Xbox 360: The Lid Is Off

By Tom Bramwell Published 18 November, 2005

What we've got, what it's got, and what we think.

At last! The next generation cavalry marched into Eurogamer's offices yesterday afternoon, allowing us to finally get up close and personal with Microsoft's eagerly-anticipated new games console. Retail and debug units arrived at the same time and Microsoft's penchant for marketing whimsy is pervasive even now - most evident in the Xbox 360 briefcase, its foam-padded interior snug host to a wireless controller, chargers, remote control, optional controller battery packs and game software. Wrenching the console free of its cardboard packing, it feels roughly as heavy as an Xbox, yet stands unshakably on its base, the solid DVD tray opening invitingly when called upon.

Handling Our Charges

The hard disk - optional and detachable, as you know - comes free when you push down a button towards the front of the unit and lift it at the same time. Doing so reveals an exposed half-inch connector on its underbelly near the front - a potential snag, some might say, but you were going to put it in your jeans pocket anyway, were you?

The controller is much slicker than the Xbox's Controller S, with noticeably slimmer handles, and the repositioning of the Start and Back functions around the central Guide button, and the white and black buttons as Dual Shock-style L1 and R1 triggers is all far more convenient - although you may have to retrain your fingers to reach for them. Analogue triggers are basically the same, and sit behind the white and black buttons (renamed LB and RB) as you look at the pad from the front. Given our tendency to reach for the triggers with our index fingers, LB and RB may prove awkward in games that demand use of all four shoulders, but their intuitive use in, for example, Call of Duty 2 (to lob grenades) suggests it won't be long before we've adjusted.

Then there's the remote control. It's arguably the best reference point for the 360's suite of features and design philosophy - it has most of the controller's buttons, dedicated buttons for Media Center functions and DVD playback, a big Guide button right at the front, and it allows you to turn on, eject the disc tray and operate the console without leaving your couch or straining a wire. It wakes and sleeps as required, glowing green with excitement when you reach for it.

'Xbox 360: The Lid Is Off' Screenshot hardware

There she is, in a classic pose.

Xbox 360's wires can be largely concealed (you can even plug the controllers into the rear USB ports) or done away with if you go for wireless controllers and the Wi-Fi network adapter, but some are still necessary - and our kit box is a snake pit of cables. The chargers for wireless pads, first, clip snugly onto the top of the controller where Xbox 1 memory units and headsets used to connect - once charged, wireless pads are woken by holding the Guide button for a second, and go to sleep when left alone for a while. The new AV cables (your old ones won't fit) bear chunky connectors - the component offering, in addition to blue/green/red video separates and an optical audio output on its connector, has composite video and stereo audio cables strung from it, and a switch on the connector's underside for alternating between HD-component and TV-composite. We also have SCART and VGA cables. The latter's surely going to be invaluable for people who haven't the cash to spend on HDTVs - allowing for regular RGB gaming in the lounge and pin-sharp high-resolutions in the bedroom or study on a PC monitor or LCD display.

There's been quite a lot said about the power pack, finally, so it's worth noting that the bricklike effort you've probably seen photographed is actually for the debug. The retail unit's power pack is still best described as a brick, but it's about two-thirds as big. Anyway, both can be hidden away easily enough. One last thing to bear in mind though - the PC-style kettle lead that plugs into the brick and runs off to the plug socket isn't a standard one; there's a small ridge that distinguishes it, so don't make the mistake of unplugging one from your PC and making to use that instead (like we tried to!).

Plugs and peripherals aside, the white retail unit is prettier than its dark grey debug counterpart (good news, really - our friends were always outraged by the sight of our sassy translucent Xbox debugs), although it'll be a bit useless until we get boxed games and Microsoft turns on the consumer Xbox Live service. It did allow us to see how Halo looks on 360, though - and that's 'nice, but now quite dated'. The debug is functionally identical to the retail unit, but plays non-final discs in much the same way as Xbox debugs - it also has a slightly different launcher front-end, which appears before you get to the 360's rather swish dashboard, for adjusting low-level tech settings.

A Dashing Beast

'Xbox 360: The Lid Is Off' Screenshot controller

We just couldn't controll-'er.

