Super Nintendo Sega Genesis, when I was dead broke I couldn't picture this...

Prologue: Hype, Mystery and First Impressions

The Xbox 360 was the first console to launch of this generation of console. This took alot of guts considering the fate of the prematurely launched of the Sega Dreamcast. I still recall my faulty premonition about how the Playstation 3 will be dominating and my anticipation of what the Nintendo Revolution will be like. The E3 previews of Playstation 3 got my hyped and the mystery of the Nintendo Revolution kept me wondering. My first impression of the Xbox 360 launch was really uninspiring and full of skepticism due to their lack luster launch titles. The launch titles consisted of Kameo: Elements of Power, King Kong, a few mediocre first person shooters and an array of sports and driving games. I was asking myself where is that killer app to sell me this gaming machine? The Super Nintendo had Super Mario World. Several years later the smoke of the three way console war with Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony console war has set and cleared. The Xbox 360 was a force to be reckoned with veteran gaming companies of Sony and Nintendo. As time passed more and more exclusive big titles, like Dead Rising and Lost Planet were released for the Xbox 360. Eventually I caved in and shelled out the cash for one.

Chapter 1: Taking off the Training Wheels

The original Xbox set this new standard for all video game systems to have an internal hard drive and a moderate online system. The Xbox 360 has interchangeable hard drive disk and a strong online system called Xbox live, which allows players to play online, add friends, download videos, games, demos and other forms of media. One thing that disappointed me in the transition from Xbox to the Xbox 360 was the backwards compatibility of original Xbox games. Only some original Xbox games were backwards compatible. This isn't that bad since Microsoft does add on to the compatibility list in the future with updates. The inconvenience here is that when I'm out at a local game store and I find an old Xbox game that I want, I can't just buy it because I'm not really sure if it's compatible unless I have access to the internet to look it up. Another minor issue is that the updates for backwards compatibility makes me unsure of which games to get rid of due to that hope that the game will be compatible within a few months.

Chapter 2: Multimedia and Such...

The Xbox 360 can play dvds, and supports HD-DVD . In order to play HD-DVD, you'll need to buy the HD-DVD player that will attach to the system itself. This is all useless now since HD-DVD production is now moot. Blue-ray discs are now the head format of high-definition multimedia storage. You are able to download music, videos and pictures on the system. You can also stream media of your pc if you have the two things connected. The Xbox 360 Premium, which is the model that I have, has a 20 gigabyte hard drive disk. This is a fairly significant amount of space for my needs. If this is not enough, you can purchase a separate hard drive or get a Xbox 360 elite which has a whooping of a 120 gigabyte hard drive. The console also supports memory cards that range from 64 to 512 mb. The Xbox 360 supports 1080p for picture quality freaks. For controllers, the console supports four controllers at once, but only has two usb slots for wired controllers. The wireless controller prepackaged with the system is ergonomic, especially when compared to the first morbidly obese controller of the original Xbox. The white Xbox 360 controller is by far my favorite controller till this this day. The controller has two analogs, a traditional d-pad, standard four buttons, a power button and left and right trigger tab buttons. They took the S-type controller from the original Xbox and seemed to smoothed out the shape and the layout. It doesn't feel like I'm holding a controller that's dedicated to first person shooters anymore. The power button on the controller is very convenient to have as you are able to turn on the system, open disc trays and access important menus with it. The button layout is similar to the PS2, except it feels a bit more comfortable when pressing the trigger and tab buttons. The physical design of the Xbox 360 looks like a slimed down white pc tower. This thing is pretty big, but it wasn't as bad as the original Xbox. The console comes with a separate power brick to connect to the system. I guess one criticism is the the Xbox 360 probably sucks up a lot of energy.

Chapter 3: Software Library and PC Nationalism?

Everyone knows that the games are the meat and potatoes of the success of a video game console. Look at the Super Nintendo, it had Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda, Super Metroid, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Street Fighter, Megaman and wait, what was I reviewing again? Oh yeah, the Xbox 360. The software library of the Xbox 360 was what sold me. The library consisted of great games such as Dead Rising, Halo 3, Lost Planet, Crack Down, Grand Theft Auto 4, Dead or Alive 4, Guitar Hero 3, Rock Band, Call of Duty 4, Bioshock, Oblivion and of course Viva Pinata. One thing that I loathed about the library of the original Xbox was the lack of variety. The library consisted of a plethora of first person shooters and not enough role playing games. The Xbox 360's library is still flooded with first person shooters, but I did noticed more Japanese games which broke up the monotony of playing as Bruce Willis shooting up aliens and terrorists. For those who are more comfortable with Japanese games and are afraid of an American video game system, don't worry. I've noticed a significant uprising of Japanese games on the Xbox 360. These games include include, Virtua Fighter 5, Soul Calibur 4, Beautiful Katamari, Lost Odyssey, Infinite Undiscovery, Last Remnant, and Devil May Cry 4.

