Zaboru smiled while looking at the Agent Jordan game case. "This game is clearly unique, and honestly? 'Jordan' isn't exactly a suitable codename for a secret agent," he said while chuckling. "But somehow that's exactly what makes the game memorable."
The story of Agent Jordan followed a high school basketball player named Jordan Hayes. Right before graduation, Jordan suddenly became one of the top candidates for an American secret organization called Freedom Wings, a hidden intelligence agency responsible for protecting the United States from global threats while also maintaining and securing dangerous artifacts known as "Black Technology."
Black Technology was one of the most mysterious elements in the world itself. Around a hundred years ago, strange advanced technologies suddenly started appearing across different countries without clear origin. Some were discovered buried underground, some appeared inside ancient ruins, some were found after unexplained disasters, and others simply emerged mysteriously in the possession of governments or organizations.
No one fully understood where the technology came from.
And that uncertainty made it terrifying.
Every major country now possessed several Black Technology artifacts, and many governments secretly built entire military divisions around them.
For example, the United States possessed the "Silent Pistols," weapons capable of firing infinitely without needing ammunition while remaining completely silent. Russia supposedly controlled the "Permafrost Engine," a reactor-like machine capable of freezing entire military zones instantly during extreme situations. England possessed something called the "Queen's Eye," a surveillance device rumored to monitor communications across enormous distances without traditional satellites.
Meanwhile, Japan secretly researched the "Kusanagi Frame," an experimental armor system that drastically enhanced human reflexes and reaction speed. Germany allegedly maintained the "Iron Heart," a mechanical core technology capable of powering massive war machines far beyond normal energy limitations. China reportedly possessed the "Dragon Vein Network," a mysterious infrastructure technology allowing hidden underground transportation systems to function with impossible efficiency.
And according to conspiracy theories inside the game's world?
There were still dozens of undiscovered Black Technologies hidden across the planet.
Freedom Wings existed specifically to prevent these technologies from falling into the wrong hands, because if a country or terrorist group gathered too many of them together, the balance of the world itself could collapse.
Zaboru smiled while thinking about the gameplay. "They really combined the stealth system from Metal Gear Solid with the third-person shooting style from Syphon Filter, and honestly? It's not bad at all."
Both Metal Gear and Syphon Filter were ZAGE games in this world, so Zaboru immediately recognized the inspirations the moment he started playing. Metal Gear had introduced players to more advanced stealth systems, enemy alert mechanics, sneaking routes, silent takedowns, and infiltration-focused gameplay. Meanwhile, Syphon Filter helped popularize smoother third-person shooting mechanics, faster movement, aiming systems, gadget usage, and cinematic gunfights.
Agent Jordan clearly replicated ideas from both games, but surprisingly, it blended them together better than Zaboru initially expected.
The stealth sections genuinely encouraged players to think carefully. Guards reacted to suspicious noises, security cameras could trigger alarms, and certain missions rewarded silent infiltration instead of direct combat. Players could hide behind objects, disable lights, distract enemies using gadgets, or use the Silent Pistols for clean stealth takedowns.
But once stealth failed?
The game smoothly shifted into action.
Jordan could dive behind cover, use quick aiming systems, perform evasive rolls, and engage in aggressive third-person firefights against enemy agents, mercenaries, rogue military units, and Black Technology-enhanced soldiers.
What impressed Zaboru the most was the pacing. The game constantly switched between tense infiltration moments and explosive action scenes without feeling awkward. One mission could start with silent infiltration inside a research facility before suddenly becoming a full escape sequence with explosions, helicopters, and armed enemies chasing Jordan through collapsing corridors.
"Honestly, Freedom Wings itself is also a pretty cool concept," Zaboru admitted while nodding slightly. "The whole secret-agent organization protecting dangerous world technologies thing works surprisingly well."
Of course, the game still had flaws. Enemy AI sometimes behaved inconsistently during stealth sections, and some shooting animations felt slightly stiff compared to ZAGE's own shooters. But overall?
The gameplay foundation was strong enough to make Agent Jordan feel like more than just a copy.
It felt like Microsoft genuinely understood why Metal Gear and Syphon Filter were fun in the first place.
The gameplay itself focused heavily on infiltration missions across many different locations. Jordan sneaked through military facilities, hidden laboratories, luxury casinos used by criminal organizations, abandoned Black Technology research centers, snowy Russian bunkers, moving trains, and even underwater bases protected by experimental security systems.
