HARDWARE
Like its predecessor, the 360 is a monster. Carrying the retail package to the cashier was like lifting bricks to the mortar-man. The system itself weighs in at less than 8 pounds (a full pound lighter than its daddy), but this is due to an external power supply that is very literally a brick. Over a foot long and almost 3 pounds itself, the brick takes much of the heat away from the console itself and puts in on the carpet.
By now you've already seen the concave front of the case with its Ring of Power, but admittedly, I hadn't taken notice of the hidden USB ports until I actually got mine. I was also pleasantly surprised to find a digital audio (optical) port on the component cables that came with the platinum system. This means some of the highest quality sound available to gamers.
Setup was relatively easy: power cable into power brick, power brick cable into 360, component cable into home theatre (TV), component cable into 360. The game pad and limited edition Media Center remote both came with 2 AAs for power and voila. Our platinum version also came with the 20gig hard drive, already fastened to the unit and ready for content. Hold down the ring o' power on the control and the console starts a' hummin.
CONTROLLER
The original Xbox controller was a behemoth: bigger and heavier than even the Dreamcast monster and uncomfortable to use, even for those with large hands. Microsoft heard their people's outcry and made the Controller-S, a smaller, light weight and better form fitting pad that instantly gained praise. The 360 pad represents more of an upgrade than an evolution in the S's design, sporting the same basic shape, though better contoured and with a few things moved around. In the center of the control is still the big Xbox logo, but instead of a padded design element, it's functional. Like the "Start" button found in Microsoft operating systems, the "Guide" button gets you started on the Xbox Dashboard. Not only will it turn the system on (wirelessly with the platinum), but it also serves as a catch all function, handy especially in online matches when receiving a game or chat invitation, to change tracks of your soundtrack or to check your friends list. Lights surrounding the logo indicate battery status and what player the controller represents.
The XY/AB button configuration remains as does the dual analog sticks and d-pad, but the black and white buttons have been relocated to the shoulders of the pad, just above the triggers. It takes a few minutes to get used to (I kept throwing grenades at the wall in front of me) but should be second nature to anyone with either the PS2 or the Cube that make use of similar button schemes.
THE DASHBOARD
Like Windows is to a PC, the Dashboard is the 360's operating system, and like just about any OS, here you have tools and toys. Start your games, download music, play CDs and DVDs, view pictures, send email/voicemail, keep track of your scores and achievements, just about everything. Though it was never promised, I can't help but wonder why some sort of internet browser wasn't included. For systems with the additional hard drive, it seemed to me a likely addition, being that even Sony's tiny portable provides a browser, helping to tout its wireless status.
To help flaunt all the new features of the system, the hard drive comes pre-loaded with several movie clips, music videos and MP3s encoded into high definition formats for all the HDTV owners. Additional Dashboard themes are available, as are emulators for backwards compatibility to previous Xbox games, though we couldn't locate these manually. Your 20 gig drive is quickly depleted down to 13. Fortunately, except for the emulators, the extra content can be removed to leave more room for game updates and additional downloads.
The interface is sleek, using blades (like tabs in a conventional windows application) to navigate through gaming, media and setup tools. Colors and backgrounds can be customized using themes, some free, others available for a few cents or a few dollars through the Live Marketplace, an online shopping mall for digital content (more later) and multiple profiles can be saved to a single box, letting other family members choose the look and feel for their dashboard when it's their turn at the console.
THE LIVE MARKETPLACE
Partially a plan to siphon more money from the pockets of gamers, but otherwise a great idea, the Live Marketplace allows broadband connected gamers to download new content straight to the 360's hard drive. Some is available for free, like upcoming movie trailers, game demos and a few Dashboard themes, but for the most part, custom backgrounds, gamer icons (profile avatars) and full arcade titles are available for purchase using Microsoft Points, a proprietary currency system. Points can be purchased by credit card or at local retailers and redeemed for everything from collegiate and sports team related themes to classic (but online enabled) arcade games like Gauntlet, SmashTV and Joust. I felt the games to be reasonably priced at around 6-8 dollars and with limited demos typically offered for free, you've got enough at the tip of your fingers to make an informed decision on your purchase. Hopefully we'll see more demos for full-blown next gen titles in the coming months. At press time, a playable preview of Kameo: Elements of Power was available pro-bono and certainly made me consider the purchase of the full thing.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
The 360 isn't gonna turn on the lights in your house or open your garage door, but it's got some nifty entertainment center integrations that make it unique. Although it's not possible to store MP3 files on the hard drive of the unit, it IS possible to stream them from just about any USB device or a properly setup Window XP machine. From my USB thumb drive to my wife's I-Pod, the 360 was able recognize the storage device and catalogue the music files, sorting them by artist, genre, album and even previously saved playlists (m3u), all while I played any 360 native game.
Additionally, XP users with the service pack 2 upgrade can install an additional file sharing tool that allows the 360 to read it's folders, giving you the potential of unlimited music AND picture storage for playback through the 360 into your TV or home theatre. Throw a few JPGs into one of your shared folders and you can use them as Dashboard backgrounds, a nice little touch most Windows users can't live without. XP Media Center users can go the step further and play pre-recorded shows, MPGs or watch live TV all while being connected to Xbox Live. With DVR functionality (on your PC mind you, not the 360) you could be watching TV through the 360, controlling it with the included remote (platinum edition), and be notified when a friend gets onto Xbox Live, get a message or receive a game invitation.
THE DOWNSIDE
It's safe to say, I'm more than happy with the Xbox 360, but as I mentioned, I'm no fanboy. The system has problems. Right now, the two biggest stumbling blocks are price and availability. It's no shocker that the units are hard to come by. It took us a month to finally get one and still people are on waiting lists, many retailers expecting not to see their next shipments until early February 2006. Those finding themselves with one in hand may find it difficult to stomach the price tag at $400 for the Platinum (wireless controller, remote, hard drive), $300 for the Core. Additionally controls start at 29 for wired and most of the launch titles have been hopped up to $60, a ten bill more than new titles on the previous system. Needless to say, free up your credit card.
Now that I actually have the unit, I can't complain about the lack of product, but what the system does lack, as do many of the accessories, is documentation. Severely. Out of the box, the manual shows you where to plug everything in and offers some basic troubleshooting, but zero information is provided on topics like the use of the Dashboard, messaging, or media player. There is an indicator to help remind me of battery life for the controller, but it
