The
“Next-Generation” game console has arrived.
I have not changed since I was little, I get the same feeling in my gut every
time I know I am about to receive a bunch of presents. When I found out that I
was going to receive an Xbox 360 in the mail I couldn’t believe it. Everyday I
waited with keen anticipation for this prize beauty to arrive in the mail, each
day felt like it was going in slow motion until the time the package arrived. To
put it in perspective it was like how a little kid feels when they are waiting
to for their birthday party to open up all the good presents they will receive.
Finally the day came to open up this package, and let me tell you that it was
completely worth the wait. Read on to find out why you should purchase this new
gaming console as soon as possible.
Once the package arrived in the mail I opened it up and saw it, the beautiful
white box that separated me from playing the latest generation of games. I
opened up the box and I saw the Xbox 360, which is a true thing of beauty,
before I opened anything else I wanted to compare the size of the console to the
current generation.
The size of the Xbox 360 is between the original PlayStation 2 and original
Xbox, in other words it fits perfectly in my entertainment center and it is
begging me to turn it on. Since I want to obey its command I finished unpacking
the contents of the Xbox 360 box. The box contains one wireless controller (with
a set of batteries), a remote control (with a set of batteries), a huge power
supply (that is the size of two or three PlayStation Portable’s stacked
together), and a set of component cables. The hard disk drive is already
attached to the Xbox 360 but it is really easy to get off and on, the size of it
is about the size of a Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable.
After unpacking the contents of the box I promptly connected it all to my TV and
turned it on. It took me a couple of moments to figure out how to “turn on” the
controllers and once that was accomplished, I was ready to rock and roll. After
turning the console on I was curious to see how the new interface looked like
and how it functioned. It was pretty easy to get everything set up and get my
Xbox Live name tied into my profile. Once that was set up I was itching to play
a game, and the game I choose was Perfect Dark Zero. After watching the amazing
CGI intro I decided to go into a Death Match. I was amazed at how many bots that
this game supported, which shows the new added power of the next generation of
consoles.
Pretty soon a friend came over and we wanted to try out the split screen mode
together. I asked him what he thought of the graphics and he agreed with me that
while they looked really nice, something seemed off. Pretty soon we switched to
seeing how the improvements to Halo and Halo 2 and it was really nice as well,
but something still seemed off that it wasn’t taking advantage of my DLP HDTV.
So I went into the dashboard and looked at the TV settings and it was on 480p.
So I promptly set it to 720p and it wouldn’t let me. Pretty soon we found out
what was wrong. On the component cables there is an HDTV and a TV section
switch. I immediately put the selection on HDTV and then set it to 720p and then
put Perfect Dark Zero back in, and then BAM we could tell a huge difference in
graphic quality. We agreed that this is what playing next generation games is
going to be all about.
I think I have found a controller that is better than the sturdy feel of the
PlayStation 2 controller. Yes Microsoft has learned their lesson from the
original Xbox and crafted one of the best feeling, tightest reaction, wireless
controllers known to date. The buttons to the controller feel really nice and
are super reactive. The newest addition to the controller is the Xbox Guide
button. This allows you to stop any game that you are playing and check to see
if your friends are on Xbox Live, change the music up, or go to the dashboard.
Also this shows you what player you are if you are playing a multiplayer game.
Speaking of the dashboard, it is a thing of amazement to see how dedicated
Microsoft was in allowing customization, in other words making the console your
“own.” There are settings in the dashboard to customize the theme which really
makes the console have your own personality. There are a couple of tabs in there
that are: Xbox Live, Games, Media, and System. The Xbox Live tab contains your
profile information; it contains such information as how many games you have
played, your “Gamerscore”, and various game achievements that you have
accomplished. This can be shared with everyone online and shows how good of a
gamer you really are. Each game has different things that you can achieve and it
will show it on the tab with various awards – in other words this is the place
to brag about how good of a gamer you are.
