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Eternal Sonata Demo (X360) - a.k.a. "Trusty Bell"
I held off getting an Xbox 360 for a while, largely based on my perception of Microsoft's last console. Although I did wrack up an insane amount of hours playing Halo 2, and although I did get to play the best console version of Psychonauts - two gifts that I don't for a minute regret being on the receiving end of - I do think that the system was lacking overall in really great feeling titles.
Like everyone told me, this isn't the case with the 360. (I actually don't regret waiting before picking one up, because it means I've been able to get the HDMI-enabled version from the outset, though). Yes, today's 360 game that I've been playing - along with the Halo 3 beta, that is - is Eternal Sonata, an RPG from Namco (they're called Namco Bandai now though, right? Or Bandai Namco?) The free download can be yours if you simply register a Japanese Hotmail account - instructions here - and register it to a fictitious Japanese address (I used the address of the US embassy in Japan, just to take the piss a little), then create a free Xbox Live account using it.
It's a Japanese RPG on a system that seems under-represented in this genre, but not only that, it's a damn good one as well. It looks utterly frickin' gorgeous (see badly taken off-screen picture) and plays wonderfully as well, with really, really involving battles (not just the usual "Select attacks from a menu" fare). I guess since my system language is set to English, I get dubbed English voices, which vary in quality. One good side of the English voices though, is that I'm get the sneaky suspicion also that Cam Clarke is dubbing the lead character. (Cam Clarke is the guy who played Ryudo in the dubbed version of Grandia II on the Sega Dreamcast, and he's done a ton of other voice and even some musical work).
This'll be yet another first-day 360 purchase for me. In the weeks that follow, Halo 3 is also coming as well. Man, this is better than the Wii already. I know it's been out for longer but seriously, get your act together Nintendo. This "core gamers" that you've neglected has just discovered what the competition has to offer and he is enjoying it!
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Leon Ahoy!
Looks like a nice game. I'm not a fan of rpg's, but I know a lot of people who will be eager to play it though.
The original Xbox is my 2nd favourite console of all time; behind the snes. It was always technically impressive, and gave me months of joy with all the great racers: such as Rallisport 1&2, PGR2, Outrun2, ProEvo4-5, etc... Plus Halo, Panzer Dragoon, Burnout2, etc... XBLive has always been fantastic.
The 360, so far, hasn't come close to the fun I had with that machine. It's early days though. I think things will really take-off later this year and onwards.