After the store opened, Zaboru immediately bought an Xbox from the store. In fact, he bought two of them since he also purchased one for Ryan as well. Naturally, he did not stop there. Zaboru also bought every single launch game available: HORI, ELF Adventure, X Miracle Race, Furious Fight, Agent Jordan, and Madden 2001.
Honestly, seeing all six Xbox launch titles lined up together awakened something inside him.
The gamer spirit.
Even though he was the owner of ZAGE and technically Microsoft's competitor, Zaboru still genuinely loved video games themselves. New consoles, new launch lineups, new experiments, new gameplay ideas... those things always excited him.
So because of that, Zaboru intentionally cleared his schedule for the weekend. He wanted to fully experience all six games properly during Saturday and Sunday. Not as a businessman analyzing the market, but as a gamer sitting down and genuinely playing games for fun.
Of course, he would still review them honestly afterward.
But before that?
Zaboru the gamer was ready to lock himself inside the house and start gaming like a complete addict again.
Time passed, and before Zaboru fully realized it, Sunday night had already arrived. He leaned back on the sofa and let out a long sigh, surrounded by empty plates, snack wrappers, half-finished drinks, game cases, controllers, and notes scattered across the table like evidence from a gaming crime scene. He had not slept for more than forty hours straight because he had spent the entire weekend fully gaming.
Of course, with his Enlightenment Body, that kind of insane schedule was still physically fine for him. His eyes were not bloodshot, his body was not collapsing, and his mind remained strangely sharp. However, even if his body could endure it, his soul as a gamer had clearly gone through a battlefield. He had played every Xbox launch game seriously, tested mechanics, compared controls, checked graphics, judged replay value, and even replayed certain stages just to see whether his first impression was fair.
And honestly, despite some flaws here and there, he had quite a blast with most of the games. Zaboru the gamer had been completely on fire this past weekend, playing like a man who forgot he was the owner of the biggest game company in the world and returned to being a pure gaming addict again.
Zaboru finally began his review, and the first game he looked at was HORI. A grin immediately appeared on his face as he leaned closer to his notes. "Hehehe... they really copied the atmosphere of Fallout and the violence of Doom, but somehow they actually turned it into an interesting game."
HORI was a post-apocalyptic first-person shooter set in a ruined world invaded by an alien civilization. The main character was named St. Great, one of the survivors from the HORI camps, which served as resistance bases against the alien force. The aliens themselves had red skin, horned heads, and devil-like appearances, but they were not simple monsters. They had advanced technology, organized armies, strange biological weapons, and a civilization powerful enough to nearly destroy humanity.
The story itself was not especially complicated, but it worked well for the kind of game HORI wanted to be. St. Great traveled from one ruined area to another, destroying alien camps, rescuing survivors, collecting information, and slowly pushing back against the invaders. The game had that desperate post-apocalyptic feeling where every settlement looked half-dead, every survivor sounded exhausted, and every victory felt temporary. It was not deep like a heavy RPG, but it gave enough context to make the shooting feel meaningful.
From a gameplay perspective, HORI was genuinely fun. The first-person shooting felt polished, the aiming was smooth, and the enemy encounters were aggressive enough to keep players alert. The graphics were also quite satisfying, roughly reminding Zaboru of late PS2-era visuals from his previous life. The ruined cities, dusty battlefields, alien facilities, and underground resistance camps all had a strong visual identity. It was not perfect, but for a launch title, it looked impressive.
The weapon variety was one of the strongest parts. There were plasma rifles, explosive launchers, energy pistols, heavy machine guns, rail cannons, burst-fire pulse rifles, toxic acid launchers, energy shotguns, and even strange alien weapons that behaved almost like living creatures. Some guns overheated aggressively if fired too long, some charged energy before releasing devastating blasts, while others spread corrosive alien spores across the battlefield.
One weapon especially caught Zaboru's attention: a biological rifle called the "Blood Hive." Instead of normal bullets, the weapon launched parasite-like creatures that attached themselves to enemies before exploding violently a few seconds later. Another weapon, called the "Devil Spine," fired sharp bone fragments rapidly like machine-gun needles. There was even a disgusting organic cannon that literally screamed whenever players charged its attack.
Honestly?
Some of the weapon designs looked horrifying.
But in a weird way, that made the game more memorable.
