So, I'm finally taking out some time to write about the Best-Thing-Since-Sliced-Bread.Anyone else with the console feel free to add your reviews also.
The XBox 360 is undeniably next gen in every aspect.Most people think that with a new console all that comes is UB3R GR4PH1CS and a new machine with better technology.Well, the XBox 360 has those things, and so many more neat features that it overshadows the technological advances the console has over the last gen consoles.
XBox 1, PS2 and Gamecube were gaming machines. You stuck the disc in, it played the game. End of story. Multiplayer was the big revolution of the last generation, with XBox Live leading the way in terms of features.
The XBox 360 has built upon the success of XBox and made the 360 more than a gaming machine, but a whole entertainment experience.For no additional cost, I can stream my music and pictures through my network, simultaneously to have a slide-show to show my friends the pics of my holiday while listening to my favourite tunes. It sounds like a simple feature, but now it's -THE ONLY- way I (and my entire family for that matter) want to show our friends our pictures. It beats browsing through them on your 17" PC monitor with everyone crouded around the desk. This way everyone grabs a beer and you sit in your living room and look at your photos and listen to music!
This is Microsoft's major goal in this generation IMHO, market penetration through making it something that is in the LIVING ROOM and accessible to the entire family (not only gamers).
This is further emphasized through the DVD playback out-of-the-box (not with an additional peripheral like with XBox 1) and a simple, easy to use universal remote. Also, wireless controllers make it much more acceptable to be in the living room, without having wires cluttering up the room.
I now have access to my entire MP3 collection either by home-network or by plugging in my iPod into the USB port. I can then have really awesome visualizations running while I play my music (ALA Windows Media Player, Winamp etc.) blown up on my 55" TV. It's like being at a friggin rave! Next time I throw a party my XBox 360 will play the music and have awesome visualizations running! It's awesome!
Another feature that people were highly sceptical about when it was announced, but is taking the world by storm, is XBox Live Arcade.In the 2 months XBox 360 has been out, there have been over 4 million downloads!This feature is simply amazing. There are such cool little games that you can download for free trial, and if you like them you buy them for a small fee.Geometry Wars, an arcade like space shooter is the most addictive game I've played in a long time. It gets really frantic as the game goes on. They're bringing old classics to the XBox 360 like Street Fighter 2! Also coming soon is Texas Hold-Em.Apparently developers are very keen to bring back old school titles and make new titles because of the initial success of XBox Live Arcade.
Customization is also the name of the game, with changeable faceplates and changeable themes and gamer pictures. As you can see in my Gamercard, I downloaded a Conker Gamerpic, it cost me a couple of bucks. Just another way Microsoft is milking us, but I don't mind, it was cheap and I like it!I also downloaded the Perfect Dark Zero theme.
Other awesome features are the gamerpoints system, where people unlock achievements throughout the games they play and this is reflected in their gamerscores.You can go to people's gamer profiles (anyone on XBox Live) and compare your games to theirs and see how you measure up, what games they own, what games they've completed and on what difficulty etc. It's really ingenious.
When I play a game of say, Geometry Wars, when I get a new high score it'll show my score relative to the people on my friends list, and then I can see how I measure up against the best in the world.
In Project Gotham Racing 3, I can download "Ghosts" of any player in the world. Say for instance I wanna see how someone on my friends list raced the "Flamingo Straights" track, I can go and download a ghost of them and then watch and race against the ghost!
The console is definately designed with broadband in mind, and is meant to be online everytime you play. Every time you turn on it automatically signs in and tells you which of your friends are online. You can then see what games they're playing, send them voice or text messages, and even join their games in progress. If they're playing something different than you, you can send them an invite. They'll get the invite and if they accept it, the XBox 360 will ask them to insert the appropriate disk.
You can also download game demos of all the top games (they measure in at about 500-900mb) and can download movie trailers. The possibilities are endless. Soon I imagine you'll be able to download full movies and mp3's.
The controller is brilliant. It melts into your hands like butter. Super comfy. I'd say it's the most comfortable controller ever. It runs on either 2 AA batteries or a rechargeable battery sold separately as the Play-and-Charge kit, which is pretty neat. When the batteries are running low it'll notify you by flashing the ring of light on the controller. You can also view the battery level on the dashboard. If the battery is low you simply plug it in and it charges up and you can play. If you turn the console off when the controller is charging, the console will go into a "standby mode" where it'll be off, but the fans will still be running and the controller continues to charge up.
The design of the console is great IMHO, it looks like something Apple would make. It's like the iPod of gaming consoles.
On to the games.I got Kameo, Perfect Dark Zero, Call of Duty 2, Condemned, and Project Gotham Racing 3.
Kameo is, IMHO, the best game on the console to date. It's so engrossing, the storyline is great, the graphics are undoubtedly -THE BEST- graphics I've EVER seen in any game on any console. I would sometimes just fly around the Enchanted Kingdom and drool, the graphics are simply amazing.The music score is like a Lord of the Rings score, it's epic, really epic. It wasn't as short as everyone said, 12h30mins for me, which is average length. The power of the XBox 360 really comes in perspective when you see literally hundreds of enemies on screen at the same time.
I'm still bust with Perfect Dark Zero,it's great fun and the multiplayer rocks!
Call of Duty 2 is hectic, it's non-stop action from start to finish. Brilliant.
Condemned is the most atmospheric game I've ever played, it really sends chills down your spine. Not really my style cos I'm not into the whole scary game thing, but it's still good.
And PGR3 is awesome. The online features are great. There's a new feature called Gotham TV where you can watch the best racers live.Otherwise it's a racer with great graphics, awesome cars etc.
So, overall I'm very chuffed with the new console, the graphics and everything are leaps and bounds ahead of XBox 1, but for me the small, nifty features really make this console next gen. It's more than a game console, it's a entertainment hub.
Source: http://forums.prophecy.co.za/f65/my-xbox-360-review-finally-18045/
The XBox 360 is undeniably next gen in every aspect.Most people think that with a new console all that comes is UB3R GR4PH1CS and a new machine with better technology.Well, the XBox 360 has those things, and so many more neat features that it overshadows the technological advances the console has over the last gen consoles.
XBox 1, PS2 and Gamecube were gaming machines. You stuck the disc in, it played the game. End of story. Multiplayer was the big revolution of the last generation, with XBox Live leading the way in terms of features.
The XBox 360 has built upon the success of XBox and made the 360 more than a gaming machine, but a whole entertainment experience.For no additional cost, I can stream my music and pictures through my network, simultaneously to have a slide-show to show my friends the pics of my holiday while listening to my favourite tunes. It sounds like a simple feature, but now it's -THE ONLY- way I (and my entire family for that matter) want to show our friends our pictures. It beats browsing through them on your 17" PC monitor with everyone crouded around the desk. This way everyone grabs a beer and you sit in your living room and look at your photos and listen to music!
This is Microsoft's major goal in this generation IMHO, market penetration through making it something that is in the LIVING ROOM and accessible to the entire family (not only gamers).
This is further emphasized through the DVD playback out-of-the-box (not with an additional peripheral like with XBox 1) and a simple, easy to use universal remote. Also, wireless controllers make it much more acceptable to be in the living room, without having wires cluttering up the room.
I now have access to my entire MP3 collection either by home-network or by plugging in my iPod into the USB port. I can then have really awesome visualizations running while I play my music (ALA Windows Media Player, Winamp etc.) blown up on my 55" TV. It's like being at a friggin rave! Next time I throw a party my XBox 360 will play the music and have awesome visualizations running! It's awesome!
