I finally gave in to the “evils” at Microsoft and invested in their Next Generation console. Why. the delay on ps3 along with the delay on Ghost Recon on PC. The more reviews I read, the more convinced I became that the 360 was made up of great hardware that was finally being put to use. So I blew up my credit card, pissed off my wife, and invested in more computer hardware that I may not need. But heck, I work at it, so keeping up with all the tech is my job (or so I keep telling myself).
First Impressions: When setting up the 360 the first thing that strikes you is the physical weight of the machine. Small but weighs the same as a concrete block.
The desktop and systems setup immediately shows you that there is much more to this machine than just gaming. It feels like a stripped down computer (but in a good way). No wasting time with patches and updates. You sign in to Xbox Live and tell you when you need to update. Easy to navigate, ability to jump in and out of games easily.
Loading times are also very impressive. I expected to be starring on screen during my first run of War Fighter and was very pleasantly surprised.
Xbox Live is the ace in the Microsoft deck. Its killer app for machine. Think of it as your internet on the internet. It is free just to use. But you have to upgrade to gold (and pay) to play online and get some downloads. But ALL games will have an online mode. Which means you get more value and a different experience. Microsoft has also insisted on achieving it in all games.
The more you achieve, the better your rating and points will be (the rating can also be improved with visits, friends, help, messages, etc.). Basically, they want you to play and get involved and they will reward you for it. Good ideas. Getting people to play more than they paid for, rather than the modern obsession with having more and not using, is a good idea (since these games don’t come cheap: $75 for a war fighter!).
This page will be updated the more you use the system. (oh have free time).
I’ll be pasting simple no BS reviews here, of the games I’m interested in on the 360 platform. The physical build is impressive, though the size of the power supply is staggering. Simple little things impress: the size of the wireless controller: perfect. The 360 button on the controller takes you back to “desktop” as well as turning the machine on/off (a simple function I know of, but it works).
The more I play with this machine, the more I like it. It seems like playing a game now that affects your score or unlocks achievements is less of an achievement.
I have downloaded many demos like Fight Night 3 and Battlefield Modern Combat (very impressive, no lag in sight).
Updates: A few weeks of use
I signed up for xbox live gold: 60.00 for 12 months of unlimited use. The amount of media and the ability to download clips and demos means you really need this to make full use of the machine.
Also, as far as I can tell, people are playing games simply to increase their gaming score – offline play (even single player) is the same these days if you don’t improve your rating as a result.
Very smart choice. It’s actually pretty amazing how much time you spend browsing, downloading, and playing with stuff on Xbox Live.
Extending the experience: Media Center
I built a Windows Media Center 2005 (repaired an old fried motherboard). And I tried the interface between it and the 360. Surprised to see that you get the full Media Center console on the 360 when you have a machine to connect to (via your network). Currently, you can only stream videos in WMV format. But you can find an application on the web that will let you convert divx to wmv on the go.
The transmission of video, images and music from one side of the house to the other was tested. Easy to set up and use and impressive interface/image quality.
It basically transforms your 360 into much more than just a gaming machine. You can make music and pictures just by connecting to the extender on an XP machine. But to make full use of it, you need Windows Media Center 2005.
Combining the power of the 360, with Xbox Live and media center options; Sony really has a lot of work ahead of it. As there is much more to the Microsoft machine than playing games.
In short, a great “home entertainment system”. Great for gaming, online play is easy and robust, great support for music, pictures, and other media (particularly if you own a PC with a media center). The only downside: Just don’t be surprised when you’re using your game console for a lot more than just gaming.
What I would have liked to see:
The biggest omission is the ability to browse web pages. Granted, doing it with a controller or remote with an on-screen keyboard would have been a pain. But considering that the experience depends on you already having a PC (to get the full potential), why not have the option of a 360 browser and the ability to sync your favorite sites from your PC? That way you don’t have to type your http://www.mywebsite.com, just search for a list and update as you wish.
Unfortunately, the limitation of the media extender to only music and images is missing. They should provide some way to copy video to and from the 360.
