretty profound. Personally for me, it was my favorite system of that gen followed by the Gamecube. Sony's machine was great as well, don't get me wrong. But I've never liked the Dual Shock's design. The grips dig into my hands. The Duke, the S-type, and the Wavebird were all WAY more comfortable so I'd typically play games for the Xbox or Gamecube and only use the PS2 for its (admittedly massive amount of) exclusives.

Plus many of the multiplatform releases were best on Xbox. A console game that had customizable soundtracks was unheard of. But GTA: San Andreas had it. Lots of games had it. Burnout 3 did, and I think some of the EA sports games too but I may be misremembering on that one.

Anyway, yes I think it was very underrated. It was thought of as the Halo box. And Halo was a great game, I still really enjoy that series. But there were dozens of great games that came out for the Xbox and often it had a notable improvement over other platforms with the same games.

Jet Set Radio Future, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Shenmue 2, Project Gotham Racing 1&2, Rallisport 1&2, and the criminally underrated Voodoo Vince.

I wish From Software would make another Otogi game. Awesome fun!

The original Xbox introduced many features that had not been implemented before. One seldom mentioned is the ability to save in the middle of football games in the NFL Fever games. Even with 5 min quarters, a football game can last you 35 minutes. It would piss me off when you had an awesome game going in either Madden or the 2K series and something would make you leave. Yeah, leaving the game on is an option, but I've come back to lock-ups that rubbed salt in the wound. I wish all sports games had a save feature at halftime or the end of a quarter.

I liked both Otogi games more than they deserved to be liked. They both had two massive flaws that hurt the overall games, and the flaws were the exact same in both games. (a frustrating preview of their approach to game design in the Souls series) Those two flaws being an absolutely hideously bad and frustratingly broken and unfun escort mission, and an equally frustrating, broken, and completely unfun final boss battle.

I absolutely love both of those games, mastering some of the difficult levels that seemed impossible in the beginning and then doing replays for a better time (and EXP) was immensely satisfying. Though i'd be lying if i didn't admit that they can be ridiculously frustrating at times.

Given that Sony had a full 'Generation Advantage' with the original Playstation, i'd say the original Xbox was not only a truly brilliant system, but also completely changed the dynamics of what was previously a 'Generic' Console gaming landscape by way of Xbox 'Live', where console gaming was evolved into a social experience, were gamers were not able to simply Play against / With each other, but could now also Talk and communicate with each other throughout the world.

It is this foundation which has helped to turn the 'Generic' gaming experience into the Console gaming experience we know and love today.

its vely underated some good games on that system.

Haha I'm pretty sure I was that guy (AcidSoldner).

It's truly a great system and underrated by many who think it only does inferior PC ports. Despite the PS2 being my favorite console of all time, I've been finding myself playing the Xbox more when it comes to legacy systems due to it's many great exclusives.

Blinx was epic.

I wouldn't go that far. Maybe it was the little things that Braid did, that made it's execution of reversing time seem better.

What do you mean I shouldn't go that far? The game was pure awesomeness for an Xbox. It had awesome unique characters, the gameplay mechanics were magnificent and you had lots of stuff to do like side missions to do. And boss battles took a lot skill and they were fun to accomplish.

The execution of time control was done well.

Don't be so defensive.

I think you should re-read my comment. I said I wouldn't go that far. That would mean ME and not YOU... Insert Pedro's smiley here...

It had some really amazing games. On top of that it was such a powerful system that games looked almost twice as better as its ps2 counterparts. Regardless, the ps2 was a beast. The sheer number of games was simply hard to beat.

Alright, you wouldn't go so far. Point made. I'm just saying that it's a fun game, so you should re-play it or something!

Absolutely it was. It was probably my favourite console of that generation. Loved it.

In its first two years the Xbox was essentially a Halo support system for me. That wasn't a problem because Halo was easily the best co-op game since Ikari Warriors and I played through it many times with many friends.

In 2003 the system really took off with games like KOTOR, Panzer Dragoon and Otogi. Aside from Sega's bizarre determination to release Japanese games exclusively on the Xbox (which helped kill some of those series) the most interesting thing about the Xbox was how MS brought PC gaming and PC conventions to consoles. That triggered a massive influx of Western talent into the game industry and as others have mentioned, changed the relationship between gamers, game designers and games. Shipping games and moving on to the next game is now rare in the AAA field, gamers have come to expect post launch support in the form of tweaks and DLC.

