So I finally bought an XBOX 360 Pro console on 19th June 2008. I’ve been using it for 10 days. So thought that it’s about time I should write a review for it now that I’ve gone through almost every aspect of the console. I’ve hooked up my console to my PC monitor, an ancient Samsung Samtron 55v 15” CRT (I’ve had it for over 7 years now without any problems) using the official XBOX 360 VGA HD Cables, running at 1024x768 and my Creative SBS A300 2.1 speakers.
Package Contents
The XBOX 360 Pro console contains the following items:
• XBOX 360 Console (with chrome finish on the DVD tray)
• One Wireless Controller (with two AA batteries)
• HD AV Cables (both composite and component output in one)
• Ethernet Cable
• Power Supply (this thing is huge)
• 20 GB HDD
• One Media Remote (with two AA batteries)
• One Headset with Mic
As you can see, the Pro console comes with everything you need to play games both offline as well as on Xbox Live. However, I feel that they should have also included the Play & Charge kit for the wireless controller. Apart from thing I feel the Pro package is really a great deal.
RATING: 8.5/10
Looks and Ergonomics
In my opinion the XBOX 360 is the best looking console of the current lot. It looks really sexy and very stylish indeed. Kudos to the design team of the 360 for making the console look so good. Also, the faceplate of the 360 is interchangeable, so you can customize the look of the console to a certain extent. However, I haven’t seen custom faceplates available here in Delhi. The power light called the ring of light looks quite cool when it lights up.
The XBOX 360 wireless controller is the best looking and most well designed controller I’ve ever used (and you’ve got rumble right out of the box). It is essentially similar to the original XBOX Controller S, the only difference being that the black and white buttons (which were very difficult to access) have been changed to conveniently located “Bumper” buttons above the triggers. Also the Start and Back have been shifted to either side of the XBOX button in the center, which is used to power on and off the controller as well as the console and access the XBOX menu during a game. The locations of the thumbsticks and D-pad are much better compared to other consoles and the buttons feel very intuitive and tactile.
The 360 has three conveniently located and easily accessible USB ports (one at the back and two in front) to connect USB devices like iPods, cameras, flash drives etc. and an Ethernet port at the back to connect to a broadband internet service to play on XBOX Live (more on that later).
However, the biggest drawback on this front is the huge and ugly power brick. I wish it could have been made a little better. But the good thing is that you can tuck it away in the back and hide it from view, so isn’t much of a problem really.
RATING: 9/10
Functionality and Performance
The XBOX UI called the Dashboard is really very user friendly UI and easy to use. It also looks very good. The dashboard is divided into different tabs called “Blades” like Xbox Live, Games, Media, etc. Moving through the dashboard is very smooth and fast and you will soon figure out what is located where. You can also create different profiles for different users and also register them on XBOX Live.
Apart from playing games, you can also play DVDs, movie files, mp3, view pictures and stream media from your computer. The 360 can also connect to your iPod and Cameras to access the content on them. Also, you can burn media on to a disc or copy them on a USB drive and access them on the 360. However, you can’t copy these to the HDD. You can only rip music tracks from an Audio CD to your HDD, which you can then listen to during any game. Another cool feature is that you can access the XBOX guide and Dashboard at any time while playing a game by pressing the XBOX button on the controller.
One thing I quite like about the XBOX 360 is the attention to detail. For example, I like the Y-axis inverted in FPS games. In the previous XBOX I had to turn this on in the option of each game I played. But in the 360 I can enable this in my profile settings and it will be applied automatically to all the games that will play. Another example is that the VGA cables come bundled with an audio connector and a VGA gender changer, so that I don’t have to run around looking for these. Such attention to details really impressed me a lot.
Now coming to the performance of the XBOX console. I had high hopes from the XBOX 360 and I’m pleased to say that I haven’t been let down one bit. The first game I played on the 360 was Gears of War and I was simply blown away by the awesome graphics. My jaw literally dropped to the floor when I saw what was on the screen. The game has an insane amount of detail and yet runs so smooth. The case is the same with other games that I have played viz. Halo 3 and Bioshock. All the games feature highly detailed models and environments running at high resolutions. I have them running at 1024x768, so when I get a monitor capable of running at 720p, I expect the graphics to get even better. Also the audio of the games felt top-notch and really immersed you into the games. This truly is the next generation of gaming. The 360 also runs all your media really well and movie and DVD playback is smooth and crisp. Therefore the XBOX 360 is a complete entertainment system.
RATING: 10/10
XBOX Live
XBOX Live is one of the most touted features of the 360 and let tell you that it is everything it’s made out to be. The Live Marketplace has a large number of items like game demos, videos, downloadable game content, dashboard themes, gamer pics, arcade games. The list is so big that the initial few days I spent more time browsing through the marketplace rather than play games. Nowadays, most of the content is available in India at the same time as other countries. This is really a commendable effort of the XBOX Live. Many of the content available is free, but the majority of them are paid content. I feel some of the contents, like gamer pics and themes, are overpriced and should have been priced lower or freely available.
But the biggest feature of XBOX Live has to be the online play. I have played quite a few online Halo 3 matches on Live and I have to say that this is the best online experience I’ve had so far and the best thing is that I don’t have to figure out anything. Just hook up my broadband connection (MTNL TriBand 256 Kbps) and play online. The rest is all taken care of by XBOX Live. Online play is absolutely smooth and lag free and feels like I’m playing on a local LAN and I can also voice chat during a game without any issues .This is a complete opposite of my experience on the PC using the same connection. It’s really amazing that online gaming runs so seamlessly on XBOX Live. I guess you get what you pay for, and I’ll gladly pay Rs. 2,200 a year for such a service.
RATING: 9/10
Closing Thoughts
The XBOX 360 is a powerful and feature packed entertainment system. It has everything you can expect from a gaming console and then some. The console delivers on almost all fronts and really is a complete package. However, there are some aspects that the 360 can improve on, especially reliability of the hardware, but apart from these it’s the best console available in my opinion. So, what are you waiting for? Jump In!!!
OVERALL RATING: 9/10
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Copyright 2008 Abhijeet Ghosh
XBOX 360 Pro Console Review
. Congrats btw
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