# Does Xbox have its "killer app" yet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 2, 2002, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988 "2002-06-02T04:11:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/1 "2002-06-02T04:11:27Z")
So what are the “must have” games for the Xbox, the ones that we should be buying an Xbox just to play? I know what the PS2 killer apps are, but except for the **Reckless** commercials, I don’t know of anything that I’d shell out the bucks for an Xbox for. Maybe Halo, I suppose, but I’m kinda burnt out on FPSes right now and, let’s face it, there’s not much (after Half-Life, Deus Ex and Thief) that can be considered truly groundbreaking in the genre anyway. FWIW, I’m not dead-set in that opinion, but it’s probably going to take more than “it’s a _really good_ squad-based FPS” to change my mind. To my mind, I guess I should add, a “killer app” should be something new - even a hybridization of genres works - like the PS2’s MGS2 (nothing like it except maybe Thief or MGS1) or GTA3 (nothing _good_ like it except GTA 1 & 2, as far as I can remember). ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/2 "2002-06-02T09:30:29Z")
_Hopefully_ Morrowind will be this game…if they ever release it. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/3 "2002-06-02T10:43:03Z")
It always takes several months for a console’s “killer app” to be released. Heck, it was, what, seven or eight months before PS2 got theirs in the form of Gran Turismo 3? Anyway, Halo is definitely revolutionary - not just for FPS’s, but for games in general (and I can already hear Rjung thundering into this thread to shout “It was originally for Mac!”) - and I’ve heard very good reviews for Jet Set Radio Future (though I don’t have it, haven’t played it, and they’re not advertising it very heavily, anyway). In fact, ironic though it may be, the only Xbox game advertisement I HAVE seen (aside from Halo and Oddworld) has been for Azurik, which is undoubtedly the crappiest of the Xbox games around. In my opinion, Xbox’s first REALLY big exclusive will come in the form of Project Ego. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/4 "2002-06-02T13:45:59Z")
Morrowind, pushed back to the 5th IIRC. News here: got an XBox and a PS2. Dilemma on which console to buy is solved 🙂 Halo is as incredible as I remember, Onimusha is very interesting so for but didn’t have much time to play it. I’d say Project Ego, if it is as good as it sounds like. But don’t knock Halo because it is “just” a FPS. The game really is incredible. SPOOFE… that grass! Incredible. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/5 "2002-06-02T21:21:20Z")
So how _is_ Halo? And in what ways is it revolutionary? I remember seeing it at E3 a couple years back and thinking it looked like a very pretty Starsiege Tribes, but with vehicles that were actually worth a damn. In all fairness, it naturally wasn’t totally finished at that point, but it didn’t seem like anything to take your pants off for, as the saying goes. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/6 "2002-06-02T21:22:09Z")
I loved Halo. It may not be revolutionary, but if it gets more popular then consumers may consider it so. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/7 "2002-06-02T23:34:46Z")
> [@](#): > > So how is Halo? And in what ways is it revolutionary? Well, there’s the story and seemless integration, massive levels, perfectly orchestrated music, yadda yadda yadda… Halo isn’t an entirely new game (anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves). It’s revolutionary in that it raises the bar for all future FPS’s. Before Halo, we had Half-Life and Deus Ex as the leading champs of FPS integration and story… and those, too, were revolutionary, as they raised the bar up from the likes of Quake 2. And Halo has one of the damned coolest ending sequences I’ve ever seen. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/8 "2002-06-03T00:03:05Z")
**Spoofe** is right, the killer app takes a while sometimes. I didn’t feel the need to pick up my PS2 until Christmas last year when Final Fantasy X was released (though I had been grappling with the idea since Grand Theft Auto 3 had come out several months prior). Oh and incidentally, I heard that **Wreckless** looks perty, but grows tiresome fast. **Project Gotham Racing** and **Ralisport Challenge** are supposed to be excellent though. I have high hopes for **Project Ego** , if only because I enjoyed **Black & White** heartily on the PC. Will it force me to buy an Xbox? I dunno yet. If anything the Gamecube is starting to sway me with the wonderful looking franchise games that’ll be out this year. The new **Metriod** looks outrageous, even though I don’t like FPSs on consoles too much. The new **Zelda** game will probably be what pushes me over though. ---
**Author:** ![mblackwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@mblackwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mblackwell)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/9 "2002-06-03T01:03:35Z")
When the hackers get linux and windows running on it it will be pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Lockfist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/838e76/32.png) [@Lockfist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lockfist)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/10 "2002-06-03T04:46:54Z")