The 360 dashboard itself is immediately more engaging, responsive and better thought out than its Xbox progenitor. There's no low hum of noise, for a start, and it's bright and easily navigable by pushing left or right to move between pages (no, we refuse to call them 'blades'). You're immediately invited to transfer an Xbox Live account (a simple procedure), set up a new one, or simply create a profile. Profiles can be swapped over easily at any time by pressing the Guide button on your pad to prompt the Guide overlay (although this is sometimes a little jerky in-game), and the Guide also allows you to view your achievements, and any messages, access your Friends list, and control any audio playback. Guide doesn't appear to be available in Xbox 1 games (it didn't work in Halo anyway), and you should be aware that games tie progress to specific profiles, so you won't want to swap over midway through a level or you'll lose progress.

Guide has plenty of benefits though, the most vaunted and welcome of which is surely gamer defaults. We've talked in the past about being able to invert the Y-axis for all first-person shooters, but you can also turn off auto-aim and the camera's auto-centre, and for driving games you can set a default transmission type, camera angle, and your preferred acceleration and braking controls (the triggers, by default). This kind of centralisation of the tedious procedural aspects of game management is to be applauded.

Moving away from your profile, the System page allows you to adjust all the obvious settings as it did with Xbox, although it goes to greater lengths here. European gamers are finally welcome to play in higher resolutions; there are PAL-50 and 60 options and normal and widescreen toggles as before, but also the three progressive-scan options, 480p, 720p - something all 360 games will have to support - and 1080i. You can also choose your preferred sound setup (for analogue there's Mono or Pro-Logic, for digital there's Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital with WMA pro), as well as changing language, time, date, location, toggles for the screen-dimmer and auto-power-off, selecting parental controls, and managing storage devices. The System page also lets you fiddle with network settings, both for Live and PC connection.

Connecting the Media

'Xbox 360: The Lid Is Off' Screenshot kameo

Kameo: Elements of Power.

Connectivity with other devices has formed a large part of Microsoft's living room putsch - iPods and PSPs are recognized more or less instantly from the Media page's MP3 and Photo browsers, for example, as should be most third-party USB devices. We tried our Sony Cybershot camera, for example, and although it didn't recognize it as a camera, it was picked up as a generic USB device that we could browse. Support for others and new devices will be added through downloadable updates, we're told. You can't run videos from PSP though, nor iTunes-purchased music from iPods, and - as you may have anticipated - video playback of files stored on PCs is limited to Windows XP Service Pack 2-equipped machines with Media Center Extender, and Media Center set-top boxes.

Free media connection software is available from Microsoft's website for MP3 playback and photo viewing, shared from your Windows PC, which is something, but basically the deal is that music and images are fine from Windows PCs and other devices, but video is something Microsoft's keener to protect. It's a peculiar situation, effectively binding you to verifiably legitimate and TV-recorded video stored on Microsoft-controlled devices, but precluding anything but MP3s burnt from CDs and downloaded from the Internet. Of course DVDs work just fine, in prog-scan if available (if not, you can upscale them), as long as they're from your country's region. And no, changing your system's location setting won't help you get round that.

Still, the option of having music pumping out of your iPod while you play Kameo or browse the Live marketplace is welcome, and the Jeff Minter visualisations look jolly nice spouting forth from our hi-def screens. Whether they'll displace the hypnotic rhythms of iTunes' visualisations from our late-night routines is a matter for another article, the creation of which will probably defy far more serious laws of substance than the ones that meekly govern MP3 ownership. Jeff knows what we mean.

Elsewhere, Microsoft's love of online services is evident throughout. As we've said, Live itself has yet to reach its eponymous state (our multiplayer experiences are limited to a closed online network for the next couple of days), but the integration of Marketplace (home to demos, trailers and downloadable content) appears solid. Playable demos will be available from day one in some cases, as will trailers, and while you'll have to re-download any content you bought in the last generation, it feels like a small price to pay (and indeed will be a small price to pay) for this kind of harmonious interface.

The Generation Gap

'Xbox 360: The Lid Is Off' Screenshot quake

Quake IV.

Briefing you on the games themselves is something we plan to do at length in the fortnight leading up to the European launch, starting early next week. Launch-game reviews - indeed most reviews - are too delicate to rush through in barely a day, as you will appreciate; weighing the pros and cons of a game takes time, and articulating its contextual worth is rather more challenging while the technological context is still narrow and uncertain. Still, we can't resist telling you a little about the games we've received so far - Project Gotham Racing 3, Kameo, Condemned, FIFA 06, Quake 4 and Call of Duty 2 (no, they didn't give me Ridge Racer 6. I weep).

