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An original Xbox title I still own is the brilliant Kung
Fu Chaos [1], a collection of competitive mini-
games with a silly ’70s kung-fu movie theme.
The key to a good party game is to be easily
understood and played by all after a long night at
the pub and this was played to destruction. Tom
Clancy’s Rainbow Six 3 [2] was a great multiplayer
title. Meeting up on a nightly basis with a group
of regular players and working together as a team
was ace. It even had voice commands for the
single-player campaign. Then there’s Ninja Gaiden
Black [3], a slick, super impressive game for its
time, with sharp visuals and a totally evil level
of challenge. I recall that if you failed frequently
(which was often), the game would unlock and
introduce you to the patronisingly named ‘Ninja
Dog’ difficulty, which made things bearable for
those who struggled. GearsOfWar[4] was the
quintessential online Xbox experience. The single
player/co-op campaign was amazing – chunky,
solid-feeling gameplay that satisfied immensely.
The multiplayer was something else: tight 4v4 team
matches made even more thrilling by being able to
really coordinate your team’s strategy. Forza
Horizon 4 [5] is an awesome racing game and a
true sight to behold running on a 4K display. The
sheer amount of detail and features on offer here is
astounding. My first gig in the games industry was
QA on a driving game, which didn’t really feel like
work. In this area Forza also really delivers!Mark Parker
Studio manger and
producer at The
Bearded Ladies
Consulting
Mark started out
in the industry as
a QA tester and
then moved on to
IO Interactive to
work on theHitman
series where he
spent almost nine
years. He’s now just
releasedMutant Year
Zero: Road To Eden.[1][2][4][5]114 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE
OXM OUT
the disc slot
They make the games we love, but what do they play
for fun? We ask developers to pick their faves from
Xbox history. This month: ark ParkerM
[3]