Xbox 360 Review by Game Zone
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.
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.