Kameo is by far the most polished - backing up Rare's claim that it spent the last half-year at least in Mr. Sheen mode. Kameo's creature transformations allow you to approach combat and the simple early puzzles in various ways, with gentle handholding to get you through those stumbling steps, rolls and uppercuts. Gotham 3 feels instantly familiar, and looks to have a superb framework - beyond the traditional Career mode with its balance of Kudos-gambling and varied racing/technical tasks, the route-creator and multiplayer modes present plenty of options.

Microsoft's next-generation game visuals place higher demands on hardware than ever before and should also place greater demands on our technical lexicon (and jokes - 'anisotropic way of putting it'), but their initial impact is more important to you than the subtleties of their technical achievements - so on that level the most obvious thing to say is that you will notice the most in high resolution, but you will notice change whatever your AV equipment. In Kameo, for example, the hundreds of dragons swooping through the background may be real-time and fully rendered 3d beasts, but you won't necessarily register this as a splendid achievement unless you look for it. Likewise, Gotham 3's cars and environments may be ludicrously detailed, but will you be able to tell when they whip past your head at 150mph, particularly if you prefer bumper-cam? The greatest strengths appear to be in subtlety and range of animation and foreground detail - and in these stakes Kameo's polish pays dividends. While Gotham 3's environments can appear quite sterile and inactive (with unconvincing trees that don't sway, for example), falling blossom and Kameo's facial expressions have immediate resonance and exceed that which we're accustomed to - even at standard TV resolution.

Condemned arguably handles the move to more impressive environments more cleverly - by forcing you to examine your surroundings at slow pace, you're guaranteed to notice things like real-time shadows, textural detail and the finer cuts around the edges. Both of the PC ports, Quake 4 and CoD2, meanwhile, are indistinguishable from what we played last month - you won't see anything that works as hard as either, visually, on a current-gen system. Whether you like what they do with their grunt is an issue for you to decide upon.

FIFA, however, we'll happily weigh in on. EA's cleverly sidestepped the issue of having to create an entire game's worth of high-definition content by focusing on international teams and likenesses as it treads the Road to the FIFA World Cup. And it treads it too briskly - the game's scope is narrowed considerably, in gameplay terms it's still the defensive war of attrition Kristan lamented in FIFA 06, and while below the neck the player models are very swish and almost stylistic thanks to the volume of layers and effects, faces are awkward, rocky and often oddly proportioned, and the frame-rate regularly dips when you move in close. At times it looks brilliant - and football fans will be hard-pushed not to laugh at the sheer violence of mistimed challenges replayed in highly detail close-ups - but for the most part it looks a little awkward and inorganic.

Boxing's Been Good To Me

'Xbox 360: The Lid Is Off' Screenshot pgr3

Project Gotham Racing 3.

But more on all of that soon. For now, the key point is that Xbox 360 is finished and it is in our lounge. You may stop groaning about viral marketing now, and poor old J Allard - presumably weary from the seemingly endless number of interviews he's given since May - can take a rest. With the umbilical cord cut, hopefully most of the posturing - from them in Redmond and us in the media - will now fade away.

Arguably what Xbox 360 does today isn't hugely relevant to the big picture nobody can see yet (but everyone's debating). Whether Xbox 360 succeeds will have a lot more to do with the loyalties of individual developers, nailed deadlines and how people from all walks of the games industry respond to the technical challenges over the coming months and years, and that in turn will have a huge bearing on the kind of software and developers Xbox 360 can attract in later life.

Whether you buy it now or wait and see is a decision you've either made already or will make on the strength of the launch-game reviews, so for now what we'll say is this: it's a handsome machine, lovingly engineered, and its unified interface and range of functions all contribute to its most easily identified characteristic - that of a conscious entertainment hub, rather than a brain-dead media player. There are limits to what it can do - some we've explored here, and some that won't become clear for another two years - but for now what's more important is that it's here, and it's going to open lots of doors. Just beware that it prefers to come in through Windows, eh?

Xbox 360 launches in North America on November 22nd, Europe on December 2nd, and in Japan on December 10th. The Japanese model comes with a hard disk as standard. European software line-up details are available elsewhere on the site.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (109) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Tyronne #1 6 years ago

    Still not gonna get one til next year.

  • mr-retail #2 6 years ago

    So all we need now is some stock then!

  • davyuk #3 6 years ago

    What does Halo 2 look like. Do tell.

  • krudster #4 6 years ago

    Can't tell yet - it needs to download extra stuff, and we can't get onto Live yet.

