| Origen Winners Speak about Zero Hour! |
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During our visit to Zero Hour earlier last week we were able to catch up with the winners of the Origen competition. Once the show was over we asked some of them what they thought about the event, origen and of course the Xbox 360. Zero Hour was an exciting event for us, the winners of Origen and the winners of the USA based Hex competition.
Q: What did you do to secure a place at Origen?
I made at least 50 answers and I tried in all the parts of Origen
Q: What was your overall experience of Origen like?
Incredible
Q: What was the best part of being at Origen?
Maybe to meet with all the other winners of Origen, they were very good people, also the limo and the jet.
Q: What is your opinion of the Xbox 360?
I think that it's a great and powerful system of videogames and it has a lot of very good games and a big potential to the future
Q: What was your favourite game of the event?
Without a doubt PGR 3 - Dall'Agnol Gregory (Belgium)
Q: What did you do to secure a place at Origen?
I'm the only Belgian winner of the Microsoft Origen contest. I answered 3 questions on the website with the rabbits. The third one was 'the xbox 360 is the best thing since??? and I answer; 'the Woman'. So here I am.
Q: What was your overall experience of Origen like?
Like a wake up dream! The mood was really cool and the gaming condition too : hd screen and comfortable seat. The end of the show was so great also with the best buy trucks filled by 360 and the motorbike cops. And of course, games worth the travel.
Q: What was the best part of being at Origen?
Nothing in particularly. The feeling of living an unique and very special moment. We felt that we were living something that happened a time only. To be privileged. Proud. The fact of discovering the console before the entire world is something very special.
Q: What is your opinion of the Xbox 360?
I was a big skeptic before the Event. The 360 is never but an 'Xbox 1.5' but the Event managed to convice myself finally. I was delighted by the new features of the Xbox Live, the market place (even if it will be expensive in a long term) and so many good games (condemned, 99 nights, gears of war).As many hardcoregamers, I won't be able to wait one year to compare the 360 with ps3 and revolution.
Q: What was your favourite game of the event?
Ninety Nine Nights ! When I saw it for the first time at the TGS, I was really impressive and it was a great pleasure to see it again here at the zero hour event ! It has got a great potential even if the action seems to be a little bit repetitive. Developped by Phantagram (Kingdom Under Fire) and Q Entertainment (Meteos), it won't being a deception, that's impossible! And graphically, it was the most beautiful games of the event.
Q: What did you do to secure a place at Origen?
As one of the first visitors to the site (I had worked out what day the countdown would end and was watching the site as it reached zero) I was presented with an introduction to Boss and Didier and then told the first entrants to Origen had to answer several technical questions about Xbox 360. Since I was already a huge fan and had been collating information about the console, I found the questions fairly easy. As a tie breaker to the competition, I had to finish the sentence: "Xbox 360 is better than..." I answered: Xbox 360 is better than the day I realised the voices in my head were coming from my Xbox Live headset.
Q: What was your overall experience of Origen like?
Origen was a good experience. Apart from the fact that it was my first trip to the states, I also got to meet J Allard himself (and watch as he completely obliterated my highscores at Geometry Wars: Evolved) and I made loads of new friends to add to my Xbox Live friends list. The hotels we stayed at were plush and we were treated like incredibally geeky rock stars.
Q: What was the best part of being at Origen?
Getting to really play with the Xbox 360 - from trying out fantastic games like PGR3 to upgrading my Xbox Live account and exploring the Xbox 360 dashboard.
Q: What is your opinion of the Xbox 360?
When console manufacturers release new hardware, they normally throw loads more power at their machines so that the graphics dazzle and the frame-rates soar. However, contrary to popular belief, this isn't always what gamers want. We're normally taken in by these things at first, almost tempted by such graphical prowess, but unfortunately it soon wears thin if the games aren't up to scratch. Xbox 360 seems to address these problems though.
I think Microsoft have really hit the nail on the head by improving their already excellent Xbox Live service with the now fully integrated Xbox Live Arcade and the new Xbox Live Marketplace. This is something they didn't have to do, since the Xbox Live service is currently un-equalled in the online gaming arena; but they did it anyway. They've also incorporated media centre functionality which, once again, opens the console up to a wider audience - although I suspect since it's games console, this will only be of interest to people who play games anyway.
Overall, I think the Xbox 360 is a true next-generation console not only by improving performance but also by incorporating a high class interface, better online capabilities and some nice media centre features. The scope of Xbox has changed, and it's really changed for the better.
Q: What was your favourite game of the event?
I'm sure you'd like me to say something suitably predictable such as Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing 3 or even Ninety Nine Nights and, although all excellent games, I'm afraid I can't. My favourite game of the event was Geometry Wars: Evolved. Cheap, simple and hopelessly addictive, the game gets into your head and continually tempts you back for one more try at beating that highscore. Oh - and J Allard loves it too so I guess I'm not too weird...
Q: What did you do to secure a place at Origen?
I won the local promotion in Finland. It was a game available from http://www.xbox.com/fi-FI/ (xbox.com Finnish mirror). The one who got the most points won (and the one was me)
Q: What was your overall experience of Origen like?