Players constantly needed to use gadgets, stealth tools, disguises, hacking devices, and environmental interactions to survive. Some missions encouraged full stealth, while others slowly escalated into complete chaos once alarms triggered.
One of the coolest parts was the Black Technology equipment given to Jordan himself.
The most iconic weapon was the "Silent Pistols."
These pistols were absurdly overpowered in the game's universe. They were completely silent, had infinite ammunition, and featured two firing modes: lethal and non-lethal. Players could quietly eliminate enemies or simply incapacitate them depending on mission objectives.
But the craziest feature?
The pistols could charge energy shots.
If players held the trigger longer, the weapon released compressed silent energy rounds capable of penetrating walls, armored enemies, and even small vehicles. Watching a completely silent shot punch through multiple enemies felt ridiculously satisfying.
And because the weapons never needed reloading, players could maintain stealth pressure constantly without breaking the pacing.
Of course, the Silent Pistols were not the only sci-fi tools available.
Jordan also used hologram decoys, temporary cloaking devices, portable EMP grenades, wall-scanning visors, magnetic climbing boots, hacking spiders that infiltrated computer systems, miniature surveillance drones, and signal jammers capable of disabling enemy communication.
Some late-game missions even introduced dangerous Black Technology enemies equipped with unstable experimental gear. Certain soldiers could use kinetic shields, enhanced reaction implants, or temporary invisibility systems that forced players to adapt quickly.
Honestly, the mixture between realistic spy-action and strange experimental technology made Agent Jordan feel unique enough to stand apart from its inspirations.
Overall, both the gameplay and story were genuinely quite good. It was not perfect, but Microsoft clearly understood how to make the experience exciting, cinematic, and varied enough to keep players engaged.
Zaboru nodded while writing his final score.
"I'll give this one 8/10."
Then Zaboru moved on to the final game from Microsoft's Xbox launch lineup: Elf Adventure. The moment he picked up the case, he could not help grinning because the title sounded almost painfully ordinary. "Honestly, the name is so underwhelming for this game," Zaboru said while chuckling. "Elf Adventure? Really? With a name like that, you would expect some simple fantasy platformer where a cute elf jumps on mushrooms and collects shiny fruits."
But that was not what this game was at all.
Elf Adventure was far stranger, louder, and more stylish than its title suggested. The first time Zaboru heard the opening theme, he actually paused for a few seconds because the game immediately blasted heavy metal music mixed with medieval instruments. Electric guitar riffs clashed with lutes, drums, and fantasy choir vocals, creating a sound that should have been ridiculous but somehow worked perfectly.
Zaboru's grin widened immediately. "Heh... elves and heavy metal music?" he muttered while leaning closer to the screen. "This stuff is a masterpiece already."
What made it even funnier was that the game did not present itself as a joke. It treated the entire concept seriously. The world was still fantasy, the elves still had elegant villages, forests, ancient magic, and graceful traditions, but then the protagonist appeared carrying dwarf-forged metal weapons while heavy guitar riffs screamed in the background like the forest itself had discovered rebellion.
For Zaboru, that contrast was exactly what made the game interesting. It was not just a normal elf fantasy story. It had identity. It had attitude. It had that weird creative spark where someone clearly asked, "What if elves stopped being elegant for five minutes and started headbanging instead?"
And somehow, Microsoft's team actually made it work.
The story of Elf Adventure followed Zink, a young elf who became fascinated with dwarven metalworking from a very young age. Unlike most elves, who treated woodworking, nature crafting, and spiritual arts as sacred traditions, Zink was obsessed with steel, fire, forging, and metallurgy. He dreamed of becoming a blacksmith one day, something considered almost disgraceful within traditional elf culture.
The elf community constantly tried to push him toward woodcraft instead, since crafting bows, magical wooden artifacts, and elegant forest architecture were seen as the pride of elven civilization. To them, metalworking was loud, dirty, primitive, and overly associated with dwarves.
But Zink simply did not care.
The more people rejected his interests, the more stubborn he became.
Eventually, after years of arguments and disappointment, Zink left the elf village entirely and traveled to dwarven territory, where he finally began learning proper metallurgy and blacksmithing.
And honestly?
