Techtite Game Reviews ---

When the X-Box "1" came out, it was impressive on many levels, no matter what the nitpickers said. It's actually pretty amazing how much Microsoft got right with their first-ever at a video game console. It had the first internal hard drive. It had the first internal broadband, out-of-the-box network. It was just cool. Yeah, it sounds fanboy-ish, but this is an X-Box review page, so...yeah. It was cool!

Yet suffice to say they made mistakes. Enter the new X-Box 360, which for the most part, corrects them all. Let's forget "for the most part" until later on, as we delve into each aspect of this new system that is improved, or much better, or just plain and simply "cool."

I felt the remainder of this review is best divided into categories based on interest; the first impressions "Right Out Of The Box," "The Icing On The Cake" (that is: new features of the system), "Getting Into Gaming," and lastly, "The Livelier X-Box Live." Let's cover these in chronological order:

Here's some first thoughts from a new 360 owner, fresh out of the shrink wrap, as it were. The first think I noticed personally: there are no "actual" controller ports. Built in wireless networking allows for wireless controllers (which we'll get to in the "Getting Into Gaming" section), with dual USB ports allowing wired controllers for diehard wired gamers. Speaking of "old school": I felt it odd they have eliminated the "memory card inserted in the controller" format, and chose the old style of two memory card ports on the front of the unit. You'll most likely never use these ports with the system's hard drive installed, and you'll almost definitely never need two memory card slots...but maybe someone may want to copy from one memory card to another without affecting the hard drive, though I don't know why. As for the location of said removable hard drive: When standing vertical the removable hard drive is on top of the system, so it's as accessible as can be. Rounding out the distinguishable ports and switches, right out of the box, is a chrome colored game tray, the huge power button, and in back, a third USB port, an Ethernet/"broadband" networking port, and power port.

First things first, though, for the newbies to "super"-powered systems: treat this baby nicely! Read the sidebar for some advice on where to place this system, for those who are unaware what a "three CPU" game system means in terms of keeping the system ventilation ducts open and free of blockage. I just felt the need to say that. Let's move on.

Setting up the system is very easy. There appeared to be a slight pause when the system determined all by itself what video connection I was using (the unit allows for high definition TV as well as "regular" video connections), though the wait was minimal. Connecting wireless controllers was first done by clicking a connection button on the controller, and the similar connection button on the front of the system. This is apparently in case of multiple X-Box 360 units in range of one another; controllers can be set to respond only to one unit. Aside from this little set-up process little was required. X-Box Live was easily and automatically "upgraded" to work on my 360. In short; in well under half an hour, the system was unpacked, "logged in," connected and ready.

So what's new with the new system? Let's first talk a bit about the USB ports. Overall the USB on many other systems was unusable without software that made it worth your while. The built in software of the 360, by stark contrast, acknowledges a surprising number of accessories, right out of the box. Connect your iPod to the unit and you can listen to music right from your X-box 360, and recharge it as you do. Connect your camera to it and you can enjoy a slide-show of your stored photos. It's pretty impressive how versatile this USB port is; another added perk.

As for the wireless controller for 360: it's the real deal. For years we've heard of wireless controllers but for my money they've just been a novelty. No wireless controller prior to this system has given me the speed and precision I need for the toughest of games, and as for battery power; don't make me laugh! These wireless controllers are, by stark contrast, "the real deal." An optional power pack means no batteries; just connect it to the USB port like a "regular" controller and it charges as you play, then disconnect it when the charge is done. What's more; if you shut down the system prior to a full recharge, the system shuts down, but the power source remains on, to complete the recharge. Perhaps the coolest part of the wireless controller, though, is how the system can be turned on, just like a TV remote, right from the controller itself! This means you can insert your current game and start and stop playing right from the controller, right from where you sit. Cool.

Another upgrade since the original X-Box is the "default" menu that appears, when no game disc is in the disc tray. Most noteworthy is the X-Box Live Arcade, which was not native to the original system but on the 360 is an available menu option. This means you can download and play games that are stored right on your hard drive with no CD in the tray at all. So far these are mostly simple parlor games like classic bouts of "Joust" or "Gauntlet," plus new games like the Tetris-like "Hexic" (which is included free on the hard drive). Yet hard drive installed games are just some of what the new system menus offer. X-Box Live is fully integrated into the system (which I'll cover in the "Livelier Live" section later on). You can also check out your achievements and game rankings (which we'll get to in the gaming section). You can even change the menu to suit your needs, with either free or purchased "themes" downloaded, with different backgrounds and color schemes.

What else is new for 360? There's a removable front panel, for one, that can be replaced with any colored or textured front panel to set your needs. It's a cute idea but when I say this is icing on the cake I may be exaggerating. This is more like those little frosting flowers on a cake. It's a cute added touch though so we might as well cover it in the "new features" section before moving on to what we're here for: gaming!

