You Knew It Was Coming...

Well I've been blabbering about the XBox 360 for a while now and I finally was able to get my hands on one of these bad boys. I thought I'd offer a quick review of my first impressions.

Although they are still selling out of stores in mere minutes, they ARE shipping and (believe it or not) there are ways to get them, but it involves using the archaic instrument used by ancient civilizations used to communicate before Internet...that's right....a telephone. I was making a list of phone numbers of every store in a 20 mile radius while I happened to stumble upon one after only making 4 phone calls.

Simply put: The system is amazing. More powerful than any computer you could build currently, the 360 uses a quad graphics chip configuration. I recently converted to high-definition this year, so the hi-def graphics falls right in line with everything you'd expect from hi-def gaming. Although there are hi-def packs for older game systems, these adapters are nothing more than "up converting" the signal (like the new dvd players), therefore the games, although somewhat clearer, are still grainy overall. The 360 outputs TRUE hi-def graphics which are breathtaking to say the least.

I was extremely impressed with system dashboard and media integration. I'm a newcomer to Xbox Live and was a little weary about getting started but I was signed in and chatting with a couple friends in mere minutes. Also, the PC/IPOD/Digital Camera integration is literally plug-and-play.

Another pleasant surprise is the ability to download small arcade games, many of which were maximized for hi-def, all with free trial versions from Xbox Live Marketplace. Arcade classics and Pop-Cap favorites download to the dashboard in just a few minutes and are incredibly addictive. Also, the demos and video downloads of upcoming xbox releases are loads of fun...much more than you'd expect from "demos".

And of course...there's the games, but I'll save those reviews for another post!