**Halo** alone is reason enough to buy an **XBOX** in my opinion. Simply the best 2-player game I’ve played since the days of **Contra** on NES… ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/11 "2002-06-03T06:55:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > Anyway, Halo is definitely revolutionary - not just for FPS’s, but for games in general (and I can already hear Rjung thundering into this thread to shout “It was originally for Mac!”) Nah, I’ve got you trained to do that yourself. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/12 "2002-06-03T07:33:03Z")
I always thought that was funny – what was originally gonna come out for a mac now probably isn’t gonna come out for any computer (at least in the next few years). Funny in that a mac fanatic friend of mine went from mentioning it everytime we talked to pretending it never existed. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/13 "2002-06-03T08:17:12Z")
> [@](#): > > what was originally gonna come out for a mac now probably isn’t gonna come out for any computer (at least in the next few years). Ah, it’ll be out for PC - and, subsequently, Mac - within a year, I think. They’re probably tweaking a few things and waiting for the average computer system to catch up with the necessary specs. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/14 "2002-06-03T09:15:27Z")
Poor Bungie. ☹ Anybody know if they’re working on anything new (and if any of the original developers stuck around after Halo went gold)? ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/15 "2002-06-03T09:56:29Z")
From an interview with one of the guys on the dev team they haven’t even started work on a pc version yet. Yet, being as of the end of E3. I’m not gloating either, I was looking forward to Halo. At this rate Doom3 will be out first, and that’s not exaggeration. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/16 "2002-06-03T10:06:06Z")
[Cite](http://www.shacknews.com/extras/hpc.x) even! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PolishSausage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@PolishSausage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PolishSausage)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/17 "2002-06-03T14:24:06Z")
**SPOOFE** , are you talking about ending the game on Legendary? > [@](#): > > And Halo has one of the damned coolest ending sequences I’ve ever seen. While not a huge difference with the endings on other settings, it was a kinda funny addition. But damn if getting through Legendary wasn’t tough. I think I can drive though the Maw with my eyes closed now. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/18 "2002-06-03T23:57:33Z")
Holy crap. Legendary!!! I can’t even imagine that… though, I suppose in co-op mode I could handle it… with a pimp player who was watching my friggin’ back! ---
**Author:** ![PolishSausage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@PolishSausage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PolishSausage)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2002, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/19 "2002-06-04T01:12:41Z")
It’s not a brag, it just I’ve put in alot of time into that game. Good times, but all in all, a lot of time. Right now it’s Tony Hawk 3. Soon it will be Morrowind. ~t ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2002, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988/20 "2002-06-04T04:25:28Z")
> [@](#): > > SPOOFE , are you talking about ending the game on Legendary? I most certainly am. > [@](#): > > Holy crap. Legendary!!! I can’t even imagine that… though, I suppose in co-op mode I could handle it… with a pimp player who was watching my friggin’ back! It’s easy to beat it in co-op mode. All you gotta do is be cautious, and whenever one guy dies, the second player runs back away from the enemies for a bit. After he’s clear, the dead player will teleport back into the action. Kinda cheesy, yeah… 'course, this plan fails at several points in the game where retreat isn’t possible (like when the Flood attack). BUT… going slowly, cautiously, and carefully (and constantly using grenades and Plasma Pistols for all they’re worth), one can beat the game on Legendary. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-xbox-have-its-killer-app-yet/111988.md?page=2)