  • Huntcjna #5 6 years ago

    I forgive your lack of a "Whats New" now Tom because that was a cracking little article.

  • kangarootoo #6 6 years ago

    "but you can also turn off auto-aim and the camera's auto-centre, and for driving games you can set a default transmission type, camera angle, and your preferred acceleration and braking controls (the triggers, by default)."

    Christ thats cool, and a great idea from a dev point of view.

  • Furbs #7 6 years ago

    Late night last night then? :p

    Who gets to take it home? And I'm assuming you guys have an HDReady TV there at EG Towers?

  • kangarootoo #8 6 years ago

    "The controller looks very average"

    I had some sarcastic crap all typed out there, but I'm dancing to a new tune now after drinking tea all day instead of coffee, so I shall simply wish you a good weekend :)

  • krudster #9 6 years ago

    Tom's got the debug currently to play the games, I'm messing around with the retail unit, looking at photos and streaming music over the network and that sort of jazz.

  • RedPanda #10 6 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • lennon #11 6 years ago

    Played on a 360 earlier today and the controller is anything but average. A little small perhaps for my hands but felt very confortable.

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #12 6 years ago

    Does it make your hands go green?

  • Teeth #13 6 years ago

    Thanks for the article guys. I'm just waiting for arnie to pop in and say something completely insane. I'll be over here...

  • myiagros #14 6 years ago

    been playing it in my local GAME store for the last two days.
    As yet as impressed but only when playing on a high definition TV set.
    I agree with EG that you can notice a difference on a normal TV, but by rekoning not to a great enough degree.
    As for the games, Call of Duty and Kameo are both very good games but with the exception of visuals i dont see them as things which could not have been done on Xbox.

    Overall i would say that if you havn't got an HDTV or can't yet afford one, it is not quite yet the time to buy.
    If however you are one of the few with a High Deffinition set, or can afford to buy one now, then jump right in and enjoy all the glory of a £2000 PC for £300.
    Hopefully in time new gameplay experiences will emerge and so called "Killer Apps" will appear, but until then I will be waiting with hope.

  • lennon #15 6 years ago

    Sadly not as that would have got me the afternoon off work!

  • lennon #16 6 years ago

    Certainly not :) I read a report that they are redisigning that hideous thing.

  • Yossarian #17 6 years ago

    good article in every respect

  • Furbs #18 6 years ago

    krudster...erm you know your PC can do all that stuff too dontcha? :p

    ITS ALL ABOUT THE GAMES BAAAAYBE!!

  • myiagros #19 6 years ago

    With regards to what EG said about Fifa 06, one question, Why was it not in high def already for PC.
    Goes to show you how bad a time PC games have been getting from console ports.

  • Mr_Brown #20 6 years ago

    "Still not gonna get one til next year. "

    By the looks of the Pre Order situation over here...I doubt many people will have a choice :(

  • Wobble #21 6 years ago

    sooooo ... . 4xAA?

    /hides

  • myiagros #22 6 years ago

    "What does Halo 2 look like. Do tell."
    "Can't tell yet - it needs to download extra stuff, and we can't get onto Live yet."

    I thought that Halo and Halo 2 were suposed to work straight out of the box?

  • myiagros #23 6 years ago

    thanks disc.
    Still a shame companies like EA didn't see PC gamers as important enough to make there games look as good as possible for them.
    However they do see those few people who will manage to get a 360 this year, and who want to by a cut down version of Fifa 06 as more important.

  • krudster #24 6 years ago

    They do, but sans Hi-def upgrades.

  • Jetset_UK #25 6 years ago

    So whats a debug unit then?

  • BenLight #26 6 years ago

    I'd be pissing my pants to get one...except I'm crapping them in anticipation over the PS3.

  • All_Action_Hero #27 6 years ago

    i'd say something random for teeth, but he may be surprised at my reaction, not bias.

    still, the real next gen's arrived eh boys?

  • el_pollo_diablo #28 6 years ago

    Nice article.

    Isn't the next gen arriving a bit too quickly though? I think the current ream of machines have got a good 3 years left in them.

    But I'm a bit like that...

  • tonynibbles #29 6 years ago

    PS3 = T3H R34L N3XT G3N!

    Sorry.

    Really sorry.

  • ecureuil #30 6 years ago

    Revolution is the only real next gen.

  • myiagros #31 6 years ago

    Untill something great comes out i'm sticking this gen, i still have loads of fantastic games to play.

  • ecureuil #32 6 years ago

    I think the current ream of machines have got a good 3 years left in them.