The human weapons and alien weapons also felt very different from each other. Human weapons sounded rough, metallic, and desperate, while alien weapons felt unstable and unnatural, almost like players were using forbidden technology they barely understood.
There were also several melee weapons, including heated blades, shock batons, plasma axes, energy hammers, chainsaw-like alien tools, and brutal close-range weapons designed purely for aggressive combat. Some melee attacks could stagger enemies heavily, while others caused explosive dismemberment effects that clearly showed Microsoft wanted HORI to feel violent and satisfying.
The game even allowed quick weapon switching during combat, making aggressive playstyles far more enjoyable. Players could blast enemies from afar using plasma rifles before suddenly rushing forward with a heated blade or alien axe once the battlefield became chaotic.
For a launch shooter, the amount of weapon variety honestly impressed Zaboru quite a lot.
Zaboru found it amusing because the only part that truly resembled Fallout was the atmosphere: the ruined world, survivor camps, broken civilization, and dark wasteland tone. The actual gameplay leaned far more toward Doom-style action, where players were constantly moving, shooting, dodging, and destroying enemies in fast-paced battles. But he did not mind that at all. If anything, he respected the way Microsoft's team managed to borrow familiar inspirations while still creating something energetic enough to stand on its own.
"Well, I'll give this a solid 8/10," Zaboru said while nodding. "It's quite good, especially for a launch shooter. Not revolutionary, but very fun."
Then Zaboru moved on to Madden 2001, and the moment the game loaded, he immediately sighed. "Well... this is literally just an American football sports game," he said while chuckling.
Still, after playing for several hours, he had to admit the game itself was genuinely well made.
"They copied a lot from what ZAGE did with WE and NBA 2K," Zaboru admitted honestly. "Especially the presentation style, menu flow, replay cameras, commentary pacing, and overall sports atmosphere. But honestly? They actually turned it into a proper sports game instead of just a lazy copy."
The game featured multiple play modes, team management systems, season progression, player statistics, weather conditions, tactical formations, and surprisingly smooth animations for a launch sports title. The stadium atmosphere was especially impressive. Crowd noises changed depending on match momentum, commentators reacted dynamically to important plays, and touchdown moments genuinely felt exciting even for someone who did not fully understand American football.
The player models were also solid for the time. Character movement looked heavy but realistic, tackles had satisfying impact, and the camera work during important plays helped make the game feel dramatic. Zaboru especially noticed how Microsoft clearly studied ZAGE's sports presentation philosophy carefully. The game constantly tried to make players feel like they were watching a real televised sports event rather than just controlling athletes in a game.
Of course, there were still flaws.
Some animations repeated too often, AI decision-making could become strange during defensive plays, and the controls occasionally felt slightly stiff compared to ZAGE's smoother sports titles. But overall, the foundation was strong.
The biggest issue was simply personal preference.
"Well... I myself don't really like American football that much," Zaboru admitted while leaning back on the sofa. "So I can't fully judge this from the perspective of a hardcore fan."
Still, he understood the game's quality.
"For American football fans, this could honestly reach 9/10," he admitted fairly. "But for me personally? I'll give it around 7/10."
Then he paused briefly before smirking.
"Still... if this is Microsoft's first serious sports launch title, then honestly? It's a pretty good start."
Zaboru chuckled before moving on to another title: Furious Fight.
The moment the game loaded, he immediately understood what Microsoft's team was trying to do.
"Well... this is basically one of those 3D fighting games," Zaboru muttered while crossing his arms. "Honestly? This one is kind of disappointing."
The game itself focused on battles between giant monsters, military robots, mutant creatures, armored warriors, and strange bio-mechanical fighters. The concept was honestly cool. Watching a massive robot punch a dragon-like creature through a collapsing city building definitely had entertainment value.
The problem was the gameplay.
The moment Zaboru touched the controls, he could immediately feel how heavily the game copied ZAGE's Tekken 2 formula from this world. The movement style, combo structure, juggling system, camera angle, stage flow, and even several animation timings felt far too familiar.
And honestly?
That disappointed him.
Not because copying ideas was inherently bad. Zaboru himself understood that the gaming industry constantly inspired itself from other games. The real issue was that Furious Fight did not add enough unique identity beyond its monster-versus-robot concept.
