by Noah C

Created on: December 25, 2006   Last Updated: April 12, 2007

As a previous owner of many gaming consoles, I was excited to get involved in the XBOX 360 community, and after seeing the latest games released and the prospect of great graphics, I am truly excited about this purchase.

The wireless controllers, much improved over the original XBOX make game playing a joy, and the remote control for watching Videos, streaming Music and watching Live TV make this a total entertainment solution, I love the fact that I can record Live TV! However I was a bit bummed that I could not watch DivX videos, as only WMV format is supported, there is a rumor out that this may be added in later, so keep your fingers crossed if you use DivX.

Setup was a breeze, connecting to my PC was as easy as plugging in the network cable, and following the prompts. The fact that it is meant to interact with windows is certainly a strong point, and the familiar Media Center look on the Xbox is easy to navigate.

This machine, although the first released of the next-gen consoles, seems to really have the edge over it's competitors, with not only a great range of games, but high level connectivity and extra features like USB connectivity and a range of options, including a (sold separately) Wireless link to hook it up wirelessly if you have a wireless router.

A quick note on the hard drive, this is a 20GB mini hard disk, only included in the premium pack (purchase separately for the Core System). The Hard Disk is used to store game saves, and is also used for playing older XBOX titles. If you don't want to shell out for a hard drive for the Core system, you can still use special 64mb memory cards, which are plugged into the front of the console...heck it is nice to have choices to suit all budgets.

With some great games on offer, and a lot more scheduled soon that will really take control of the Xbox 360's powerful graphics engine, I am sure that the microsoft juggernaut will continue rolling on.

I have really enjoyed my 360 and all of it's features, I have tried to use it for every possible solution, games, streaming videos, music, and live tv as well as the media center pictures function which would be pretty wild if you were having a get together and wanted a slide show on your tv.

The one down side to the machine is the noise of the rear fans, they seem fairly loud, but once the game / movie starts they are usually drowned out by the sound. It seems that some of the early release Xbox's were overheating, but this one is one of the new releases (Post April '06) and has had no glitches or slow downs caused by heat, even used for several hours at a stint.

Much nicer look than other current options, looks great in my entertainment cabinet, and does everything I require to be called a complete entertainment system.

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