    You are aware than the PS2 is nearly 7 years old, right? Xbox might have ended prematurely, but PS2 is way past it's sell-by date.

  • krudster #33 6 years ago

    A debug machine is another name for the "Reviewer's kit", which is essentially a machine that run 'gold' discs, or review code. It doesn't run retail discs, though, and these gold discs won't run on the normal retail machines. It's also grey instead of "ice white" or whatever colour is.

  • WickedDeeJ #34 6 years ago

    I'm wondering if you can answer a question about the powersupply: Is it a universal one like on laptops that can handle both 110V/220V 60/50Hz?

  • Corben_Dallas #35 6 years ago

    Ok please kind peeps at EG.

    does it have an onbaord battery that keeps track of the date and time. IE if u unplug it, do u have to re-enter time and date every time u unplug the console.???
    ?????

  • thegamesthething #36 6 years ago

    nice intro to the new kit thanks

    would be interested to know whether you think wireless controllers are up to the job, or would you still prefer the wired solution for reliability/responsiveness?

  • Teeth #37 6 years ago


    does it have an onbaord battery that keeps track of the date and time. IE if u unplug it, do u have to re-enter time and date every time u unplug the console.???
    ?????

    That is a fine question!

  • pinhead #38 6 years ago

    Good article, looking forwards to the games reviews over the coming weeks.

    I am hoping that my 360 is delivered to me on the 2nd from amazon as I ordered it the day it was made available on the site. I have the day booked off and everything.

    Fingers and toes crossed...

  • tonynibbles #39 6 years ago

    I think the chances of it forgetting the date and time are pretty much ZERO.

    Come on, what kind of dumb-ass question is that? Does Gamecube, PS2, PSP, any digital camera... infact, does any modern digital device FORGET the date and time!?

    I think maybe some 70's VCRs forget the date and time, but this really is a silly question...

    Unless, of course you were being sarcastic, which, actually, I think you must've been...

    In which case, sorry!

  • ecureuil #40 6 years ago

    Come on, what kind of dumb-ass question is that? Does Gamecube, PS2, PSP, any digital camera... infact, does any modern digital device FORGET the date and time!?

    If you unplug the Xbox it loses the date and time and you have to put it back in every time. So annoying, I don't even bother re-entering it on my Xbox anymore.

  • Teeth #41 6 years ago

    Yep, xbox loses the date and time every time it's unplugged.

  • tonynibbles #42 6 years ago

    Meh.

    Now who's the fool.

    I of course, never realised this. BUT... FECKING HELL!?

    What were Microsoft thinking. Surely a simple capactor, like many digital devices would provide enough temporary power to keep a fricking clock going.
    Man, Im finding this all too hard to believe today.
    Like, thats proper madness.

  • thegamesthething #43 6 years ago

    it holds the date/time for an hour or so before losing it

  • MrWonderstuff #44 6 years ago

    I have a nice widescreen television but its not High Def. Sitting four feet away on my sofa would it make that much of difference?

    I'm a PC gamer but am tempted by the 360. However all this talk of high definition is putting me off.

  • RabidMonkey #45 6 years ago

    That's like mine - I have to re-enter the date/time even if it's only been off (not un-plugged) for a few hours or so.

    My Xbox is not a launch model either - it was bought the start of 2003!
    Edited by 1 at 18/11/05 @ 18:12

  • gibbondrives #46 6 years ago

    Clock Battery Fun!

    My Xbox (first production run at the £300 price tag) - unplug it for more than 6 hours and the clock is reset (that's even stated in the instruction manual).

    My Gamecube - unplug it for more than an hour and the clock is frozen, so if it's unplugged at 2pm and its 6pm when it's plugged back in, it thinks it's 3pm.

    My PS2 (the small one) - unplug it for a month or two and the clock will be barely an hour out.

  • redd #47 6 years ago

    maybe now the clock will adjust itself online :p

  • Feanor #48 6 years ago

    It would be great if once Xbox Live for the 360 is up and running, Eurogamer could tell us what PES 5 is like on the 360 with its better control pad and higher resolution.

  • alpha-0ne #49 6 years ago

    Credit to eurogamer for saying they will not be rushing reviews in a day good plan i want review thats include offline and online play most i have read so far are just taking in the offline elements which is many of the games is only half the experience . thinking of PGR3, Perfect Dark

  • byron_hinson #50 6 years ago

    If it makes any difference, you can hardly notice the difference with Halo 1 and 2 on the Xbox 360 on a HDTV, thats my view from playing them though.