I believe the secret of the success of the Xbox 360's library is that it's a Microsoft console. The Xbox 360 is the first to get great titles such as Bioshock, Fallout 3, and The Orange Box. Pc games are most likely easier to develop and port for the Xbox 360, since the Xbox 360 is Microsoft product. It is probably easier for programmers to port pc games to a Xbox 360 than a Playstation 3. It's almost like translating Latin to Spanish and Japanese. When translating things parts are most likely to be missing and it is often easier to translate a language to another language that has closer roots of the source.

The Xbox 360 has a wide variety of games of many genres. Their are numerous action and shooting games to count to keep trigger fingers happy. The sports games on the Xbox 360 are hashed out every year, keeping Madden fans happy. Role playing fans that own a Xbox 360 rejoice. Japan's Squarenix is showing the Xbox 360 some love, with Infinite Undiscovery, Last Remnant and their announcement that Final Fantasy XIII will be released on the Xbox 360. As for family games there are some titles to keep the family entertained such as Raymond Raving Rabbids, Fusion Frenzy 2 and Rock Band.

Chapter 4: Kicking it Online

Xbox Live is the name of the Xbox 360's online gaming community. An Xbox Live gold account grants you access to online play. The gold account subscription can be purchased by different time increments. The best deal in the long run would be a one year subscription for $49.99. The Xbox Live silver account is free but denies you from playing online. Silver or gold you are still granted access to purchase game downloads online via the Xbox Live Marketplace. They offer some great old games, such as Pacman, Castlevania Symphony of the Night and Sonic 2 as well as newly developed and ported titles such as Braid, Castle Crashers and Megaman 9. These price of these titles range anywhere from 400 to 1200 Microsoft points, which translates into $5.00 to $15.00, unless certain sales or promotions are available at the time.
One thing that's great about Xbox Live Marketplace is that you are able to download almost any demo of any game before purchase for free. This is a great way from not accidentally purchasing rubbish. Television shows, music videos , and full movies are available for download for a price. Personally I've never purchased a video on Xbox Live as I prefer dvd. TV shows cost about $2.00 each. Movies can be rented in two formats, HD and standard definition. HD rentals usually cost at about $6.00 and standard is about $4.00. Overall, the interface looks neat and has a lot of options and customization.

Chapter 4.1: It Came From Xbox Live

Parents be aware when your child is playing online. The demographic group on Xbox Live usually consist of males ranging from teens to probably early thirties. Only on Xbox Live you will encounter and hear the most ignorant, racist and foul mouth remarks from people. There is an option to mute people and even report them if you feel they are too inappropriate.

Chapter 4.2: New Xbox Experience
The new Xbox Live dashboard looks refreshing and still pretty easy to navigate. The menus looks like Windows Aero view in Windows Vista. The avatar system is borrowed from Nintendo's Miis. Avatars can where a descent variety of different clothes, accessories hair styles and etc. I've heard that Netflix is now collaborating with Xbox live to offer and expand on movie rentals. I've also heard that you are able to share these rentals with a few other friends on Xbox live to watch.

Chapter 5: Red Ring Epidemic

There is a big scare of failure rate from defective Xbox 360. I've never personally experienced the “red rings of death” myself so I can't personally complain. As I hear about more and more people are getting this error light on their console, I am guessing the reason is that they either received a faulty system or are overplaying it. I've had mine for roughly 3 years and I haven't had a problem with it. As a precaution I keep a small fan behind my console to help prevent overheating. Microsoft does offer some sort of warranty for this product.

Chapter 6: Dig This

The Xbox Live experience is scarily addicting. I've enjoyed tons of hours with this gaming machine offline and online. Games developed on this system had such vast engines and graphical demands, that it would be almost impossible for me to purchase a pc equivalent with that horse power. I've personally enjoyed playing online with Halo 3, utilizing everyday mall objects in Dead Rising, rocking out in Guitar Hero 3, and busting blocks in Puzzle Fighter. The console I thought that'll have nothing but shooting games, proved me wrong as the library grew, expanded and diversified. I have no regrets purchasing this console and still to this day have high hopes for the future of it's anticipating games. I'm talking to you Capcom, let's hear some news on another Dead Rising. Don't tease me bro.



What's in the Box :
*Xbox 360 console
*20 Gb Hard Drive
*Wireless controller
*Headset
*HDMI output
*1 month Gold trial
*Hexic HD

Price Tag:
*$249.99