So, its been a little over a month since I obtained an Xbox 360....and in my opinion, its as good if not better than all the hype that lead up to the console's release last November.
First...the saga that led up to getting a 360 in my hands was so dramatic I felt it worthy of mention. As I stated earlier, my employer, Magenic Technologies, was kind enough to offer a 360 to every employee in the company as a Christmas gift. That announcement was made December 2nd, two weeks after the console hit the market on November 22. As expected, Magenic had an awfully difficult time in attempting to procure the volume of Xboxes they were seeking, and not until this week did they arrive. I decided back in early December that I would take it upon myself to pick one up as soon as I could find one...I could always return the one I would get from Magenic. And so began the journey with the monitoring of some useful websites, such as this Xbox 360 Tracker. The real breakthrough ocurred when I found out I could monitor 360 inventory levels at local Circuit City and Best Buy stores.
Sure enough, all sites showed no stock of the 360 for all of December and early January. Then, one lucky day, two Best Buy stores showed up bold (indicating stock available!) just as I was leaving work. Luckily, both stores were on my way home...so I made a mad dash onto the freeway and called the first store, where I was told none were in stock. Hmm...a website error, maybe? I called the second store, a good 20 minutes away, and was told 3 were in!! I decided if there was still one available when I exited the freeway, I would make the trip. I called just as I exited and was told 1 was left. My offer to buy the sales clerk lunch if he would hold one for me was declined...I had no choice but to take my chances. I pulled into the lot, ran into the store, and just as I found the first employee in the video game aisle, I saw him hand the last 360 to another customer. This guy wasn't hard core...he was just buying it for his kid! Here I am 5 seconds too late and my 360 hopes were dashed. Or were they? A glimmer of hope remained as the clerk said he "might be able to find 1 more hidden in the back." Seemingly defeated, I waited for what seemed like hours, and sure enough, here comes Mr. Best Buy employee of the decade around the corner with a shiny 360 premium box...the last one in the building! Woohoo! Suprised by the sheer weight of the machine (the box must weigh in around 15-20 pounds) I brought it up to the counter, and after being badgered by at least 2 employees that insisted I buy the 4 year service plan, I politely declined and gleefully left the store, prize in hand.
Arriving home safely, I tore into the box, and noticed that the packaging for the 360 was very well done...the costs of the box and publishing materials alone are probably $20 per unit. After getting everything plugged in, I experienced some initial frustration...for some reason, my gamertag (previously linked to a passport account) wasn't transferring over to the 360. I finally broke down and linked it to a new passport, and all was good.
My biggest complaints with the 360 overall are the bulk of the power supply (it has its own fan) and the sheer amount of noise the fans make when firing up a game. Also, playing the system on a standard TV is not recommended...some of the menus and text are so small (especially in PGR3) that without an HD TV's resolution, they can be hard to read. For that reason, I picked up a 360 VGA cable and hooked up the system to my pc monitor, effectively allowing me to play in HD quality for $40.
Other than these few complaints, the machine is pure joy. The 360 menu "blades" are fantastic, and it has a very simple, elegant, and useful UI. The controller is the most comfortable of any console I've used, and taking a cue from Nintendo, its wireless capability is fantastic.
I initially picked up Project Gotham Racing 3 and Perfect Dark Zero. I've really enjoyed PGR 3, playing through the entire solo career mode and ocassionaly racing online. PDZ took a while longer to warm up to...the online multiplayer has so many features and options that its a bit overwhelming, but I've enjoyed the game none the less. I just recently picked up Call of Duty 2 and have had a great time playing it so far.
The real success story I see in the 360, however, are the new features found in the XBox Live online community. Microsoft has done a fantastic job integrating some very cool ideas. The ability to download game demos, for example, is unprecedented in the console market, and it is very cool to try out a game without having to even drop some dough on rental costs. The concept of gamer points and achievements is incredibly addictive, bringing back the "high score" concept and allowing you to display your bragging rights to the world. I've really enjoyed racking up achievements, and it brings a whole new dimension to video gaming. Chatting with anyone online (not just the people in the game you are playing with) is another interesting feature, as is the new "spectator mode" found in some of the games, allowing you to watch an in-game view of the best players in the world.
Finally, Xbox Live Arcade is simply awesome. Basically, its a feature of the 360 that allows one to purchase old arcade and otherwise "casual" games. These are great little nuggets like Gauntlet, Joust, and Geometry Wars Evolved. Every game on live is downloadable as a demo, and the option to purchase these games for $5-$10 allows you to unlock the full game and its achievements and gamer points. These games are great for the "adult" gamer, since you can pick them up and play for 5 or 10 minutes as you have time. Rumor has it that Street Fighter II will be coming to XBLA soon...how cool will it be to play it again against my old high school buddies despite the fact that many of them live over 500 miles away now! I really think Microsoft is onto something big with XBLA, and I fully expect it to be copied by rivals Nintendo and Sony. ; In fact, one of the core features of Nintendo's upcoming Revolution console will be the ability to download the entire back-catalog of Nintendo games on the system.
It will be interesting to see how the upcoming next-gen console wars playout. After playing around with the 360 for a month now, I can honestly say Nintendo and Sony better bring it...this latest 'box is sweet.