  • alpha-0ne #51 6 years ago

    i could tell the difference even if only the AA

  • byron_hinson #52 6 years ago

    Considering our site also have the Debug and Retail unit its not really a lie is it. It seriously does not look much different, believe me or not its up to you, but you will be disappointed when you see it. Whether other titles will look better i've yet to see. Yes there are less jagged edges, but thats all you'll get. Increasing it to 720p and not improving textures won't perform miracles.
    Edited by 1 at 18/11/05 @ 19:27

  • All_Action_Hero #53 6 years ago

    the clock does adjust itself online, as does the date.

  • byron_hinson #54 6 years ago

    Perhaps they haven't recieved the updated debug software that our site got today? (Debug units can be "recovered" into retail or debug units via the DVD software we get given) They are correct though for the retail units we recieved, (one of which didn't work...we're told this isn't a sign for the in-store retail units though) as the retail ones come with software that runs both Halo and Halo 2 straight out of the box without connecting to Live!, but is old backward compatibility software that will get updated on launch day. So maybe thats a STFU too? but I'm not up myself to say it ;o) They may be right thats why it doesn't look much different, but we were not informed of there being no AA, but when we tried them today, they look smoother just that you won't be impressed by what you see.
    Edited by 2 at 18/11/05 @ 19:54

  • byron_hinson #55 6 years ago

    ah its no problem, i haven't had enough coffee today. I'm still annoyed MS UK PR are so useless with any basic questions you ask them so im in the mood for a fight lol

  • byron_hinson #56 6 years ago

    also wanted to credit Eurogamer for not rushing the reviews. We know how long other sites have had their debug and retail units, believe me when i say that one site that a few people have been quoting the reviews of in the forum, reviewed one title a day after getting it and not playing it on Live! If thats the way to review games these days i'm glad i'm always behind on them!

  • kangarootoo #57 6 years ago

    "So annoying, I don't even bother re-entering it on my Xbox anymore."

    Regarding the date and time loss issue, I am same and don't tend to set it up anymore. Hitman Contracts was one game that had an unusual save game system that went a bit wrong if the effective date and time when saves were made got screwed around (thats a shit sentence I know).

    For the record, the Evox OS that you would install on a chipped XB, should you be so inclined, uses an internet side NTP server to correct your time and date settings on boot. Simple, but rather clever. MS could set this up themselves with barely any effort, maybe they have. EG?

    EDIT: NTP means network time protocol. It means that a client can connect over a network to a server that tells it what the correct time is. Dead handy if it is important that all your PCs have the same time and date info. Still rather handy if you shift your XB around a bit or turn it off at night.
    Edited by 1 at 18/11/05 @ 20:14

  • majestic #58 6 years ago

    just gonna wait and see what the ps3 can do before i make my choice

  • foamy #59 6 years ago

    I soooooooooo wanna buy this :D

  • jozz #60 6 years ago

    I really can't be arsed to wait most likely a whole year (possibly more for PAL release) to play a next-gen console. I just hope I get one sooner rather than later.

  • admir #61 6 years ago

    does it have sleep mode like the psp or ds

  • Jmog #62 6 years ago

    Hibernation on a console!

    What a concept. (It would be a good idea for the HD-equipped one at least)

    Actually the first Xbox has one. If you don't touch any buttons for a certain amount of time, the screen dims.

  • beep #63 6 years ago

    How loud is the 360 compared to XBox, PS2, Gamecube, etc?

  • krudster #64 6 years ago

    Time/date settings seem to stay this time. As for fan noise, it's barely audiable. Far quieter than the Xbox.

  • YUSHi #65 6 years ago

    That last line kills much of the 360's chance of getting into my living room... for people like me who can't stand using Windows at all the 360 is going to be somewhat of a bad dream with all it's WMA's and WMV's - maybe in a year or two after someone hacks it and opens it up to other platforms i'll consider getting my credit card out but until then Microsoft can forget it even if PGR3 looks jaw droopingly good.

  • urban #66 6 years ago

    so that means the uk has 49,999 now...gonna sell it ? :)

  • tengu #67 6 years ago

    "Time/date settings seem to stay this time. As for fan noise, it's barely audiable. Far quieter than the Xbox."

