Microsoft Xbox 360

What was inside however was excellent. I think Microsoft took a leave out of Apple's book. It was packaged and designed I think anyway, with white and visually beautiful aesthetics and packaging. It looks a very professional package, which should be the case given the cost of this unit.

The Package
=========

The box comes with:
-Console
-Mini remote
-HUGE power adapter
-Live headset
-Wireless controller
-Manuals
-AV component cables

I should add that the power brick is very large, Microsoft in order to make the main unit be slimmer than its predecessor, put all the high power components in a large housing. This unit has two small fans inside which are hardly audible.

Setup
====
Microsoft recommends that the unit and the power adapter be placed in a well ventilated area. I would heed this warning. The Xbox 360 gets hot, very hot!

ALSO, I believe Microsoft made a large design flaw. The console looks best standing up, that is clear. However the main air intake is through some grated mesh (very much like the apple G5 metal) on the bottom of the console. If the console is lying flat then this intake is on the right and is not blocked. When vertical, the intake is on the floor with only 2mm of rubber feet between the intake and your carpet or wooden floor. Thus the unit gets hot very quickly. How Microsoft didn't change that beats me. So I would suggest keeping your console on its side.

After connecting the cables and the unit to the TV, upon turning on, you are greeted with the main Xbox 360 dashboard.

The noise of the console in dashboard mode is okay, there are what looks like 2 5cm> fans at the rear which are always on. However when you are playing a 360 game this noise goes up greatly. All my friends upon entering the room with a game playing have commented on it. I have to say it is loud. Even with this amount of fans and drives spinning, the Xbox gets very hot quickly but I have had no lockups at all.

Xbox Dashboard
============
Microsoft has perfected this. Gone now is the black and green monstrosity that existed with the first Xbox, now replaced a beautiful dashboard based on blades. Very much like filing labels, move right or left on the controller and a new page whooshes across the screen. There are the following pages:- Xbox Live
- Games
- Media
- System

On the Xbox live page you can see your gametag and profile. Xbox 360 uses a gamescore points system which you build up playing games on and off line. You can see your rep rating. This is based on feedback from other users. From here you can also go to the Xbox Live Market Place.

On the Games page, you can see your achievements to date. New 360 games have a feature called achievements which means that friends can see what parts of a game you have unlocked etc. You can launch demos and play live arcade games from here (more on this later).

On the Media page, you can browse images, music and videos from the hard drive or on other computers on the network (if they have the Xbox 360 connect software installed).

The final System page allows you to enter the settings such as network settings, default game settings (this is excellent - no more changing inverted y-axis again in each game!)

Xbox Live Marketplace
=================
This is revolutionary. From here you can download new levels for your games, or trailers or even Demos!!! No more buying Xbox magazines. These demos however are large. For example I downloaded Need for Speed 1 GB!! So a good broadband connection is recommended.

Microsoft has however got a little greedy I feel, they have introduced gametag pictures very much like MSN display pictures. You have a choice of free ones but they try and plug ones which you buy.

One great feature is the ability to download free arcade games such as the online fav bejewelled. These are superb mini games which you can play when you're fed up fragging like mad on perfect dark.

Media Capabilities
=============
On the Xbox 360 you can store images, video and music on the HDD. You can also browse this content on other pcs. I have windows media centre 2005 installed on my pc and stream these across. It is great, allowing wireless access to my pc upstairs content such as movies and pictures in my main living room. What I wanted for so long from the original Xbox which was only available if it was chipped.

While I believe the Xbox 360 offers excellent access to media (2 USB ports also available), I believe Microsoft have made the BIGGEST ever mistake in only providing 20GB of HDD and using standard DVD technology.

The 20 GB you get is only 13 GB out of the box!!!!!!!!!! This is not acceptable also imagine 1GB demos; it doesn't take a genius to see that space will become an issue very very quickly. Also with only 9 GB per disc, how can developers take advantage of the new gfx with textures when there is no place to store them, only on multiple discs? There are already rumours of 3 discs for some games!!!

