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Why Spec Ops: The Line Has More in Common With Full Metal Jacket than Modern Warfare

Why Spec Ops: The Line Has More in Common With Full Metal Jacket than Modern Warfare

Yager Development wants to make much more than another military shooter. Can they pull it off?

Microsoft Xbox 360 Games Information

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  • The Xbox 360 is the second home video-game console from Microsoft. Released in 2005, the Xbox 360 entered the market only four years after the release of the original Xbox, and it was the first of the current (seventh) generation of home video-game consoles. The Xbox 360 improves upon what the first Xbox offered gamers, namely its unique identity as the only video game console manufactured by an American company aimed at a Western audience, high-definition graphics, powerful hardware, and pioneering online initiatives.

     

    Microsoft has been involved in video-game production and development for years, but entering the market with its own console in 2001 was a giant step that transformed both the company and the video-game landscape.

     

    Xbox Live, Microsoft's online service for its consoles, is at the core of the Xbox 360 experience. Xbox Live organizes the gamer's online presence in a way that fosters community and shared gaming experiences. Some of the most distinctive Xbox Live features have become so popular with gamers they've been implemented in the competitors' consoles and have gone on to become industry standards. Among these features are the GamerTag (each gamer's screen name), the Xbox Live friends list, and the GamerScore (a tally of the gamer's in-game Achievements). Gamers can choose between Xbox Live Free, a free but significantly limited version of the service, and Xbox Live Gold, the full-featured version that costs $50 a year.

     

    One of the most essential features of Xbox Live is the Xbox Live Marketplace, where X360 gamers can download game and video content. The Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is where gamers can purchase additional content for their disc-based Xbox 360 games, full digital copies of original Xbox and Xbox 360 games, and online only and exclusive XBLA games.

     

    Microsoft has also opened the Marketplace to independent developers with the XNA toolset. Aspiring developers who use XNA to develop their games may submit their games to the Marketplace and sell them after they've gone through Microsoft's approval process.

     

    One reason the Xbox brand is often associated with American hardcore gamers is that its sales have been at least partly driven by the popularity of flagship exclusive property, Halo, a best-selling First Person Shooter video game franchise popular with that demographic. Since Halo's success, the Xbox 360 has developed more exclusive properties with a similar appeal (like Gears of War), as well as hosting the largest communities for multi-platform hardcore games (as is the case with Call of Duty: Black Ops).

     

    GamePro.com covers all matters related to the Xbox 360 and the Xbox brand. With Xbox 360 news, Xbox 360 reviews, Xbox 360 previews, Xbox 360 videos, features, interviews, and an active community of gamers, GamePro.com is where you'll find everything you want to know about Xbox 360 games and hardware, along with the unique GamePro perspective, which comes from our passionate staff and more than 20 years of experience covering the video game industry.

     

    Be sure to read our articles about the best 10 Xbox 360 games, the 23 best XBLA games, and get involved in our Microsoft forums.

     

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