Friday, April 28, 2006

Wii have landed. So, yesterday I got my first real taste of Xbox 360. It was an early birthday present and it's probably the most expensive present I've ever had. It came with five games, an additional controller, a play-and-charge kit, a hard drive, etcetera. Unfortunately I am missing two key elements: an HDTV as well as a broadband internet connection. Oh well. Both will soon be fixed, I imagine. So what can I say about it? Well, I guess not really much more than what you have probably already read. I had read quite a bit about the interface and so on, so it was nice to finally use it and see how it all works in person. I think the interface seperates Xbox 360 from other game systems in a more fundamental way than its graphics do. I mean, the graphics do look quite nice - even on a regular television with component cables - but essentially we're talking about current-gen games with slightly beefed up visuals. In other words, Xbox 360's "freshness" won't be found with the games, which is kind of ironic. It's really the interface that's the star of the show, I think. It transforms Xbox 360 from a regular game system to...well, a game system with a little extra on the side. Everything just works beautifully. Turn your system on and off remotely, create different gamer profile accounts, bind your wireless controllers to the system (and the system remembers which controller is which) and so on. It's all effortless and seamless. I think one of my favourite features so far is probably the ability to use my iPod while playing games. It's better than simply using a seperate stereo, because it literally replaces the in-game music. You can create playlists on the fly and you can determine song volume independently of game volume if you wish. I also love the Xbox Dashboard button on the controller. Even if a game is in the middle of loading, you can bring up the Dashboard and fiddle around with your settings and your music. The game continues loading in the background and when it's done, it simply pauses itself and waits for you to finish. So, what impressed me most about the system thusfar certainly wasn't the games - it was the overall system design itself. Yes, the power brick is enormous and yes, the system design itself isn't particularly amazing (I think Wii and even PS3 have the edge when it comes to casing design), but in the end everything does what it's meant to do. And as far as controllers go...the Xbox 360 controller is definitely the best "traditional" game controller I've ever used. The previous winner was the GameCube pad - despite its crappy Z button and small d-pad, it was the most comfortable and functional controller I'd used up until now. But Xbox 360 beats it hands down for both comfort and functionality. That it's wireless with force feedback is only the icing on the proverbial cake. In terms of games, I haven't played all of them yet. I got five games with it: Kameo, Call of Duty 2, Quake 4, Tony Hawk, GUN and PGR3. I've played something like two minutes of Kameo and it's already bored me to tears. The introduction sequence is just incredibly, incredibly tired...I've seen it all before and Kameo follows the platformer convention right down to the last detail. In other words, even at the beginning, there is simply nothing new about Kameo. I'll try it out some more soon, but Kameo has absolutely nothing over any other platformer at the moment. Very unimpressive. Call of Duty 2 is probably the real star, both due to its gorgeous visuals as well as its superb gameplay. I haven't played the original game, but the sequel is brilliant. I've only had time to do the start area of the game, but already I'm very impressed. This game probably showcases Xbox 360 better than the others I've seen so far. I was expecting to be disappointed by Quake 4, but I must admit, it's good. Visually it's almost identical to Doom 3 (shiny skin and all), but in terms of gameplay it's far better. Not only do you have a light on the end of your gun (well, some guns anyway), but the overall design is superior. The levels are far more varied and the action is a lot more frantic. Ultimately Quake 4 is still a pretty mindless shooter, but it's controls are wonderful and there's just enough variety to keep it interesting. Although it's nothing new, this game does demonstrate the basic benefits of a solid control scheme and strong action sequences. PGR3 is the only other game I've played and I've spent the most time with it. It's far more arcade-like than Gran Turismo, but they seem to get the balance pretty right. The visuals are nice and the controls are wonderfully accurate and tight. I'm really enjoying the various challenges so far and I find myself using my own music in this game pretty much all the time (even though the in-game music seems to be reasonably good so far). So there you have it...a half-complete Xbox 360 analysis. I guess it's more just a set of random thoughts about the system than anything else. In any case, I'm enjoying the system and I'm now looking forward to Xbox Live and other games in the future. While Xbox 360 doesn't entirely feel "next-generation", it's certainly the most refined game system to date, in terms of attention-to-detail and interface design (that is, if you can forget the power brick and the fact that it will scratch your discs if you move it while they're spinning...). In unrelated news, Nintendo announced that Revolution is to be named Wii. I've commented on OtakuBoards about it already, so I'll let you read that rather than me repeat it here. I do recommend going to the official site to see a funky little animation of the logo. It seems to ease the pain just a little, for those who are having a hard time swallowing this little revelation. CosmicSailor: Ahh, I don't think I mentioned long-winded though. You were, in fact, relatively concise...it's just that the first paragraph got a little caught up on itself. Not to worry. And I responded in-kind with an email too. Chabichou: Ouch, an annoying teacher moving in nearby? That sucks. I'll be living in an apartment sometime soon (whenever we can find one that we like). That should be interesting, as I've only ever lived in a house. snow fox: I am looking forward to seeing their new house quite a lot. I've heard great things about it. And thanks...as you can see above, the Xbox was a good investment. ~_^ Tony: I think the main thing is, in some games it's trying to throw so much at the screen and on 480p, it just looks messy. It's messy to the point where you just don't want to play it. So there is a bigger motivation for us to get an HDTV now. But when I go to Melbourne next week I'm going to take it with me and try it out on the two HD screens at home. I am really wanting to see the difference. No doubt it'll make me annoyed that I have to come back up here and be sans-HD. ShadowFaint Zero: Thank you! I'm going to be 23 on Sunday...yikes! If you would like help with your OB acount, you can either post in the Suggestions & Feedback forum or email Desbreko or Dagger. They'll take care of the issue for you. ^_^

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