Xbox Live is better then ever, I don’t know why Sony and Nintendo have not
followed Microsoft in creating a centralized location for all of your online
gaming needs, but it is their loss. In fact the entire Xbox 360 in centered
around the improved Xbox Live. If you want to play any game online, check your
friends list, talk to them online, and leave messages, then you know which
system has all of this to offer and with the Xbox 360, so much more. It is
amazing what new content Xbox Live has now. There is this thing called a
Marketplace where you can download various game demos, items for your dashboard,
and just a ton of other things. Many of the items require “membership points”
which is a form of currency. You can purchase these points via a credit card and
then purchase anything to your heart’s content.
My favorite
tab to play around with is the media tab. You can play music here or rip music
to the hard drive, look at pictures or video, as well as hookup with Windows
Media Center. The best thing to do is hook up your music and then look at the
Xbox 360 visualizer. Microsoft hired the brilliant designer, Jeff Minter, to
create this and it is a sight to behold. You can even interact with it and have
lots of fun. This is a great thing to put on full screen and put on some music
as you go about some chores around your house.
Speaking of this, another really good thing about this console is how it
recognizes many different USB devices. One of the best features of the original
Xbox is the ability to rip your music and create customized soundtracks. Well
the Xbox 360 takes this one step further and if you have an iPod or any mp3
player that has a USB interface you will be able to stream music and play it. I
was a bit skeptical to how this would work when I first heard about it, but
Microsoft did a really good job of implementing it. I plugged in my iPod and it
was immediately identified and I was using it to provide music to my Perfect
Dark Zero matches, and my friends and I really enjoyed it. This even has support
for playlists available, so you can create playlists for a game and then jam
out. This makes it really fun and interesting to set up various playlists for
Perfect Dark Zero; we all put together the perfect playlist that just fit this
game, and we had a blast with it.
Last but not least there is the Xbox 360 settings tab. In there you can set up
various aspects of the console. The interface for this is just as clean as
everything else in the in the menu. It is really easy to setup various settings
for the console to read and change, such as changing the TV to an HDTV, parental
controls, and other various settings.
I have one question for you, do any of you remember when you got a gaming
console and it used to come with a “pack-in” game? Well I have vague memories of
it, and Xbox 360 has a pack-in game included, even though it might not be what
you would expect. When I was looking through to see what was included on the
hard disk dive I saw this game called Hexic. If you have ever been on
zone.msn.com you will know exactly what to expect. While I would have preferred
Bejeweled, which is one of the best games on that site and so many hours of my
life drained on it, you really can’t complain to much about a free Xbox Live
Arcade game can you?
Another big draw to this console is the ability to customize it to fit your
personality. The Xbox 360 allows you to change up the front face plate, and it
is really easy to do. All you have to do is pop off the front cover, and change
it out to any that you have already purchased. This really gives the console
more personality. The goal is to make the console feel more like yours and it
really works out well. Microsoft has done a great job of making a console that
fits gamer’s personalities and around making everything customizable and it all
works out. Hopefully other companies will follow this trend as well.
Xbox 360 comes in two flavors the “Core” System which is just the gaming
console, a wired controller, and regular AV cables for $299. If you truly want
to play any Xbox 360 the way it was made to be played spend the extra hundred
dollars and pick up the console that has the hard disk, wireless controller,
remote control, and component cables, as it is completely worth it.
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Pros:
There are so many good qualities about this console it is hard to fit it all
here. First off is how great the controller is, then you having gaming at high
definition, as well as standard wireless controllers. One of the best things
about this console is hooking up my iPod to it and it playing the music directly
off it, instead of ripping music to the hard disk drive.
Cons:
The higher price point maybe a turnoff to some people, but it is completely
worth it in the end.
Verdict: 9.5
The next generation of console gaming has arrived and I couldn’t be more
thrilled to having the opportunity to review this system and tell you why you
all need to go purchase it as soon as possible.
This console may be a little pricey, but it is definitely worth the price of
admission.
