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XBOX 360
First off when it comes to game consoles the first
thing a person thinks of is visual graphics and by far the XBOX 360 has
given the user ultra-realistic life like visuals. But that’s only the
tip of the iceberg. The Xbox 360 is the game console on steroids with an
overdose of ecstasy and speed put together; Microsoft developers used
technology not even available for PC’s yet. It has a Custom ATI
Processor 512 MB video card; the latest video cards out in the market go
as high as 256mb now. CPU speed is 3.2 GHz which is a surprising jump
from its previous model which was 700 MHz which makes the 360 almost 5X
faster then its predecessor, also the HDD also took a giant leap in
capacity which now holds a 20gig removable HDD and if that’s not enough
for you and you crave for more space then it can be upgraded for your
liking. It also holds up to 4 wireless controllers which is only
included in the Premium Package.
There are two XBOX 360’s you can choose from; the
premium pack or the core pack. The core pack costs $399 (CAN$) and comes
with a console, a wired controller, no hard drive, a power cable and
composite/component cables, and an Ethernet cable, but The Premium Pack,
in my opinion, the one you want. It may cost $100 more but given the way
Microsoft has priced everything, the Xbox 360 Premium Package is worth
every shiny penny. In this package you will get the console, a 20GB
removable hard drive, a wireless (not wired) controller, a headset,
Ethernet cables, composite/component cables, a power cable, and a free
media remote. The HD comes with the puzzle game Hexic and a soundtrack,
a making of movie and a trailer of the XBOX 360, also you'll get pair
free batteries for both the controller and the remote. With all that
extra stuff, ranging in cost from $19.99 to $99.99, the extra $100 for
the Premium set-up is well worth it. Plus, if you want to play Xbox
games on the Xbox 360, you'll need the hard drive, so the $499 is your
best bet.
Now after your wallet has survived round one, get
ready for round two which is the games. The average price for a new game
for all consoles goes for $69.99 which is not too bad but still with the
next-gen games that are coming out your going to want them all, but how
to choose which games you want with out choosing the game that sounds
good but turns out to be crap. The good thing about Microsoft is that
after they have a hit game; after a couple of months they drop the price
of it down to $19.99, so you it becomes affordable but this does not
apply for the game halo due to its massive popularity and success.
Here are some tips to help you on choosing a game
with great replay and that was worth your $70 (plus tax). First off
don’t ask someone who gets a kick on something that’s flashy and likes
explosions and blood, just because it has blood and gore doesn’t
necessarily mean it’s going to be fun and enjoyable; it might be nice to
look at but soon you will realize it’s tedious and boring.
A good idea to watch is for company names; if its
something that you have herd of most likely they put the time and money
into the development to make it worth buying, some names that are worthy
of mention is bungie, Sega, capcom, THQ, ID, SONY, Rockstar games,
UBIsoft, Squar enix, & konami just to name a few.
Finally the best way to see if a game is worth
spending your hard earned cash is by renting it, by renting it you not
only save cash but judge the game for yourself to see how good it is
with out buying it.
Now why is Xbox 360 worth getting? Should you wait
for Ps3 or Nintendo revolution?
Well both competitor systems won’t be out for
another year, as well the Ps3 almost has the same internal specs as the
Xbox 360, most games that come out for the Ps3 will also be heading to
Xbox,
Only SONY made games will be exclusive for its own
product.
And for Nintendo, they have a tendency to keep
there hardware info until after they launch there system and they are
also known to be a child system in the past, but they promise to release
more mature games to there consumers. Nintendo does have something that
none of the other systems have, which is, the user can download every
game that has come out for every single Nintendo system for a free, but
recently Nintendo hasn’t been getting any publicity lately which could
greatly affect there position in the game industry. With the Xbox 360
the one that comes with a hard drive, you can download your games to it
so you don’t have to put in the DVD disk all the time. As well for the
lazy gamer; the 360 controller has a big silver X in the middle of it so
when you don’t feel like getting up to press the power button on the
console just press the silver X and the system will turn on. The
wireless controllers also have a 30’ radius; you can be playing on your
neighbors 360 but there is a connection button on the console and
controller to sync them together.
All in all the Xbox 360 is the ideal party
platform, most of there games have great replay value; especially when
it comes to multiplayer games, so you’ll have a ton of fun playing halo
2 with three of your buddies, and online play is a whole other story.
If you think you’re the best and wish to test your
skills; purchase XBOX live and play people around the world. Not only
can you play against other people but you can also communicate with them
for a more strategize game play and a good way to curse at your
opponents. A good thing is that Microsoft made it compatible so you can
still talk to people who own the regular Xbox. One thing to note is that
Microsoft will only charge one fee to play your games online, $75 fee.
While play station3 will charge you individually for every game you want
to play online.
The Xbox is not only a game machine but also a
media center. You can do every thing from watch DVDs; add music to your
IPODs, you can also rip music to it; so if your tired of the music that
the games came with you can add your favorite music and its easy as
using a CD player. So imagine; you’re playing project gothem 3 and all
of sudden you throw some eminem music on. This system is customized to
your likening.
The Xbox 360 will be released tomorrow on the 22nd
of November 2005 so all over the U.S and Canada there will be a
mid-night madness event and stores will be open past mid-night, the
system already pre sold more then 2 million units already and the
Microsoft is projecting to sell another 2 million by the end of 2006.
The game releases for tomorrow will have a variety
from FPS (first person shooters), survival horror, sports, adventure,
racing and plenty of other titles will come soon with plenty of replay.
So if you have the cash for an all in one media
center and love playing hi definition games for hours on end and playing
with 3 other of your friends then the Xbox 360 is the system for you.
Info sources
http://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST-x-1985-x-x-x
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360#Packaging_2
Video clips
http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=1589 |
