Introduction As
a hard-core gamer for over 30 years and a programmer to boot, both in
the arcade and on PC and consoles over multiple platforms, I can say
with authority that the true test of any new game system or technology
is how much better it is then anything else that’s come before it. And,
what does it cost for that performance improvement? Back in the 1970s,
when there was almost nothing in video games to play, we were happy to
upgrade from black and white to color or from Pong to Space Invaders.
Even to go as programmers from Basic or Fortran to DOS offered
significant improvements to gaming that a few years before were simply
unimaginable. This is because computer power was at a premium, as it
was throughout the U.S. Apollo missions to the moon, and arcade games
circa 1980 like Donkey Kong, Tempest, Frogger, or Pole Position
required the equivalent of $5,000 worth of hardware, but only the
equivalent of the current processing power of a current $30 logarithmic
calculator from Wal-Mart. These games relied heavily on visual
suspension of disbelief, and similar allowances with regard to the
audio, as they were all terribly, terribly two-dimensional in
presentation. Even sports and racing games from the 1980s were
substantially flat and cartoonish in comparison with anything we have
experienced since the original Xbox appeared in 2001.
At
that time, alongside a whole slew of new and superior PC gaming
platforms, like Alienware and Apple Computers’ first foray into the
Gigaflop processing arena, the original Xbox set the standard for both
stand-alone game play and high-definition graphics with Dolby Digital
5.1 sound. I found it to offer significantly better game play than
anything else with respect to three-dimensional visual presentation,
complex light and shading, sound accuracy and spatial envelopment,
along with a truly lifelike sense of immersion, previously felt to this
degree only in military and research simulators. While the early Xbox
games varied in quality, as with all new platforms, many subsequent
games like Halo and Halo II first set the benchmark as tangibly real
for first-person shooters on any platform. Others like Call of Duty
followed. Certainly, sporting games created by EA Sports have utilized
every bit of processing power available from the original Xbox, and in
the last year or so, EA’s games have looked better on a fully screaming
gamer PC platform.
With all the pre-press blah blah about how incredible or terrible the
Xbox 360 might be, no less than eight domestic retailers have sold out
of all products by the initial November 22 rollout. Most websites that
list the product for sale give a time frame for new orders that
stretches to at least March 2006. And I am truly shocked by how eager
people are, standing in line outside in the fall cold for days, and
what they are willing to pay for a system before Christmas, in some
cases four and five times the retail price. Fortunately, this did not
deter me. And I can say here and now if you are a gamer, you will want
to own this platform. But will it be as exciting and new when the Sony
PlayStation comes out in May 2006 featuring Blue-ray and 1080p playback
capability?
Features The
Xbox 360 looks like it came from the designers of the Apple iBook,
offering up a sleek and largely white exterior case slightly smaller
than the original Xbox but considerably larger than the Sony
Playstation 2; it offers the ability to add skin faceplates and change
the GUI to re-characterize each individual unit as its owner desires.
The platform is capable of processing one teraflop of information,
thanks to its three symmetrical IBM computer cores operating at 3.2 GHz
each. The custom ATI processor and its ultra-fast memory run at 500 MHz
and feature 512 MB of GDDR3 RAM in a unified GPU/CPU architecture. This
allows game designers to make the most of the 1280 x 720p or 1920 x
1080i arena they are charged with filling creatively. In fact, for the
360, all new games must be in high definition and Dolby Digital 5.1,
mandated by Microsoft. I think this is a great step towards totally
embracing the 16:9 HD aspect ratio and making the most of the improved
resolution this game format offers.
A
removable 20 GB hard drive (along with a wireless controller, Xbox Live
headset, three-month silver Xbox live subscription and a component/HDTV
interface cable) are available as standard in the $399.00 MSRP Deluxe
Package. I do not recommend purchase of the “Core System” at $299.00
MSRP, as the wired controller is a step backward and the hard drive is
absolutely necessary to save game profiles, updates and additions, but
it is also useful to store music and high-definition video when
exchanged with a PC or Windows Media Center using an optional Microsoft
Extended Media cradle; this concept was designed as an afterthought, in
my opinion, and not worthy of review unless you must share all your
entertainment sources and audio and video selections with each and
every different platform and component you own throughout your home,
including your car and cellular.
The wireless controllers (which require two-AA batteries or the
recharging pack included with the deluxe system) are very similar to
the “J” version (the smaller one) of the wired Xbox controller
introduced in 2003, being very slightly more tapered at the palm holds
– most comfortable – and slightly heavier than the “J” version, yet
lighter than the Xbox aftermarket wireless controllers. I found I could
get at least 18 hours of continuous play out of the best Duracell AA
batteries, while the rechargeable pack was good for 12 hours at a time.
This was dependent on the amount of vibration induced by the game, of
course, but I think this is quite extraordinary for a wireless product
of any kind, all the same. There are two 64 MB memory slots, useful in
transferring saved data from an Xbox to the Xbox 360 with older games
(and a lot of help and a prayer) and touring with your saved data to
other players’ homes, as well as three USB ports for expansion to
additional controllers and accessories like a steering column and
accelerator for Project Gotham Racing 3. The GUI is very TiVo-like as
an interface, both simple and intuitive to operate. The operating
system takes a new user through the usual date/time, screen aspect
ratio, HDTV format and Dolby Digital sound selection, and in no time
you will be playing both new and old games like you had the system set
up forever.
As
a hard-core gamer for over 30 years and a programmer to boot, both in
the arcade and on PC and consoles over multiple platforms, I can say
with authority that the true test of any new game system or technology
is how much better it is then anything else that’s come before it. And,
what does it cost for that performance improvement? Back in the 1970s,
when there was almost nothing in video games to play, we were happy to
upgrade from black and white to color or from Pong to Space Invaders.
Even to go as programmers from Basic or Fortran to DOS offered
significant improvements to gaming that a few years before were simply
unimaginable. This is because computer power was at a premium, as it
was throughout the U.S. Apollo missions to the moon, and arcade games
circa 1980 like Donkey Kong, Tempest, Frogger, or Pole Position
required the equivalent of $5,000 worth of hardware, but only the
equivalent of the current processing power of a current $30 logarithmic
calculator from Wal-Mart. These games relied heavily on visual
suspension of disbelief, and similar allowances with regard to the
audio, as they were all terribly, terribly two-dimensional in
presentation. Even sports and racing games from the 1980s were
substantially flat and cartoonish in comparison with anything we have
experienced since the original Xbox appeared in 2001.