    W00T! Xbox is smarter than my watch at last! ;)

  • bootsy_NL_30 #68 6 years ago

    this is what I've been waiting for all week , thankyou EG
    "no we refusre to call them blades"

    excellent,tight,concise journalism

    you guys piss me off with the terrible advertisements (quake 4 die die die) the mind numbingly bad news section,but the reviews and features .....you guys always come out on top.

    fantastic

  • banjo21 #69 6 years ago

    Does the generic user set up (invert Y axis you mentioned) allow you to swap left and right thumbsticks? Its getting too common for us lefties to be left in the cold because no southpaw option e.g Far Cry and BFMC were instant returns for me. I see COD2 on the 360 also has no southpaw option when playing on a POD in Game - so can you set it in the 'dashboard'?

  • thegamesthething #70 6 years ago

    yeah couldnt agree more on this one, several console fps' go straight back for this reason, as will cod2 and pd0 if the same applies

    any comments on the wireless controllers anyone? wireless any good, fast enough, not too heavy / too much hassle with the batteries?

  • brainbird #71 6 years ago

    Southpaw fo' life!

    How difficult can it be to change the button/thumbstick layout for a programmer?

  • crashVoodoo #72 6 years ago

    you guys piss me off with the terrible advertisements (quake 4 die die die)

    get urself *firefox and install the *adblock plugin *links will open in new windows

    i dont see any ads including obtrusive flashbased popups, even if one does sneak thru its a simple right click & 'block this ad'. pages load quicker too cos it actually removes the ads as it downloads the html instead of downloading everything first & then hiding the bits you dont want. 7.611 seconds in firefox (it has a timer) vs the 38seconds before i stopped counting in IE.
    Edited by 1 at 19/11/05 @ 11:33

  • bootsy_NL_30 #73 6 years ago

    @crash voodoo
    thanks for the tip!

  • crashVoodoo #74 6 years ago

    no probs ... fasterfox is a good plugin too - makes better use of your idle bandwidth :)

    question to EG ... i've noticed on some other sites it says that things look shit hot in hi-def but not all that much of an upgrade when viewed on a standard tv. thing is, their standard def is NTSC which not to put too fine a point on it ... sucks ass.

    what does it look like on OUR standard def tvs. i know the ATI vid chip does all that scaling down, will we get a better deal simply cos we have more lines to play with ?
    Edited by 3 at 19/11/05 @ 12:20

  • #75 6 years ago

    I've tried controller s on my bros. Xbox and it feels super smooth to hold and play. This new Xbox controller's ergonomics look even better.

    Shame I have absolutely no interest in the games though.

  • kangarootoo #76 6 years ago

    " Does the generic user set up (invert Y axis you mentioned) allow you to swap left and right thumbsticks?"

    I remember thinking the same thing when the user settings page got a mention in an EG article a while back. I'm actually right handed myself, but have seen the fury a lefty can suffer when somthing so simple is neglected.

    The more of that type of basic option taken out of the hands of individual devs the better IMO, left handed support is exactly the sort of thing that can get overlooked or simply deemed unimportant (man, I have been in some frustrating meetings on that one), especially if time is tight.

  • brainbird #77 6 years ago

    I'm right-handed myself, but I always play fps games with the southpaw setting. Having had an RC car and playing a lot of racing games, I feel it natural to move with the right stick and steer/turn with the left.
    And it can ruin the whole game if a stupid designer doesn't include this option.
    EDIT: typo.
    Edited by 1 at 19/11/05 @ 13:02

  • morriss #78 6 years ago

    so...out of 10?

  • Pho-Zoon #79 6 years ago

    anyone else preordering on argos.co.uk?

  • Mashum #80 6 years ago

    That's bang on 'roo! Us lefties are all to often forgotten :(

    To anyone with the power to decide on controller layouts: please try playing Halo with the southpaw controller setup to witness the hoplessness yourself.

    ... Just thinking about playing FarCry and I can feel the rage building now, like a red mist, here comes the Magic Roundabout music as well... that's always a bad sign...

    WWaaaarrgghh!!!!
    Edited by 2 at 19/11/05 @ 15:23

  • Darren #81 6 years ago

    Very nice write up, I enjoyed reading that.

  • captain-future #82 6 years ago

    how look games on Standard TVs?
    what about VGA?

  • Xerx3s #83 6 years ago

    I didnt like the spad for the original xbox, it felt to small for my hands. However, this controller is even smaller and it actually feels fun to play with. Of course i will have to clock some serious hours before i can really tell, but id recon that this will be one of the best controllers that ive ever played with...

    Btw, do you have some kind of contract with ms that forces you to review in hd tv or something? Just wondering....

