XBOX 360 First Impressions (Part I)

A few months ago, I proclaimed that my days of keeping up with PC upgrades were over. I vowed to stop spending hundreds of dollars every two years and simply buy a new console for games. Keeping that in mind, we decided to purchase an XBox 360 two weeks ago.

Although the 360 isn't "new", it is for us. So far, I am pleased with the machine and have a few comments.

First, the machine is physically better looking than the original. It's not nearly as thick and bulky. It's sleek and looks stylish enough to leave on display next to our entertainment system. The construction seems solid and not as fragile as my trusty old PS2. However, the power supply, now a separate unit, is simply huge.

We purchased the full 360 package (not the "core" system) which included a hard drive, a wireless controller, headset, a component video cable, free XBOX Live Silver, and a month of Live Gold Service. More on the Live service later.

We bought an extra wireless controller as well. They are a big improvement over the originals (especially that horrible first edition XBOX version). They are slimmer and feel very comfortable. The wireless range and signal strength is remarkable. We were able to control the XBOX from down the hallway and around a corner from the machine (about 25 feet away or more). The ability to power up the machine from the controllers (using the embedded "X" symbol button) is a nice touch. The console has a four quadrant circular display to tell you which controllers it detects. As more controllers are turned on, more quadrants light up.

The new 360 dashboard (user interface) is very easy to navigate, with tabs and easy access even during gameplay. At any time, the X symbol brings up the dashboard, much like Alt-Tabbing on your PC pops you back to your desktop while playing a game. The set up and configuration of outputs and video settings was a breeze and only took a few minutes; the same goes for getting the system online using the embedded network card (Ethernet).

So far, we could find no faults with the machine. It looked great, the interface was well designed, and the controllers were exceptional, possibly better than the infamous PS2 controllers (my personal favorite).

In Part II we'll look at the games and the Live service. And finally, Part III will examine some of the machine's extended features, such as Media Connect and how it interfaces with a surround sound system.