Xbox launch line-up finalised
More definitive than the last list
Microsoft has confirmed the official Xbox launch line-up for Europe, consisting of 20 titles. The charge is being led by Bungie's first person shooter Halo, flanked by Dead or Alive 3, Project Gotham Racing, Jet Set Radio Future and Wreckless : The Yakuza Missions. These are what we would describe as the pick of the litter. Moving on we have a number of games with the potential to surprise, including Amped : Freestyle Snowboarding, a game considered by this writer to be 'Tony Hawk on snow' in places, and of course Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 itself. A handful of exclusives still lurk in the pack, including Fuzion Frenzy, which is a neat little party game, Blood Wake, which is a violent little speedboat game, Oddworld : Munch's Oddysee, which is a sub-Jak & Daxter platform adventure game, Dark Summit, which cannot hope to compete with Amped or Tony Hawk, and Mad Dash Racing, another also-ran. The rest of the line-up consists largely of ports; two NHL games, an NBA game (most of Electronic Arts' previously announced launch titles have been knocked back a few weeks), Max Payne, Batman : Vengeance, Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX II, and padding out the tail are RalliSport Challenge and Transworld Surf. The full list, at a glance:
