Microsoft Xbox 360 Console Review

So there it was, staring at me from it’s box, I was truly excited. Having abandoned my Play Station gaming roots for the sweet fields of Xbox gaming, I was confident that Microsoft would have another winner on its hands.

The product was tightly wrapped and packaged. This is the premium pack we are talking about here, with all the add ons. I don't have a HDTV yet so hooked it up to just my old CRT TV. I immediately noticed the sleek design, miles ahead of its little brother, the original Xbox (Who, lets face it...it was a bit chunky). It didn’t take me long to set the console up, I spent most of that time just stroking the smooth shell of the beast anyway. The console has two USB ports, which will apparently work with nearly any USB advice, detachable hard drive, as well as removable and replaceable faceplates for customisation; sounds promising.

Turning it on was my first experience with the "Blade" system, basically a replacement for the dashboard and it’s slightly easier to use than a dashboard actually. I was made aware of the immense powers and opportunities and possibilities, such as connecting to media centre PC's, and the now well-known remarkable online service "Xbox Live". This machine certainly has potential.

This was all well and good. My console looked fantastic. It felt powerful and the mind boggled at the opportunities. It's worth noting that the Xbox 360 power supply unit is a tad large, needs to be well ventilated, and is in fact quite noisy. This didn't deter me as I fired up my new toy and began to play.

This review isn't about the launch line-up games. There are mixed opinions about those, and while I like them, some do not. One thing that cannot really be argued is that there is potential, a whole lot of. The wireless controller worked brilliantly, which is worth noting; wireless is usually done by third parties and is as such often fails to meet the quality of a regular controller.

While on the subject of the controller... I have to say the Xbox 360 controller is the best gaming console controller I've ever had the fortune to play with. It is insanely comfortable, everything is accessible and everything feels right. The controller sports two analogue sticks (Which you'd expect), a D-Pad, 6 face buttons (X, Y, B, A, Start and back), two triggers and two "Shoulder" bumper buttons (Replacing the Black and white buttons of the old Xbox controller). The controller also has a nice new feature, the Guide button with the ring of light. This lets you access the system blade instantly to get to all your stuff; be it Xbox Live messages, MP3 player music, anything really. The ring of light is found both on the face of the console, and the controller. It can be used to indicate which wireless controller is player 1, player 2, etc. and also what that player may be doing. If game developers choose so, the ring of light could even become a circular "Health meter". It all sounds promising, and that word sums it up very well. Everything about the console is "promising", and apart from a few initial shortages, minor glitches for some.... this console does pretty much everything right, and it has fantastic potential for the future.

One of the most promising things is of course, the Xbox Live service. I can't think of a better way to use a broadband connection. With Xbox Live you can; download demos, arcade games, trailers for things... even some music (Something I hope Microsoft will pick up and run with. An iTunes style music downloader in Xbox Live would be very nice): Play multiplayer games online, with people all over the world, with voice chat, matchmaking features, and clan support, everything you could hope for as well as online leader boards, and competitions.

Xbox live is where the 360 really shines, whereas most of the console is simply "Promising"... Xbox Live is already "Delivering".

So is it all worth it? In this reviewers opinion the answer is yes. Maybe not now, if you're short on money... But this is one console that you will NOT want to miss out on.