Everything was well organized for us winners, big thanks for this goes to the staff members, who made sure the whole trip went smoothly. It was a plus to spend time a luxurious hotel and see LA as well, but the high point was the arrival at the Zero Hour and everything that followed. Even that it was just a brief moment, the opening of the hangar doors, and thus the start of the event, was even more exciting than I expected. The VIP area at the event was superb with the comfy sofas, free drinks and all - although there could've been more sofas, I didn't enjoy the bean bags that much :) Overall, I also enjoyed the whole experience to the fullest, and made some new friends as well - so I am very happy how the trip turned out.
Q: What was the best part of being at Origen?
It's difficult to point anything specific, as there was a lot going on, but I'd say the best part of being there would be the Origen spirit of togetherness. Meaning that the best part was being there, feeling the atmosphere and enjoying the experience with the others.
Q: What is your opinion of the Xbox 360 ?
For what I saw, there are very little downsides on XBox 360. I liked the design of the console, the feel of the controller, the improved XBox Live with dashboard and all. As there are excellent games available already and even more coming in the future, I'd say I'm very pleased with the 360.
Q: What was your favourite game of the event?
The favourite game of the event would have to be a tie between Condemned: Criminal Origins and Project Gotham Racing 3, and I also have to give a big hand for Geometry Wars: Evolved (XBox Live Arcade game) which was perfect to the setting at the event (quick games, all action).
Q: What did you do to secure a place at Origen?
Actually I won my ticket to Origen by answering some questions in a Greek site. The site is www.gameover.gr
Q: What was your overall experience of Origen like?
My experience of Origen was Just Great and I think that Microsoft made something really great with this event and I hope that we are going to see more and more in the near future
Q: What was the best part of being at Origen?
Since we saw Xbox 360 and all the games it has to offer at launch and Xbox Live Service and Xbox Arcade as well I think the best thing is that we are going to have a Xbox 360 for so we can try everything we lived in the event for ourselves in our places!
Q: What is your opinion of the Xbox 360?
Xbox360 is a very beautiful machine and it gives you many services like the media centre, Xbox Live and Xbox Live Arcade which is very good and I believe that Microsoft is going to get better this time around than before.
Q: What was your favourite game of the event?
My favourite game was Condemned since I am a Horror game Fan!!
Q: What did you do to secure a place at Origen?
I played a flash game where I had to feed bunnies, and solve puzzles at www.roadtoorigen.com
Q: What was your overall experience of Origen like?
It was really amazing, and astonishing, a real once in a life time experience
Q: What was the best part of being at Origen?
that I got a lot of new friends, that i can play with on Xbox live, once i receive my Xbox 360
Q: What is your opinion of the Xbox 360?
I love it; it has been made really well, both design, hardware and software
Q: What was your favourite game of the event?
Dead or Alive 4, and Project Gotham Racing 3
Q: What did you do to secure a place at Origen?
I'd invented a rumour about what Origen could be. So i made a brief comic where i explained that Origen is a place inside each 360 that's keeped alive with the player's emotions and thrills.It sounds a bit silly but it worked!
Q: What was your overall experience of Origen like?
Well, I think that was an unforgettable experience. Everything was simply excellent: the digital-outlook's staff, the people (winners,VIG's, press..), the hotel were we stayed, and of course the Zero Hour! I'm feeling so pleased for being one of the European's people that had lived all this day-dream. Oh! I had almost forgotten it: the "limos"
Q: What was the best part of being at Origen?
. I'ts a difficult question, because under my point of view, it was so great travel to L.A. and also have been on the Zero hour playing for about 20 hours with the 360.
Q: What is your opinion of the Xbox 360?
Before going to the Zero Hour, I thought that the 360 would be a really powerful system with "hi-def" graphics due it's 3 core processor. Afterwards the event, that thought became a conviction. I was able to try it with my own hands, and saw it with my eyes. The detail's level on gaming was so high, also the textures superb, the Xbox live interface quick and intuitive, just as I've expected. There was one thing that I cannot appreciate because the event. It was the noise level of the system while is on. On the current system is pretty annoying. Maybe there's people who didn't like it as I did. But that's my subjective opinion
Q: What was your favourite game of the event?
Wow, another difficult question! ;-) There were several fantastic games, with amazing details. For example i went crazy about the back's sweat effect and clothes movement of the NBA Live 06, and got really tensed with the dark atmosphere of Condemned. The high-realism of the PGR3 surprised me a lot too. And one game that i'd read bad press about it, and however i'd enjoyed : Gun.
Q: What did you do to secure a place at Origen?
I had to have the highest level in the double team leaderboards for Halo 2
Q: What was your overall experience of Origen like?
I thought the event was excellent with more than enough things to do there including playing on all the launch titles, challenges and tournaments.
Q: What was the best part of being at Origen?
I think testing out the launch titles was one of the best parts since it gives players a better idea on what xbox 360 games they would like to buy. The tournaments was what I enjoyed the most since I came back with more things than I expected ;)
Q: What is your opinion of the Xbox 360?
I think the Xbox 360 will be a complete success, mostly in America and Europe. Xbox Live will be one of the biggest parts of the Xbox 360 since no other console will have an onine gaming service such as this.
Q: What was your favourite game of the event?
Perfect Dark 0 was one of my favourite games at the event with it's advanced graphics and skillful game play, It could be the next best and most popular First Person Shooter's in the console gaming industry.
Posted By: Robert Cram
Date: 2005-11-28
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