Yeah, i remember. There was also a Buffy game in your list, which peaked my interest. I checked some other lists on NeoGAF, and a lot of people mentioned how much they liked that game, made me go like 'What? The TV show actually spawned a great game?' I own that game now, it really is a great.

Yeah, that's one of the reasons why some call it the spiritual succesor to the Dreamcast, SEGA made some trully great games for it. Another reason is its online focus, also that big Duke controller is similar to the DC controller.

@Randolph:

I'd definitely second this and the cited games as I'm still using the ol' machine (running a Linux based OS now) from time to time. However, if ever the old Xbox was underrated this was also MS's fault, since PS2 games are still available both physically and digitally in Game stores whereas MS ceased supporting its firstborn long ago...

It was my favorite system of that generation and, at the time, it bridged the gap between PC and console gaming most ably. Sophisticated "PC-style" games like Operation Flashpoint: Elite, Steel Battalion and KOTOR would have been impossible on the other systems of the day.

Graphically, one was getting the superior port of any multi-platform release, and when Sony buried the Dreamcast with the promise of "Toy Story graphics", it was Microsoft & Xbox that embraced Sega and it's legacy.

Forza and Rallisport were top shelf first party published titles that immediately competed with established racing franchises.

It lacked for nothing and even had it's own, fancy version of MGS2.

Gamers owe a debt of gratitude to a system that forced stodgy Japanese companies to think differently about what to offer on their machines.

loved blinx.

Nope. It was a giant, cumbersome pile of dogshit.

It had a small handful of good games on it that were exclusive, but ones like jade empire were on the PC also so they weren't exclusive. But for the most part it was god awful.

I wouldn't call it underrated. I mean, that controller was woeful, it didn't have a large number of exclusives (admittedly, that's more in hindsight than anything else), and all of the major multiplats were better on the PC.

It wasn't a bad console, don't get me wrong - I just don't think it should be remembered as fondly as its two major competitors, which had brilliant libraries of exclusive titles and weren't quite so...clunky.

No. The Xbox is rated well. It is a good system with some great exclusives and superior mutliplatform games. Xbox Live for that system was fun. The second generation controller was quite ergonomic. With those qualities in mind, the PS2 library was much better becuase there were many more good games specifically from Japan. The Xbox did not have nearly as much support as the PS2. Years after the PS3 was first on sale for consumers, the PS2 was getting plenty of support from its home country. The Xbox also had competition from the Nintendo Gamecube with its high quality games and shortly from the Sega Dreamcast. As I said, Microsoft's first console was good and not underrated with its competition in mind.

No. I wouldn't say it was underrated. It was plenty appreciated, it just wasn't better than the PS2 and the GameCube. But definitely a good contender nonetheless

Xbox was a totally underrated machine, then and now. I owned all 3 consoles in that gen and the Xbox was my main gaming console because people often forget the fact that just about all multiplatform games had better graphics on the Xbox (especially compared to the PS2). It also had by far the best online multiplayer of that gen, and a very good controller (besides the white/black buttons). Driving and shooting games were so much better on Xbox because of the triggers. The Xbox hard-drive also meant no fuss with those annoying low-capacity memory cards.

But the Duke controller was replaced one year later by the S-Controller, which is an infinitely better gamepad, and the support by SEGA, Team Ninja and From Software, plus other developers produced an exclusive lineup consisting off:

• Panzer Dragoon Orta
• Shenmue II (NA Exclusive)
• GunValkyrie
• Outrun 2
• SEGA GT 2002
• Jet Set Radio Future
• Dead or Alive Ultimate Edition
• Dead or Alive 3
• Ninja Gaiden Black
• Otogi: Myth of Demons
• Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors
• Metal Wolf Chaos
• MechAssault 1 & 2
• Phantom Dust
• Conker Live and Reloaded
• Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
• Project Gotham Racing 2
• Rallisport Challenge 2
• Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Add the graphically enhanced ports with exclusive content like Genma Onimusha, Fatal Frame 1 & 2. Multiplats that perform better like Burnout 3: Takedown and Soul Calibur II (720p enabled). Halo 1 & 2 have exclusive splitscreen that isn't available on PC. All of these games are brilliant to great, and apart from Soul Calibur, none are on the Gamecube. The brilliant lineup of exclusives easily rival anything on the Gamecube. And if you're not a PC gamer, it easily surpasses the Gamecube.

