Thursday 23 January 2014

New Arrival

Holidays are always a bit of a mixed blessing if you ask me. Just two weeks ago I was enjoying blazing sunshine, tropical beaches, eating out every day (and the odd few mosquito bites!), but you always have to return to reality (unless you're really rich or something), and thus, I've now been back in the cold, rainy UK for over a week, with much of that time spent at work. However, as mentioned in my previous holiday-related post, I did receive a gaming-related gift immediately prior to embarking on this memorable trip which I had been waiting to try out.

Not called the 'Emerald Xbox' after all, but it should be...
Some of you may remember the most recent 'Top Five' list here at Red Parsley which featured the gaming systems I most want to own. Splendidly, it seems that one of the handful of people who saw this post was my lovely wife who had apparently decided I had been good enough over the past year to deserve one of the featured systems. The logistics involved in obtaining an FM Towns or X68000 meant they were never a realistic option but, to be honest, I think she made the right choice anyway, the result of which was presented to me on Christmas morning after seemingly having been hidden in our spare bedroom for weeks without my knowledge! And lo, it came to pass that on the morning of our holiest day I received the mighty gift of not just an Xbox but the extra special green Xbox that I had so desired for many years of men. I was surprised to find that it weighed more then ten neutron stars but it sure was a nice looking piece of kit. Now I just needed something to play on it!

There were quite a few games I've had in mind to buy for this weighty device should I ever possess one, but such titles are not easy to come by these days, away from the vastness of the internet. Nonetheless, I actually bought my 'test' game the very next day. On the way to the airport I stopped at my local second-hand game store only to find a severely depleted stock of Xbox games, but there was one was that took my fancy, which was available for a mere £1 no less! More on this bargain title in another post but, suffice to say, my splendid green slab worked perfectly.

I shall of course cover this console in more detail with an 'Exploring...' feature once I've acquired a few more games for it - a process that's currently underway, but for now I'm content simply that my Xbox adventures have belatedly begun...
 

5 comments:

  1. I've recently acquired one of these beasts too - though a normal black one. It's currently sitting in my entertainment unit intimidating my slimline PS2. Even my PS3 doesn't look so bulky now. Come payday I'll be hunting on ebay for some Xbox exclusives so I'll be interested you hear your thoughts.

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  2. Yep, I'm looking forward to trying out some titles I've been interested in for a long time. I actually went to the shop I mentioned to buy Halo 1 & 2 which they had for... £1 and £2.50 respectively as I recall, but they were gone when I went back :( Looks like it'll have to be evilBay for me too!

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  3. Nice find - hope you enjoy some titles for it. I'll be curious to see what you think of it over time - but you should be able to find some really solid titles cheap. :)

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  4. Lots and lots of good games available for that thing... Lots of them! I'd recommend Mashed: Fully Loaded (similar to Micro Machines but with weapons), Jaws Unleashed (similar to GTA but with a shark), Panzer Dragoon Orta, Burnout Revenge, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (like GTA only you're the Hulk), The Warriors, OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast, the two Serious Sam games, Spikeout (similar to Streets of Rage), ToeJam & Earl III (not that good but worth seeing), and of course, the wonderful retro compilations - Taito Legends 1 and 2, Midway Arcade Treasures 1-3, Sonic Mega Collection Plus, Tecmo Classic Arcade, Capcom Classics Collection, Atari Anthology...

    Enjoy!

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  5. Cheers Chalgyr, my wife deserves the credit. Quite remarkable really, considering her intense dislike of gaming! :P You're right too, I've already seen numerous titles I'd like to buy and none have cost more than £5 yet (except Steel Battalion, obviously)

    Hi THB, thanks for the recommendations :) A couple of them were on my list already but most weren't. I think my first stop has to be Halo really. All the hype and adulation its received and I've never even seen it running, never mind played it! Best of all, I've seen it for £1 :P

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