Treit & True:
Xbox Hearts Customization
By Ryan Treit
You could never look at my history in gaming and call me a PC gamer. But I have veered in the direction of our PC brethren for certain genres, and in those ventures I have come to one conclusive understanding: Customization is king on the PC. My micromanaging needs have always been met there, and over the years, I mourned the lack of custom options in the console world. Then the Xbox® video game system came thumping down onto the retail shelf in front of me one day, and I beheld the future of console customization. Between the titles offered for the system and the inherent customization opportunities on the Xbox, the customization/tweaking geek in me rejoiced, and the years since have proven that initial joy true.
Oddly though, many still seem mystified by some of the options, or are not aware of the many games that embrace that user modification mindset. Therefore, we shall set aside my weekly rants and odd opinions, and instead simply focus on one aspect that makes my Xbox dear to me.
That's a custom saber, my friend.
Ripping Tracks
As a youngster, the constant whine from my parental units to turn down "that infernal racket" always confused me. The music and sound of the games was so ingrained in the experience that I felt like I was playing in a void when forced to play them muted. I must admit, though, that since my latter teenage years, I have began to understand how hearing the same two-minute stretch of music looped over and over again can slowly drive a man out of his wits. I love the Burnout® 3: Takedown™ soundtrack, but if I have to hear that title song one more time, I'm going to blow a gasket.
Luckily, this problem is solved with the Xbox custom soundtracks. Rip a few songs onto your Xbox (just put in the CD and head to the Music option on the Xbox main menu), spend some time organizing the songs into a few soundtracks, and you're golden. This is especially useful in games where the soundtrack is not imperative to the experience. Racing games and sports games are particularly attuned to this aspect. I may not want to hear Soundgarden during a tense moment in Star Wars® Knights of the Old Republic® II: The Sith Lords™, but it's perfect background music when I'm running competitors off the road in Burnout 3.
Guilds, Squads, Clans, Whatever
There is little so satisfying as winning match after match with a team identity. When you're logged into Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell® Chaos Theory™ and a squad comes in and groans in pain at the sight of your guild name, the satisfaction felt is hard to explain. Hearing, "oh man, not these guys," when they see The Deuce as their adversaries is pure bliss, and with the latest upgrade to Xbox Live®, all of this is possible. Creating and customizing your own identity with different names, logos, mottos, and even a link to your clan Web page brings a whole different element to the experience.
The Deuce strikes again!
Your Inner Mechanic
If it's specific games you're looking for, you can do no better than the customization options available in Forza Motorsport™. Consoles have traditionally shied away from the incredibly in-depth simulation games that require you to spend oodles of time in menus analyzing and testing out parts, but developers are opening their eyes a bit more and seeing the market as it is. Customizing just for the sake of customizing doesn't really cut it. But when the time you spend sweating out each upgrade and alteration ends with a rewarding change and gives you the sense that your decision literally changed the experience for the better, you've got a winner on your hands.Forza Motorsport could hardly offer a better example of this, as you not only alter the cars cosmetically to fit your own aesthetic needs, but also change the inner workings of the car to such a degree that you can add and adjust parts for further down-thrust, calibrate the suspension, change the gear shift ratios, and much, much more.
Just testing out a new suspension.
In Your Own Image
While Forza Motorsport is the perfect example of upgrading and customizing equipment, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 2005 may be the greatest example of customizing a character. The sheer volume of options and plasticity the game offers is unbelievable. You don't pick a face for your created golfer, you sculpt one using the tools at your disposal. Want to get that hook in your nose at just the right angle? You can do that in Tiger Woods. Want broad shoulders and a thick chest, but a small waist? No problem. There are no body types to choose from, there's just a body from which you mold your character. Beyond the creation of the look, there's also the load-out of equipment and clothes that you unlock and procure throughout the game. You're even able to customize your swing, from the backswing to the follow-through and all the points between.
While this article is hardly a comprehensive argument for the wonders that the Xbox offers to those that love to meddle with options and tweak their characters, I have still outlined some of the best of what the system offers. I hope this is just the beginning, and that more games embrace user customization. Rumor has it that the next Xbox will have user soundtracks for every game (the option will no longer have to be implemented by the game's developer), so that's at least a further step in the right direction. I can't wait to hear what's next.
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