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Article summary (if available):
And Microsoft's heavyweight is looking very, very good... |
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Despite scattered reports of a huge shortage and games not making the launch, Microsoft are ploughing ahead with the Xbox 360 launch anyway, shoving the rumours aside and violently promoting their new console. It was in the course of this violent promotion that we were invited to the Press Party taking place at Microsoft's 360 hour tour. Thanks to this event, I can now give all those of you excited - and all those not - a sneak preview of the console, and what to expect come December 2nd...
The Console
"It's one sexy console."
The Xbox 360 itself appears in the flesh just as it does in pictures. Unlike some consoles, which always seem to be a thousand times smaller (Gamecube), larger (Xbox) or sleeker (PS2) in pictures, in the case of the Xbox 360, the camera seems to tell no lies. The curves on the console are neither exaggerated or understated by pictures, and there's not much to say about it's sleek, "Apple"-style appearance that can't be said by a picture. It's one sexy console. Something that could easily be mistaken for something other than a games console, which some people crave for. The console is pleasing to the eye, and while bigger than three of the four other consoles I have sitting on my desk on display (The Dreamcast, PSTwo and Gamecube), it is significantly smaller than the other - the original Xbox.
The 360 is two inches shorter than the original Xbox, and one inch wider. For a comparison with the rest of the Next-Gen consoles, the PS3 is three inches taller and one inch wider than the Xbox 360, while the Revolution is just over half of the size of the original Xbox, and around the same thickness as the 360. The console can be kept, as Microsoft has stated in an upright or flat position and still look sexy, copycatting the functionality and ease of placement of the PS2 and PSTwo consoles.
As reported, the Right of Light does indeed change colours as per game status, and is a very useful indication of what's going on, especially on Xbox Live. Quite a few faceplates of various styles were on show from the event, and while none were actually attached to consoles, it was clear to uss that they will become an incredibly popular feature in the future. But you already know all this already, I'm sure. What's likely more interesting than the console's appearance, which is exactly as described before is...
The Controller
"Simply melts into your hands beautifully.."
Goddamn, this controller shocked me when I picked it up. I mean, people, this controller is light. I'm talking Dreamcast controller without a VMU light. Yes; That Light. I literally turned to Rob upon picking it up and exclaimed a word that for professionalism I won't repeat at the weight, and I can tell you now that there will most certainly be none of the teething issues that happened with the Xbox (and it's 'lollol huge' controller) here.
The controller simply melts into your hands beautifully, a strange design that is clearly based off the Xbox Controller S - (S of course meaning small, but aparrently Microsoft saw the need to cut the size of the controller down even further.) The handles fit nicely into my hands, and likewise, slipped just as easily into the hands of others at the event, into hands big and small. This is an extremely wise move for Microsoft, as the size and shape of the original controller stil dogs the Xbox today. One of the major factors in it's being smaller is the fact that the controller no longer contains those Dreamcast-esque slots for memory units or similar add-ons - as they are now on the face of the console. This allowed slimming down the controller considerably, making it even thinner than a PS2 pad (Going back to SNES-thickness here) in the middle. It was most impressive after years of bulky and cumbersome pads, and the controller slots will not be missed as people rarely used them for anything but Xbox Live Headsets (Lord knows I didn't.)
The Xbox Live headset attachment is this time built into the controller, in the front closest to you, just under the D-Pad and Right Thumbstick. This is crucial to Live players, meaning that the newly designed, better fitting headset will not leave it's wires drooping over your hands as you play, as with the original console.
The Button layout on the controller is similar to the Controller S below, with the minor differences of the lack of Black and White buttons, and the lack of the "Xbox 360 Home" button in the centre.
The main "Home" button interacts with the console, and specifically, the ring of light, lining up your controller with one quarter of the ring, making that your controller number. Corresponding to this, another ring of light on the controller around the home button lights whatever quarter you are. The Home Button also functions to send you - you guessed it - Home, to the Xbox Dashboard, at any point in any game. Replacing the Black and White buttons are two extra shoulder buttons, similar to the L1 L2/R1 R2 system found on Playstation controllers. the difference is, the bottom two (L2 and R2 if you will) are triggers, while the top are simply buttons. This allows for digital functionality according to how hard you press them in the triggers, but not the top buttons, giving the best of both worlds. The button setup was best utilised in Perfect Dark Zero, with the triggers for shooting, and the other shoulder buttons for secondary fire and evasive rolls. As you all undoubtedly know, the controller will be avaliable in a 360-only Wireless version, and a USB version compatible with both the 360 and your Windows PC for PC gaming. The Dashboard
"These features are fantastic for everyone - from casual users to core gamers."
The dashboard on the original Xbox was all a bit boring - a big green interface that allowed you to listen to music, manage your save games, change settings, and when you got bored of all that exciting stuff, you could boot up an actual game from it. Not anymore! The Xbox 360 boasts a huge dashboard with a wealth of options every time you boot the console up. On the Xbox Dashboard, the following features are avaliable:
- Media - Music, Pictures and Video can be bought up in slide shows or with fantastic visualisations, either off your Xbox 360 hard drive, or streamed directly off your PC, iPod or PSP. Whichever way you like it, you can access your personal Media wirelessly through the 360.
- Marketplace - Free to all users, even those not on a Gold Xbox Live Subscription, the Xbox Live Marketplace offers downloads for your Xbox consoles. Here you can find everything from Themes for the dashboard itself, to game demos, movie trailers, maps, levels and patches for current games, or even games themselves to be played in the...
- Arcade - The Xbox Live Arcade is a collection of games that are up for download on Xbox Live. Some are free, some will cost money. Many companies have signed up to produce arcade games, and many are ports of "classic" titles such as Smash TV and Ms. Pac Man, while modern classics such as Bejeweled and other games such as Checkers will also be avaliable. You will also be able to play a large portion of these online against other people.
- Video & Voice Chat - If you want to talk to your friends but don't want to be in a round of Halo to do it, you can now chat to them with video and voice, straight from the Dashboard.
All these features are fantastic for everyone - from casual users who may just want one arcade game to the core gamers who'll want every single one and that extra map for Perfect Dark Zero. As a reminder, Xbox Live is free to all users and owners of the Xbox 360 - but only people who subscribe to become a "Gold" member will be able to play 360 titles online. Others will only have access to the Arcade, Marketplace, and other features. From what we saw of the Dashboard, it is extremely functional and easy to use; and why you're not likely to spend as much time here as you are in games, you're definitely likely to spend a lot of time here customising your console and it's wealth of settings. And that just about covers the preview of the actual Xbox 360 console from the event in Birmingham. Club Skill would like to thank Microsoft for inviting us. Make sure you check out the preview of the 360's Launch titles that we played at the event also! |
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| Platform: |
Xbox 360 |
| Publisher: |
Microsoft |
| Developer: |
Microsoft |
| Origin: |
USA |
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| UK release: |
02 December 2005 |
| PEGI (UK): |
3+ |
| ESRB (US): |
E |
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| Genre: |
Console |
| Players: |
1 - 4 (Local) Unlimited (Online) |
| Multiplayer: |
Multiplayer + LAN + Online |
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Extra features:
Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace, Hard Drive Compatible
Summary:
Microsoft's second attempt at conquering the home console market comes in the form of the Xbox 360.
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