Another feature that people were highly sceptical about when it was announced, but is taking the world by storm, is XBox Live Arcade.In the 2 months XBox 360 has been out, there have been over 4 million downloads!This feature is simply amazing. There are such cool little games that you can download for free trial, and if you like them you buy them for a small fee.Geometry Wars, an arcade like space shooter is the most addictive game I've played in a long time. It gets really frantic as the game goes on. They're bringing old classics to the XBox 360 like Street Fighter 2! Also coming soon is Texas Hold-Em.Apparently developers are very keen to bring back old school titles and make new titles because of the initial success of XBox Live Arcade.
Customization is also the name of the game, with changeable faceplates and changeable themes and gamer pictures. As you can see in my Gamercard, I downloaded a Conker Gamerpic, it cost me a couple of bucks. Just another way Microsoft is milking us, but I don't mind, it was cheap and I like it!I also downloaded the Perfect Dark Zero theme.
Other awesome features are the gamerpoints system, where people unlock achievements throughout the games they play and this is reflected in their gamerscores.You can go to people's gamer profiles (anyone on XBox Live) and compare your games to theirs and see how you measure up, what games they own, what games they've completed and on what difficulty etc. It's really ingenious.
When I play a game of say, Geometry Wars, when I get a new high score it'll show my score relative to the people on my friends list, and then I can see how I measure up against the best in the world.
In Project Gotham Racing 3, I can download "Ghosts" of any player in the world. Say for instance I wanna see how someone on my friends list raced the "Flamingo Straights" track, I can go and download a ghost of them and then watch and race against the ghost!
The console is definately designed with broadband in mind, and is meant to be online everytime you play. Every time you turn on it automatically signs in and tells you which of your friends are online. You can then see what games they're playing, send them voice or text messages, and even join their games in progress. If they're playing something different than you, you can send them an invite. They'll get the invite and if they accept it, the XBox 360 will ask them to insert the appropriate disk.
You can also download game demos of all the top games (they measure in at about 500-900mb) and can download movie trailers. The possibilities are endless. Soon I imagine you'll be able to download full movies and mp3's.
The controller is brilliant. It melts into your hands like butter. Super comfy. I'd say it's the most comfortable controller ever. It runs on either 2 AA batteries or a rechargeable battery sold separately as the Play-and-Charge kit, which is pretty neat. When the batteries are running low it'll notify you by flashing the ring of light on the controller. You can also view the battery level on the dashboard. If the battery is low you simply plug it in and it charges up and you can play. If you turn the console off when the controller is charging, the console will go into a "standby mode" where it'll be off, but the fans will still be running and the controller continues to charge up.
The design of the console is great IMHO, it looks like something Apple would make. It's like the iPod of gaming consoles.
On to the games.I got Kameo, Perfect Dark Zero, Call of Duty 2, Condemned, and Project Gotham Racing 3.
Kameo is, IMHO, the best game on the console to date. It's so engrossing, the storyline is great, the graphics are undoubtedly -THE BEST- graphics I've EVER seen in any game on any console. I would sometimes just fly around the Enchanted Kingdom and drool, the graphics are simply amazing.The music score is like a Lord of the Rings score, it's epic, really epic. It wasn't as short as everyone said, 12h30mins for me, which is average length. The power of the XBox 360 really comes in perspective when you see literally hundreds of enemies on screen at the same time.
I'm still bust with Perfect Dark Zero,it's great fun and the multiplayer rocks!
Call of Duty 2 is hectic, it's non-stop action from start to finish. Brilliant.
Condemned is the most atmospheric game I've ever played, it really sends chills down your spine. Not really my style cos I'm not into the whole scary game thing, but it's still good.
And PGR3 is awesome. The online features are great. There's a new feature called Gotham TV where you can watch the best racers live.Otherwise it's a racer with great graphics, awesome cars etc.
So, overall I'm very chuffed with the new console, the graphics and everything are leaps and bounds ahead of XBox 1, but for me the small, nifty features really make this console next gen. It's more than a game console, it's a entertainment hub.
Source: http://forums.prophecy.co.za/f65/my-xbox-360-review-finally-18045/
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