I'm afraid to say Sony has got it right with Blu-Ray. I know some of you will think I'm some Sony fan-boy, whatever. I love my Xbox 1 and my Xbox 360, I think Microsoft have got it spot on with Xbox live and I doubt Sony will ever match that. That is why I chose the 360 but you have to agree the technical limitations with storage will be the 360's Achilles heal.

Swiftly moving on…

The Performance
============
Well I can only comment on the games I have:

-Call of Duty 2
-Perfect Dark Zero
-Project gotham racing 3

I have to say the graphics on the 360 with a proper next gen game are truly awesome. PGR3 is out of this world especially on HDTV. It is so amazing I find it hard to keep my mind focused on driving and not looking at the circuit, the cars etc The reflections are live like, people on the side of the track are plentiful and well presented. It is hard to describe in words the awe factor unless you actually see it for yourself. The Xbox 360 anti-aliasing works to full effect, I have never seen (apart from v v high end pcs) such aliasing. The draw distance on the games is far greater compared with the first console.

The three core architecture comes into full swing on Call of Duty 2. I have to saw this is by far the best game of the 3 above; it is out of this world. The Xbox 360 can handle the graphics and they shear chaotic gameplay with hundreds and I mean hundred of people fighting on the beaches without a single frame rate drop. Truly next generation.

Textures are now so much richer. Walk beside a wall or on tiles and you will see life like images. No more blurring to remove jagged edges, this looks real. Of course some games were rushed such as PDZ. This is a title which I feel could have been handled on the original Xbox if some of the bump mapping was removed.

In all the graphics are next gen. I wonder what the PS3 will be like in comparison but for the time being Microsoft have the lead.

DVD playback
===========
The xbox 360 has improved dvd playback compared with that on the original console. For a start you can play them without having to buy a remote. The image quality is excellent with fill On-Screen Menus which are semi transparent. It looks very well presented. You can scan through the movies at various speeds which is a welcomed feature. The noise level drops when playing a dvd, I assume the console enters into a lower runtime state using less power. If you have the remote control then it offers for the first time a proper opportunity to replace your old dvd player (if you have one) with this console.

Xbox Live
========
For those of you who have used the original Xbox with live, you'll how revolutionary it was. Online gaming with voice, team based matches with people in the USA, Europe playing your favourite games. Well now it has got even better.

Migrating your old live account to the 360 only involves:

- Going to xbox.com and creating a game profile tagged to your game tag
- Typing in your passport email address on the 360, password and gametag

Then it is fully migrated. Easy.

The main live button is the Xbox 360 logo on the controllers. On pressing this, a blade comes from the left hand side of the screen. From here you can see your friends, invite them to have private chats, invite to games etc. You can see their game cards which show their gamescore, achievements etc.

All in all it is a great package. Lag remains the key issue. I have hardly experienced any but it really is down to game specifics. Remember pro evo 5 on Xbox 1???

You can have 32 player matches on Call of Duty 2 which is out of this world. So you can play with your friends across the UK on the same team and play versus another team or just join in as a single player into death matches etc. For those of you on PC's, you really have to see how well Microsoft does online gaming. Global stats which follow you and integrate in every part of offline games. That isn't even available to PC gamers.

You can even have alerts sent to your friends on MSN messenger when you are online and send requests to them to play. Integration encapsulated.

Summary
=======
I believe the Xbox 360 has improved a good deal over its predecessor. The graphics are amazing, the media capabilities are very nice and useful I might add. Live support is now the foundation of each game. That said if you do not have broadband connection and live, there will be many features of this console not open to you such as demos and trailers from the marketplace. The console looks better but is not that much smaller than the first. It is definitely louder too. Plus I believe the lack of storage and the use of DVDs will haunt Microsoft in 2 years time. This console must last 4 years, how dated will DVDs be then when Sony and Toshiba are using Blue ray and HD-DVDs which will allow game developers to exploit fully the console.

However even with all that said, I am very pleased with my 360 experience. The console is a joy to play, it hasn't once failed or locked up and it provides an amazing gaming experience. IT has been well worth the wait.

AJI, Tuesday, August 11, 2009