Xbox Provides Holiday Treats for Gamers of All Ages
Posted by Ben on Tuesday, November 26 2002

Heading into its second holiday season, Xbox is positioned to have a vast variety of games that will appeal to everyone, regardless of interests or skill level. Top video game developers, with an array of innovative and highly anticipated titles, continue to add to the already strong portfolio, which will exceed the 200 mark by the end of the year.

The blockbuster line-up of Xbox titles offers something for every interest, from action/adventure to sports games. Feature games available this Holiday include:

“Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell”(Ubi Soft Entertainment)— this third-person action game delves into the dark shadows of cyber-terrorism, shadow agencies and covert operations. Players control Sam Fisher, a solo operative who must infiltrate enemy territory and neutralize the opponents, all without leaving a trace.
(Genre: Action; Rating: Teen; Estimated Retail Price $49.99 U.S.)

“MechAssault”(Microsoft Game Studios)— lets players pilot the most powerful weapons available in the 31st century, a 40-foot-tall walking tank known as a BattleMech, or ‘Mech. In this third-person action/shooter game, environments are not only fully destructible, they’re the weapons. “MechAssault” supports Xbox Live online gaming service.
(Genre: Action; Rating: Teen; Estimated Retail Price $49.99 U.S.)

“Unreal Championship”(Digital Extremes)—immerses gamers in an all out first-person frag-fest. Players can fight through a series of matches in the single player mode or experience unparalleled multiplayer action. Choose from Deathmatch, Survival, Capture the Flag and much more.
(Genre: Action; Rating: Mature; Estimated Retail Price $49.99 U.S)

“Blinx: The Time Sweeper”(Microsoft Game Studios)— is the first 4D game on Xbox, with time being the fourth dimension. Blinx is a cool cat on a mission to fix glitches in time. Blinx uses his trusty Time Sweeper to recover lost time crystals and fight off Time Monsters in his attempt to rescue a kidnapped princess and return order to the world. Players use the innovative time control features to aid Blinx along in his mission. (Genre: Platform; Rating: Everyone; Estimated Retail Price $49.99 U.S.)

“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets™”(Electronic Arts)—players become Harry Potter in this new adventure where they explore Hogwarts™, face off against fantastic creatures, learn new spells and undertake new challenges all in a quest to uncover the true identity of the “Heir of Slytherin.”
(Genre: Action; Rating: Everyone; Estimated Retail Price $49.99 U.S.)

“NFL Fever 2003”(Microsoft Game Studios)— delivers all the action and excitement of the National Football League, allowing gamers to create, play and control their ultimate NFL team. With the launch of Xbox Live, “NFL Fever 2003” challenges hardcore football fans and gamers to be the best in the world. “NFL Fever 2003” supports Xbox Live online gaming service.
(Genre: Sports; Rating: Everyone; Estimated Retail Price $49.99 U.S.)

“NBA Inside Drive 2003”(Microsoft Game Studios)— “NBA Inside Drive 2003” asks each player to go up strong or don’t go up at all. With thumpin’ hip-hop beats, fluid gameplay, innovative commentary and incredibly realistic arena models of all the NBA franchises, “NBA Inside Drive 2003” delivers the ultimate NBA console experience.
(Genre: Sports; Rating: Everyone; Estimated Retail Price $49.99 U.S.)

“Shenmue II”(Microsoft Game Studios)— players assume the role of Ryo Hazuki, a young man dedicated to the task of tracking his father's murderer and unlocking the mysteries of the Phoenix Mirror. "Shenmue II" continues where "Shenmue" left off, bringing Ryo to Hong Kong with many unanswered questions as he follows the trail of Lan Di, the man who killed his father.
(Genre: Action/Adventure; Rating: Teen; Estimated Retail Price $49.99 U.S.)

Currently there are eight games available that are Xbox Live-enabled. “Unreal Championship” from Infogrames Inc.; “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon” from Ubi Soft Entertainment; SEGA Sports™ “NFL 2K3” and SEGA Sports™ “NBA 2K3” from Sega®; and “Whacked!™,” “MechAssault™” and “NFL Fever 2003” from Microsoft Game Studios. Ten more Xbox Live-enabled games will be added by the end of the Holiday season. Xbox Live, Xbox’s online gaming service launched in the United States and Canada on November 15.

Xbox Live is the first comprehensive, online game arena fully dedicated to fast-action broadband gaming experiences. Xbox Live will allow gamers to play multiplayer Xbox games with other gamers everywhere via a high-speed Internet connection. With a built-in hard drive and Ethernet port, the Xbox console was built from the ground up to be an online gaming system.

Xbox Live will enable all gamers to find and play with their friends easily; talk to other players during gameplay through the Xbox Communicator headset; and download current statistics, new levels and characters to their Xbox hard drive.

Xbox is Microsoft’s future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful game experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in North America, Japan, Europe and Australia.