The PS2 crushes both combined though, in my opinion.

I would have to agree that the Xbox was extremely underrated. I loved Jet Set Radio Future, one of my favorites that generation. Ninja Gaiden was awesome totally blew my expectations away when I first played it. I was also big on RalliSport Challenge.

Great system, awesome games, and Xbox Live was awesome.

It had a couple of interesting games, but overall it was a pretty bad console. My pile of Xbox games is tiny in comparison with my pile of PS2 games, and I don't even play JRPG and the likes. In 20 years, I'll still be replaying PDO and maaaaaybe Ninja Gaiden, but that's all I'm gonna remember about this console, really.

The point you made about quality exclusives being hidden gems is right. Sure Halo was a juggernaut and Forza and Fable were decent hits but I honestly couldn't remember any exclusives that stood out. Both with the original XB and the 360, a majority of owners played third party games on it.

Though Voodoo Vince had a lot of charm for me. I wish MS would invest in making a colorful, lightheared 3D platforming mascot game. They bought the rights to Banjo then wasted that potential on making him build cars.

I must admit, I didn't know that about the controller - I only had a secondhand machine with that lumbering huge thing, and I guess I never did enough research to find the improved one.

In any case, I would still argue that the Gamecube had the edge over the Xbox. I honestly believe that the Gamecube controller is the most comfortable gaming controller I've ever used, and as for its exclusive line-up...well, just to list the great games on my shelf, I've got:

• Pikmin
• Super Mario Sunshine
• Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
• F-Zero GX
• Metroid Prime 1&2
• Starfox Adventures
• Mario Kart: Double Dash
• Super Smash Bros Melee
• Eternal Darkness
• REmake
• Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
• Baten Kaitos 1
• Tales of Symphonia
• Star Wars: Rogue Leader

As well as the best multiplat versions of:

• Resident Evil 4 (only topped by the Wii version next generation, apparently)
• Killer7
• Viewtiful Joe 1&2
• Prince of Persia: The Warrior Within (at least according to Gamespot?)

So I don't know. Even just looking at the Gamecube games that I owned, I personally think that lineup was significantly stronger than what the Xbox offered (although, admittedly, I've only played maybe half of those exclusive Xbox titles, tops).

...and yeah, it's also a bit difficult for me to judge it, since I was a PC/Gamecube gamer that gen, so none of the Xbox+PC exclusive titles (like KOTOR, Call of Cthulhu, etc) really impressed me by being on the consoles. So in my mind, the Gamecube was irreplaceable that gen, but the Xbox wasn't.

Anyway, all of this reminds me: why the hell didn't I own Windwaker? I should fix that.

I don't like the Duke controller either. It's like a God damn space ship. I mean, Holy Hell:

Anyway, the thing with judging which system is better is that we're gonna be subject to a ton of various influences. Experience with the library, game preference, genre appeal etc. I completely understand why you'd prefer the Gamecube's library, it's a strong one alright, and there's a nice chunk of JRPGs on the Gamecube, a genre which on the Xbox is completely non-existent.

Now personally i think they're equal in strength and quality, but my argument is that the OG Xbox is underrated because most of its strength, its quality exclusives, come from its hidden gems. Gems that were overshadowed by Halo and popular PC shared multiplats.

I still like Halo on the OG Xbox because of the splitscreen co-op/deathmatch, but i'd never buy games like.. Doom 3 or KOTOR for it because they're infinitely better on my PC.

Btw., Warrior Within is my favorite entry in Prince of Persia. I love that game, but i also finished it twice on my PC with a controller, the controls are flawless and looks so much better, so i can't really agree that any console version is going to be superior compared to the PC version. There's really nothing wrong with it, from my experience.

Now Resident Evil 4, i can easily agree. The PC version is a mess, and requires a heavy amount of modding. That game is best played on either the Gamecube or the Wii.

No. It was horrid from the day 1.