All right, me buckos. Following that crazy spree of news posts, it's time for some original content. Now, due to time constraints (and late-evening laziness starting to creep into my bones), I won't be doing one of my crazy, three-page monologues that I usually write either when I'm on a caffeine high, or when I've just woken up and feel too grumpy to venture out of my little den, choosing, instead, to vent my frustration on Dtoid. I know, I know ... I'm a lazy bastard.
However, as we're in desperate need of some original content, I decided to type up this short post to address a rather popular topic of discussion on flame-war forums: The Xbox 360's "shooter fetish" reputation.
Right. First off, feast your eyes on this little screenie I whacked from Gamespot a while ago:
"But, Ishaan ... if you scroll down that list further, there are a lot of non-shooter games on there!"
Yes, yes ... I know that the shooter fetish isn't as big a deal as some people make it out to be, but if you look at the entire list of 360 games, there are a lot of games that are very similar to shooters, but aren't officially classified under that category.
Now, while I personally don't have any issues with the 360's massive archive of shooters and shooter-like games (I *heart* Perfect Dark Zero), I do have to agree with the people who have argued that its library could use a little more variety. And before any of you start to "take names and kick ass", yes, I know Viva Piñata was released recently, and that The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion is among the highest ranking 360 games.
However, if you take the top 360 games into consideration, most are either shooters, or sports/racing games or Live Arcade games. That said, there's definitely room for some other genres to make their way onto that list. Last month, I made a post about the lack of RPGs on the Wii, and to an extent, I believe this is also an issue with the 360. After all, one can never have too many RPGs. ;)
But role-playing isn't everyone's cup of tea. Fair enough. What about some more puzzle games, along the lines of Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, or even another Ninja Gaiden? (a new one, not Ninja Gaiden Sigma Uncensored Extended Director's Cut with Bonus scenes and commentary like that upcoming PS3 title)
Luckily, there is hope. Let's take a look at the list of upcoming games and games in development for the 360. We have Command & Conquer 3, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Fable 2, Guitar Hero 2, Halo Wars, Assassin's Creed and GTA IV to name a few. That, in my opinion, is a great start.
Now that we're a year into the 360's lifespan, hopefully more developers will focus on creating more original content for the system, instead of just sticking to tried and true formulae.
Contest:
12:03 PM on 11.25.2006 | 
Anyway, let me just say the "360 shooter" syndrome is the exact reason I've steered away from the system. Halo 2 is fun, and I've enjoyed a Call of Duty/Medal of Honor here and there, but there needs to be more than that. Microsoft is slowly learning that, but I'll stick with Nintendo and just hope that RPGs flood the system.
Given that the Xbox 360 isn't exactly popular in Japan, I wonder if the system will lack a variety of RPGs. RPGs are one of the most popular genres in Japan, and Sony and Nintendo are guaranteed a good number of them. Sure, Microsoft has States-based companies that will produce RPGs for them, but there's no doubt that any "Final Fantasy" will sell very well, and Sony might as well own the series. I hope the Xbox 360 gets some Japanese support, there are too many good games to remain exclusive to Sony or Nintendo, even though I will own all three systems eventually.
And the upcoming original content has had its bases in other platforms though as well. CnC and Guitar Hero. Whilst Blue Dragon is just Dragon Quest on the 360.
How a game is designed plays into the equation as well. If you have to aim up and down as often as you do left and right, then a mouse is probably a better option. Flying enemies in "Halo 2" are a pain in the ass because of this, and I'm not even going to mention "Metroid Prime". "Gears of War", on the other hand, has [most] encounters where the enemy is at the same level as you are, and the few enemies that can climb ceilings are pretty weak and only take a short burst of fire to kill. It's a superbly designed game for a console.
I think the next generation of consoles, if not this generation, will support mouse and keyboard combinations, if only because consoles are becoming much more versatile. The ability to browse the internet from your couch I think is more likely to be accepted now than in the past. With console games commonly receiving patches a few weeks after release, and the PlayStation 3 installing files from the game disc to the hard drive (with some games), we're seeing PC games and console games becoming almost identical to each other. What I'm waiting for is games that are "PC and <insert console here> Compatible", rather than two different versions of the same game. I think Microsoft will be the first to take this kind of initiative.