X-Band Modem

"The first true attempt at home system Internet gaming for the Genesis"

Even though this isn't a regular game review, I'm sure that most people don't remember what X-Band really was. A first attempt of sorts to bring gamers together through several different Genesis games across a modem type interface was truly one of the first ideas that never really got off the ground. Featuring a small cart that plugged into your Genesis along with a small modem port to connect a phone line to, X-Band was more or less an effort to give home system gamers the opportunity to challenge other gamers across the country to fighting games and a couple of racing games in order to create a more competitive environment!

X-Band worked on the same premise that current ISP's work on, in which you had to input a credit card number, create an account and a password, and then find a game that was compatible with the system that they had set up. When it was still alive and kicking, X-Band was a good way to show off your skills and make a name for yourself with games like Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat while keeping with the spirit of good sportsmanship! Those who did sign up and use the X-Band with the Genesis had several different limited message options that allowed you to send challenges to friends, or just find new friends to fight against.

As with most early attempts to create a gaming environment like this, you had a general set of problems such as static on the phone line and disconnections that could occur at any given time. There was no real pinging system in place, so if your phone line was clear enough, and you were on at a certain part of the night, you could play a fighting game and keep the action smooth and fast! If you were using the system at peak hours, you could have problems just getting connected, and in some cases you would have a complete game freeze that wouldn't let up until you reset the system itself. One of the top rewards that did impress me specifically, was the fact that your overall records were kept up on the service, and anytime that you chose a game, your user name as well as your current record for the specific game was saved so that you could continue on without losing any previous accomplishments!

Overall though, the X-Band allowed gamers to have a little more challenge at any given time with several different games being compatible with the dial up service. Without sacrificing visuals or audio, as well as giving the gamer a different form of challenge, you could find plenty of reasons to sign up for the service and at ten bucks a month, it was well worth it! However, with the video game world constantly changing, and the addition of modem ready systems out there on the market, X-Band quietly faded into the background and finally out of sight leaving X-Band a little known and now defunct but fondly remembered addition to their Genesis system.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/13/01, Updated 10/13/01