Soapbox: I Miss The Type Of Pick-Up-And-Play Games We Got On Original Xbox

Waking up to a new realisation

by Ben Kerry 3h ago

This past weekend, I took a couple of days off work for a short break, but as I’ve recently learnt in life, Xbox soon finds me again in some fashion. This time out, a browse of a retro game shop saw me picking up gunboat warfare title Blood Wake on the original Xbox, and it’s making me miss this era so bloody much.

Hear me out – until recently, I’d never heard of this game. In fact, it was YouTuber MetalJesusRocks that made me aware that this OG Xbox launch title was a thing – I must have missed it back in the day! Anyway, it’s basically Destruction Derby meets Hydro Thunder, and yep, it’s just as fun as it sounds. Basic in many ways, and a real throwback to the era, but just good old-fashioned vehicular combat fun.

And that means that sure, I don’t exactly have an essay to write all about my time off work playing Blood Wake – there’s just not a whole lot to say about this game in isolation. And yet, it’s made me appreciate this era of gaming again so much. Thinking back, I still reckon the OG Xbox era might be the pinnacle for me – the industry had figured out 3D gaming but it was still willing to take creative risks when building games, and the library really benefits from that.

Having said that, I love the 360 era as much as anything. Pound-for-pound it probably delivered the best lineup of Xbox games ever, but it still signified an era where games were getting bigger, more bloated and ultimately a bit formulaic by the generation’s end. The original Xbox library (and other console libraries of its day) is filled with quirky, interesting, pick-up-and-play games that still largely hold up today. And Blood Wake is one of them!

Anyway, I’ve been having a blast with this over the last few days, and it’s making me seriously consider devoting space in my main entertainment setup for the OG Xbox. Xbox games still look and play great today — especially with a HD adapter — and given that the modern backwards compatibility library for OG Xbox is so small, I reckon the console is worth hooking up again for good. Blood Wake has felt like a new awakening, and I can’t wait to dive deep into this awesome console’s library in the coming years.

What’s your favourite OG Xbox game? Tell us down in the comments below!

Ben is a News Writer at Pure Xbox, and is a fan of action, racing and straight-up shootin’ in any Xbox game he can get his hands on. When he’s not clutching an Xbox controller like his life depends on it, Ben spends his time listening to music that’s far too old for him, watching football on the telly and probably eating somewhere.

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