The only thing that truly stood out was the characters themselves.
Some fighters looked genuinely awesome.
There were giant military mechs with missile launchers, armored insect monsters, lava-covered kaiju creatures, cybernetic martial artists, and sentai-like heroes using energy weapons. One robot could transform its arms into cannons during combos, while another monster literally bit enemies during grappling attacks.
Visually, the game had personality.
Gameplay-wise?
It still felt too close to Tekken.
Zaboru sighed while continuing to test the game for another hour. "Honestly, this concept could have worked way better in another genre," he admitted. "Like a full kaiju arena battle game or even large-scale city destruction combat. Instead, they copied Tekken too hard."
Still, he could not deny that the game remained somewhat fun.
The animations were decent, the impact effects looked satisfying, and casual players would probably enjoy seeing giant monsters punching robots across dramatic stages.
It just lacked originality.
"In terms of pure fun, it's still okay," Zaboru admitted while leaning back on the sofa. "And the character designs are honestly pretty good."
Then he finally gave his score.
"I'll give it around 6.5/10."
Zaboru sighed again before smirking slightly.
"Good concept. Wrong direction."
Then Zaboru moved on to X Miracle Race, and to his surprise, this one immediately felt much better than he expected.
"Honestly... I'm surprised by how smooth this game is," Zaboru said while watching one of the replay clips. "And the good thing is, they clearly copied some things from what we did with Gran Turismo, but they changed enough that it doesn't feel like a blatant copy."
X Miracle Race was a racing game that tried to combine several different racing styles into one package. It had normal circuit races, street racing, time attacks, drift challenges, and even combat racing modes where players could use weapons or vehicle gadgets during certain events. That alone made it feel more playful and arcade-like compared to Gran Turismo, which focused much more heavily on realistic racing and car culture.
The driving itself felt surprisingly smooth. The cars responded well, the sense of speed was good, and the tracks had enough variety to keep things interesting. Some races took place on city streets at night, with neon signs reflecting against wet roads. Others happened in desert highways, mountain roads, coastal routes, or futuristic stadium tracks clearly designed for more chaotic racing. The game did not have Gran Turismo's realism or depth, but it had energy.
The combat racing mode was especially interesting. Players could use temporary boost bursts, EMP-style attacks, oil traps, defensive shields, and short-range missiles depending on the mode. It was not as refined as a dedicated combat racer, but it added a fun layer of chaos that made the game feel different from a simple imitation.
Still, Zaboru noticed one major weakness immediately.
The lack of licensed cars.
Unlike Gran Turismo, which had the power of real car brands and a stronger simulation identity, X Miracle Race relied mostly on original car designs that looked like real-world cars without directly being real-world cars. Some designs were cool, but others felt like awkward imitations that did not fully commit to either realism or fantasy.
"That's the biggest issue," Zaboru muttered while looking at the car selection screen. "If they cannot use licensed cars, they should have gone fully fantasy instead do Goofy and chaos stuff instead of this."
In his opinion, the game could have elevated itself much more if the developers embraced fictional vehicle design completely. They could have created exaggerated supercars, experimental racing machines, weaponized street cars, futuristic concept vehicles, or even ridiculous monster engines that would make the game stand out more. Instead, many cars tried too hard to look like real vehicles without having the real brand appeal.
Still, despite that weakness, X Miracle Race was genuinely fun. The racing felt smooth, the modes had variety, the combat racing added personality, and the game had enough polish to make players keep coming back for quick races.
"Fun game," Zaboru said while smiling. "It's not comparable to Gran Turismo, especially because it lacks licensed cars and deeper racing identity. But as an arcade-style racing launch title? It's actually pretty good."
He leaned back and nodded.
"I'll give it 7.5/10."
After finishing his thoughts on X Miracle Race, Zaboru glanced toward the two remaining game cases on the table: Agent Jordan and ELF Adventure. Both games had very different impressions from the titles he had already reviewed, which made him even more curious. One looked like a serious third-person stealth shooter focused on espionage and cinematic missions, while the other looked like a colorful RPG-platformer trying to attract players who wanted adventure, charm, and fantasy instead of violence or realism.
Zaboru smiled slightly as he picked up the cases one by one. "Alright," he muttered, already preparing his notes again. "Now let's talk about the last two."
To be continue .
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