The dwarves in this world were absolutely insane.
Instead of the usual serious fantasy dwarves, these dwarves were obsessed with heavy metal music.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
Their underground cities constantly echoed with electric guitar riffs, massive drums, drunken chanting, and forge workers singing heavy metal songs while crafting weapons. Blacksmith shops looked like concert stages, taverns hosted screaming metal performances every night, and some dwarven warriors genuinely treated guitar solos as part of battle culture.
One scene in the game literally showed dwarves forging weapons while headbanging near lava rivers.
Zaboru loves the absurdity.
What made it even funnier was that the game treated all of this completely seriously.
To the dwarves, heavy metal was not just music.
It was culture.
It was passion.
It was life itself.
After spending several years learning metallurgy, forging techniques, and combat from the dwarves, Zink eventually heard rumors that his old elf village had been attacked by mysterious Void Creatures, horrifying monsters emerging from dimensional cracks spreading corruption across forests and kingdoms.
Despite everything that happened between him and the elves, Zink still could not ignore the news.
So armed with dwarf-forged weapons, heavy armor, and enough metal energy to spiritually offend every traditional elf alive, Zink finally began his journey back home.
The music in this game was absolutely insane. Heavy metal guitars mixed with medieval lutes, fantasy choir vocals, drums, forge-hammer sound effects, and even dwarf chanting somehow blended together into one of the most unique soundtracks Zaboru had heard in a long time. Every major battle felt like a fantasy concert combined with a war anthem.
And somehow...
It worked ridiculously well.
Some boss fights even changed the music dynamically. During one giant lava-dragon battle, the heavy metal intensified the closer Zink got to defeating the boss, while dwarven choir chants started screaming in the background like an army of drunken blacksmiths blessing the battle.
Zaboru almost stood up from the sofa laughing from pure excitement.
"This soundtrack is so stupidly cool..." he muttered.
The gameplay itself combined semi-platforming exploration with fast hack-and-slash combat. Zink constantly gained new weapons, combat styles, movement abilities, and forging techniques throughout the adventure. Certain areas required platforming skills using wall jumps, chain swings, or magnetic metal boots created by dwarven engineers.
The weapons themselves were one of the strongest parts of the game.
And honestly?
They were absurd in the best possible way.
Most weapons were heavily tied to dwarven heavy metal culture, which made them feel completely different from normal fantasy equipment. One weapon was literally a giant guitar-axe hybrid called the "Riff Breaker," capable of releasing shockwaves whenever players timed attacks to the music rhythm. Another weapon, the "Iron Howler," was a massive hammer that emitted explosive sound bursts during charged attacks.
There were also dual flaming forge blades, chain-whips made from enchanted steel cables, rocket-powered war hammers, and even cursed instruments capable of casting destructive sound magic.
The progression system also encouraged experimentation. Players could reforge weapons using rare materials gathered from bosses and hidden areas, allowing Zink to customize attack effects, elemental powers, sound-based abilities, and combat styles.
One moment players could use a heavy two-handed metal axe smashing enemies apart.
The next moment?
They were launching enemies into the air using guitar riffs before finishing them with flaming aerial combos.
Zaboru genuinely loved it.
This game was almost perfectly designed for his tastes. Elves and heavy metal were a combination he never imagined would work this well, yet somehow Microsoft's developers fully committed to the absurd concept instead of holding back.
And because they committed completely...
The game gained real identity.
Zaboru leaned back while grinning widely.
"Yeah... this is honestly a masterpiece."
Then he wrote his final score.
"9.5/10."
Zaboru yawned while stretching his arms slightly. "Still quite tired, huh..." he muttered. "But honestly, Microsoft's Xbox isn't bad at all."
He leaned back against the sofa for a moment before smirking faintly. "Well... let's see what the public thinks about it. To be honest, I still haven't really checked how their online systems work yet. I focused mostly on the campaigns and core gameplay first, so now let's see the reviews instead."
Zaboru chuckled softly before opening the forums on his computer.
And honestly, even though Xbox already had its own official forum now, the biggest and most active gaming forum in the world was still ZAGE Forum. Because of that, a huge amount of Xbox discussion was happening there anyway. Players from all over the world were already debating launch games, graphics, loading speed, controllers, online features, and whether Xbox could truly compete long-term against ZAGE.
To be continue
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