The ability to benchmark your machine to make sure you’re running 3 cores, etc. A simple reference app would do the trick.
Support for more formats like Divx, mpeg4, etc. I know that Microsoft is saving money by not including these codecs. But imagine using a PC that would only play WMV movies.
High Definition:
Picture quality on a standard TV is good, but to get the most out of it you really need an HDTV. 360 has become the “killer app” for HDTVs; meaning more HDTVs are now being sold, solely for use with the 360. Think of a 32″”+ screen on your PC and you’ll get an idea of the difference it will make (and you can also connect your PC to a ) .
DVD Player:
Movie Player is a very impressive player of all DVD brands without any hassle. Easy to manage interface and excellent picture/sound (this is also a progressive scan unit to improve picture quality). Only pity, there is no multi-region support.
Advice:
Did you want to download different content from Xbox Live? Go to the system and change your locale to US, sign out or sign in to Xbox Live and you’re good to go (you also need an email address with the mailing address in that location). Different demos and trailers.
Xbox Live Arcade:
A strange addiction indeed. The ability to play older arcade games that use little to none of the power of the world’s most powerful console. But it works. Allowing you to play exact arcade emulations like joust, gauntlet, etc. adds another dimension to your 360. My four year old just loves playing live Marble Blast.
Online game:
I have tried many multiplayer games on PC platform and have had mixed enjoyment. Get a good server and all is well. but often or not you waste your time searching and waiting for a “lag-free” game. So far I have only (briefly) tested advanced warfighter online. A quick half hour game using a headset with some UK blocks. It was good. Amazing! Great game, very little lag, no messing around, just select the game and wait a couple of minutes and you’re good to go. Voice over IP works well: no silly button pressing, just talking.
It’s a weird experience though that allows everyone to hear you yell at yourself when you get killed (usually swear words in disgust). But I’ll have to try again, as this single game was rated as one of the best gaming experiences I’ve ever had on any platform…
Wish list:
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Give us a browser and the means to copy favorite bookmarks from PC to 360.
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Ability to stream and play Divx (and other supported codecs).
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Some way to play DVDs from multiple regions: but why does this still exist?
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MORE Xbox Live content: trailers, TV shows, shorts, etc. Announcements of possible future releases are exciting: but they need to start happening soon, embedded and in place before the Ps3 and the Sony machine get going. Maybe a good partnership with Apple and a quick time would do the trick.
Conclution:
Well, how do I feel about the 360 six weeks after purchase? To be honest, very, very impressed. Excellent build quality, fantastic interface. Abundance of multimedia and gaming options. Xbox live is great. Software updates that show they really listen to users (every feature you wanted or removed came in the June update. But what about gaming? What was it built for?
Online gaming with headphones is excellent. Easy to get in and out of “friend” games. The game’s achievements and score are a master stroke. Playing without these features feels a bit useless now. I’ve played games like Advanced Warfighter, Table Tennis, Battlefield 2, Top spin 2, Dead or Alive 4, and to be fair I’ve had some of the best gaming experiences I’ve ever had on any system (and I’ve been playing since the days from zx-81: yes, I’m an old fart).
Future releases also look VERY bright. Gears of War, Dead Rising, and Lost World to name a few look amazing. It’s amazing to see how quickly developers get this kind of results considering how new this system is. Perhaps it is a testament to how good of a platform it is to develop on. Also, Xbox Live Anywhere looks very interesting (allows 360 and PC users to play and use Xbox Live together: as well as mobile options).
Without Xbox Live, the 360 is an amazing piece of equipment. Combined with the Xbox Live option, it’s indeed the best app on the next-gen consoles.
My advice?
To borrow his own catchphrase. Jump in, you will have fun and take your hat off to those who developed this machine. For my part, I’m glad you did. THE most impressive piece of hardware I have ever purchased.
Write a full review with pictures at:
http://homepage.eircom.net/~seanryan/Pages/xbox360%20gaming.htm
