Microsoft Xbox 360 > Reviews > Xbox 360 Degree Overview

Author's product rating:   

Graphics capability	Superb
Sound capability	Superb
Range of Extra Features (I.e. email)	Vast
Ease of use	Good
Value For Money	Good value

Advantages:	wireless control pads, out of this world graphics, uses windows media centre
Disadvantages:	lack of games when launched, games are expensive, fan is nosiy

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Introduction

The Xbox 360 launched in Europe on 2nd December 2005, and sparked off the seventh generation of console war. Some people may argue that the consoles released today are turning into PC's, the Xbox 360 is very much like a pc because it uses windows xp and windows media centre.

Since it's lauch Microsoft has shipped 3.2 million consoles world wide, meaning that they've had a good head start before their rivals, Sony and Nintendo release their seventh generation consoles, both due out later this year.

The Xbox 360 has sparked a new era of entertainment in the home. It sets the standard for a seventh generaltion console because it is always connected, can be easily personalised and is designed to be played on a high defiition tv.

Hardware

The Xbox 360 hardware is top class. Running at an astonishing 3.2 GHz, the Xbox 360 meets or beats the specifications of next generation game consoles from Sony and Nintendo that may not be released until late 2006, early 2007.

The Xbox 360 offers 8.5 gb of storage per each game title. That is more than enough to store ganme data on and other files. However the playstation 3, which will have a Blu- Ray drive not a DVD drive like the xbox 360, will offer users at least 25 gigabytes of storage space.

The xbox 360 has three usb ports, two on the front and one on the back. The xbox 360 can only handle four control pads, whereas the playstation 2 console could handle 7 control pads and that was a sixth generation console, not a seventh! However xbox 360 users do have the option of purchasing an official wireless control pad, whereas playstation 2 users don't.

Headset

In my opinion, the xbox 360 headset is slightly flimsy and may break if not handled with care. The headset features a mute switch, a volume control and a plug that connects the headset to the controller.

Personalization

You can buy face plates for the Xbox 360 to customise it to your style. It is possible to remove the white face plate and repleace it with your own.

Previous Xbox Games

Xbox 360 runs on a completely different hardware platform than the first Xbox. So there were two ways in which to ensure that the Power PC-based Xbox 360 could run Intel-based Xbox games. Microsoft could have included the guts of an original Xbox inside the case, or it could have created an emulation program that allowed the Power PC processor to emulate an Intel Pentium III.

so the company pledged to support as many original Xbox games as possible out of the box, and would then add support for more games over time.

Media Centre

The xbox 360 uses Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, Media Center. It is a good way to enjoy digital media content such as live and recorded TV shows, digital photos, digital music and videos.

Device Connectivity

The good thing about the xbox 360 s that you can connect digital camera's, ipod and mp3 players through the usb ports. It recognises

Xbox 360 Core System

The core system costs £209 and is the basic version. The Core System includes an Xbox 360 console with a standard white fascia, a single wired controller, and a composite AV cable that will work with virtually all modern tv's. You will need to invest in a hard drive to save your games and data onto, because without one there is no other way of saying your data.

Xbox 360

The next step up is the misnamed Xbox 360. This version includes the Xbox 360 console, but with a premium chrome finish. It also includes a 20 GB hard drive, a single wireless controller, an Xbox Live Headset, a cable that works with most tv's and an Ethernet cable.

The Xbox 360 costs £279. If you add up the cost of the accessories that you get you;ll see that its quite a reasonable price and is the baseline system you should consider. My personal opinion is that every Xbox 360 user should have the hard drive, because of its storage capacity.

Xbox 360 Games

Games such as Halo 2, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas Kameo, Perfect Dark Zero and Project Gotham Racing 3 all display excellent graphics and real like gameplay. Games like Fifa 2006, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Tiger Woods 2006, NBA Live 2006 and Tony Hawk's underground have been released in the past on the xbox, playstation 2 and the gamecube,its just the games have better graphics, new levels and characters, and other enhancements, such as sound and lighting.

Conclusion

If you are a true gamer and can't wait until the release of the playstatin 3 or the Nintendo Wii then this is the console for you. Otherwise if you a pc gamer, I think youd rather spend the £200-£300 on new upgrades for your computer. Otherwise if you have the money, invest in a playstation 3 console, but it will be expensive at around the £400 mark.