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X-9: The Xbox Odyssey

In today’s highly competitive home video game console war between Sony’s PlayStation 2, Nintendo’s GameCube, and Microsoft’s Xbox, what’s the easiest way to get people excited about (and more importantly go out to a store and purchase), your respective console if you’re in charge of marketing? Bring it to them. That’s the smart ploy that Microsoft has been using with their Xbox Odyssey Tour currently traveling across America.

The Xbox Odyssey Tour is two shiny black Xbox logo-tattooed tractor trailers full of 50 Xbox game stations covered by an inflatable dome that transforms into a 106 foot-long portable Xbox arcade complete with a DJ showcasing the best games that the Xbox offers. From million-seller exclusives Halo, Project Gotham Racing and Dead or Alive 3 (DOA3) to other popular Xbox games like Tony Hawk 3, Hunter: The Reckoning and Spider-Man and an array of sports titles, the Odyssey Tour had plenty to impress those attending the free event. I didn’t however see Morrowind, which is surprising since it is one of the Xbox’s most recent hot sellers (although its possible I missed seeing it because of the sheer amount of game stations).

It came rolling into my area on July 26 through the 28 at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia. Music was provided by local radio station 103.9 The Beat, with today’s hottest hits, pulsating tunes to the gamers under the big top, giving the whole experience a nightclub feel (in a good way). On Friday afternoon when I was at the Odyssey Tour, there were at least another 75 people roaming around trying out the various games. Game stations with teen-rated or lower titles (Project Gotham Racing, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3) were spread out on the bottom level, while the mature rated games like Hunter: The Reckoning were located on the upper balcony away from the under-18 crowd.

One really incredible gameplay facet that was remarkable was seeing one of the most visually impressive and fun Xbox titles, DOA3 being played on a huge overhanging screen, where although I didn’t get the “official” measurements, had the fighting game characters squaring off on at least a 4x4-foot monitor. I doubt anyone who took a crack at playing DOA3 had ever played it on a screen that large before. It really helped show off the best of what the Xbox has to offer in nearly life-sized glory, game-wise.

By far the most popular games were the many sports titles, including NFL Fever 2002 and NHL Hitz 2002. Each always seemed to have four players engaged in action. They too, were on a larger-than-usual 50 inches or so screen. The DJs tried to get attendees interested in competing against each other, which many did, especially in NFL Fever 2002 and DOA3.

I also got my first hands-on (literally) experience with the new S controller, the smaller-sized controller that is now readily available for those who don’t like or aren’t comfortable with the much larger original Xbox controller. It was connected to many of the game stations. I have to admit, even though I don’t mind the original controller one bit, that the S controller was nicely designed and played just as well as the original.

My biggest disappointment was not being able to experience any of the upcoming Xbox games like Steel Battalion, Blinx: The Time Sweeper, NFL Fever 2003, or any other highly-anticipated Xbox titles. I realize I might be expecting a little too much in this respect because most of these games aren’t probably quite ready for public consumption, but only having taped gameplay footage for near-future titles on one of two VCR stations was a minor letdown.

And there wasn’t any Xbox Live gaming stations set up, even though Xbox Live gameplay complete with the communicator headset was shown and demonstrated at this year’s E3. But that’s just nit picking on my part. The Xbox Odyssey Tour does its job of getting you interested in the Xbox, and any advantage that any of the Big Three can get over the competition is an obvious plus.

Although the tour has been going on since earlier this year and you may or may not have missed it when it came into your region, check out the Xbox Web site, www.xbox.com, by following this link: http://www.xbox.com/odyssey/default.htm to see if the final leg of the tour is headed your way. The next three cities will be Fall River, Massachusetts from August 9 to 11, Bristol, Connecticut from August 21 to 24, and back in the Philadelphia area at the Great Allentown Fair from August 27 to September 2 before rolling on to as-of-yet-unannounced locales.

So if you’re a videogamer who hasn’t tried out an Xbox or even if you already own one, don’t miss the fun provided at the Xbox Odyssey Tour. It’s definitely worth the trip and just may turn you into an Xbox fan if you aren’t already.

- Lee Cieniawa

lcieniawa@armchairempire.com

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