Just like the original system, any inserted game will load automatically, with the system's internal main menu screen appearing whenever a game disc isn't present. We already covered the main menu in the prior "icing on the cake" section so let's get down to gaming; how the graphics look so far, how the sound is, the control on the wireless controller, various so-called "launch" titles in a nutshell, and so on.

Though this may have been best covered in the "icing on the cake" section, the best added feature of X-Box games are the "achievements." These are lists of either 1) how far you've gone on a game, or 2) special "goals" that you can complete in games. Every game on the 360 has such an achievements list, ranging from completing Survival mode in Hexic, to finishing story mode in Peter Jackson's King Kong, or getting all costumes in Dead or Alive 4. Yet some achievements are challenges that keep you playing to achieve them. See if you can survive the classic arcade game Smash TV with no game-over/"continue" screens. See if you can break the record of most raptors defeated in King Kong. It's an amusing added trait of online gaming, and what's more; you can share your achievements online, via X-Box Live, for all the world to see.

As for the games themselves, they are particularly fun if you have high definition television connections, but even if you don't you can see the difference. It sounds gruesome to non-fight-fans but I would recommend you download the free (yes; free!) demo to Fight Night Round 3. Check out the slow motion replays of a round where you can literally see the total elements of fighting, right down to the droplets of sweat that shoot from your opponent's face when hit. In Peter Jackson's King King, the model for Kong actually looks furry, and not a mere plastic toy. Then there's Call of Duty 2, which is so realistic looking it's the demo title shown in commercials for the system...and with reason.

If there's one true blue nitpick so far, is that there is no "Halo 3," nor anything close to it. That's a flaw with many a new system that tries so hard to impress fans that it saves it's biggest sales draw for later. Remember how long it took for any true blue "Mario" title to come out for the Game Cube? I guess people are still jaded about how the Sega Dreamcast rushed out Sonic Adventure for the system, only to discover much later that they should've fine-tuned it a little to suit fans' tastes. All I can say is that Halo 3 will come in time. As for now there's Call of Duty 2 and Kameo and Condemned and Perfect Dark Zero and...

Speaking of X-Box Live; it's been completely upgraded for the 360. Demos can be downloaded at will, for free. As of this review I downloaded a racing demo at well over 1 gigabyte in size, at no additional charge. Some film trailers of the more popular upcoming releases can also be downloaded, and in high definition "780" quality, at that.

X-Box Live "Arcade" brings back the PC shareware days of old, where you can download simple games of about 30 MB each, try them out for about three levels, and if you wish, "unlock" the full game by buying it online. Here's the best part though; you bought these games online, right? So what's the fun of a classic online game if it can't be played online? Exactly! Play Gauntlet with up to three people online. Finish a round of Bejeweled 2 (think "Tetris" with shiny jewels) and see how your score fares online, against other gamers across the globe.

It is fair enough to leave a paragraph aside for all the nitpicks that can be made. It's not that these aren't flaws per se; they just aren't worth reducing the rating for the system. Here is just some samples.

Here's a biggie to anyone who expected to play all their favorite "original" X-Box games, right out of the box. As of this review's posting, "downward compatibility" is a novelty. That is to say that the system is not exactly downward compatible with X-Box "1" titles, as much as it has built-in emulation software, which has only been tested on a select number of titles. What's more; only the titles that have been tested by Microsoft (or whomever) and passed tests, are allowed to be played at this time. To make a long story short this software is, by our perspective, only 35% effective so far. That is to say that when inserting 40 of our favorite original X-Box games from our "favorites" collection, only 14 actually worked. Microsoft's official X-Box site insists that they're working on making as many old games work as possible, with Halo and Halo 2 compatible, as well as Knights of the Old Republic and a personal cult hit favorite of mine, Thief: Deadly Shadows. However, given the ballyhoo for its release on X-Box just last year, it's amusing that Conker Live & Reloaded is not compatible as of yet, nor Spider-Man 2. Mind you, nobody buys a new system to play old games, so this isn't a true blue nitpick. It deserves saying though, for anyone who expected to sell their old X-Box to buy a 360 on a discount. I'd wait on that plan myself.

In addition we found some minor problems with advanced DVD playback. The system does indeed play a DVD very well, but if you use such not-so-advanced features as fast forward and rewind, strange things started to happen, ranging from slight unexpected pauses to what often seemed like a total freeze for several seconds. Mind you, there are many possibilities here. Maybe this is an issue with vertical versus horizontal placement of the console. Maybe we shouldn't be so concerned with fast forwarding past scenes we don't like. It's just another nitpick, and that is all. It was worth mentioning, however.

In the end it's just the potential of the system that's most intriguing. If Microsoft plays its cards right this could be the next big thing, which will be crucial when competing in later years with the Playstation 3 from Sony, and Nintendo's "Revolution." How 360 will fare competing with these systems is anyone's guess at this point, but for now this is one whale of a cool system, with lots of great potential. We give it the highest grade possible...and with reason.

	Final Rating : Deep Impact. A well designed system that answers every last complaint about the original X-Box. Now all it needs is to be in stock!
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