    /has 2 hdtv's....wont be using them unless the hd tft quality is way better than the crt quality....

  • Furbs #84 6 years ago

    "/has 2 hdtv's....wont be using them unless the hd tft quality is way better than the crt quality...."
    Umm why? Have you ever even seen something run at 720p?

  • kangarootoo #85 6 years ago

    @brainbird

    "And it can ruin the whole game if a stupid designer doesn't include this option."

    Its not always our fault mate*. Stuff like that needs designing, coding, art etc. If the powers that be don't think its important, no amount of designer stupidity removal is going to get it into the game.

    *though in this case, about half the time it probably is :)


    @Xerx3s
    "I didnt like the spad for the original xbox, it felt to small for my hands"

    Holy crap, I thought I was the only one. I much prefer the old style controller too (except for the white and black button placement, which was better on the S IMO).
    Edited by 1 at 19/11/05 @ 18:26

  • RedPanda #86 6 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • Speedwolf #87 6 years ago

    *sniff*
    That's beautiful man.

  • Hicksy #88 6 years ago

    Good start - especially like the Ben Folds reference "Boxing's been good to me" :D

  • JeStar #89 6 years ago

    Cant wait to play on my Xbox360! Its gonna be amazing!

  • willetts345 #90 6 years ago

    lookin 4ward to it i pre ordered at comet on tinternet and they more or less promised a be4 xmas delivery so im still hopefull i pre ordered in october so maybe a little late but ya never know fingers crossed,
    p.s anyone else that ordered at comet hav u had any delivery notification yet??

  • PearOfAnguish #91 6 years ago

    enjoy all the glory of a £2000 PC for £300.

    Plus £1500 TV. And a PC that can do CoD 2 will cost less than £2k. It's got to be the first console that hasn't immediately trumped the PC in processing and graphical capabilities.

    But anyway, it's the games that count. And what with wonderful titles like FIFA (it's the same as the Xbox version! With slightly better graphics!), PGR3 (less tracks! Less cars! Shiny!) and Kameo (dull 3D platformer! Nice graphics!) at least they've got that covered.

    Oh dear.


    So, when can I install MAME on it?
    Edited by 1 at 20/11/05 @ 19:12

  • malteaserhead #92 6 years ago

    /still doesn't get why people insist on posting why they aren't interested etc.. methinks the ladies doth protest too much;)

  • mr_steve100 #93 6 years ago

    I remember when you could have game-saves saved into the onboard non-volatile(sp) on the Sega Saturn with just a single flat-cell battery, never mind just the time/date.

    And now they can't even put a battery in to keep the time/date (except the PS2, probably).

    And does Tom Bramwell listen to Ben Folds (re: 'Boxings been good to me' paragraph title)?

  • byron_hinson #94 6 years ago

    Can tell Pear hasn't played it...what PC right now can play COD 2 in the ultimate detail at a constant 60 FPS? None. Try King Kong on Xbox 360...PC's that are 3GHz, 2GB Ram and the latest Graphics card are stuggling to get close to the smoothness that the 360 version does compared to the "Gamer" edition of King Kong.

  • Yossarian #95 6 years ago

    and, byron doesn't note, these are the rushed, underproduced, underdeveloped, and unrepresentative launch titles.

  • tengu #96 6 years ago

    Rushed? Kameo and PDZ? lol, those are anything but rushed I think :)

  • PearOfAnguish #97 6 years ago

    CoD 2 plays perfectly on my PC, thank you very much. Everything on in lovely widescreen. Don't see why I should pay out almost £2k to play it again on my TV, i'll wait until there's something worth the money, or until someone cracks the thing wide open.

    and, byron doesn't note, these are the rushed, underproduced, underdeveloped, and unrepresentative launch titles.

    Yeah, I'm sure the system itself is the second coming but these first games are nothing special. Writers across the world must have been having heart attacks trying to come up with new superlatives to use in their reviews of a bunch of average titles. Still, they'll probably get free consoles out of it, so no harm done.
    Edited by 1 at 20/11/05 @ 22:05

  • malteaserhead #98 6 years ago

    £1500??
    /opens a telly shop, with huge windows, where Pear lives

  • caligari #99 6 years ago

    Okay, I thought I'd see what the fuss was all about...so I checked out the PGR 3 review on Gamespot.

    8.8...hmm, perhaps a little too low for the hardcore fan-boi's that swear by this game.

    Can I also just add that the screenshots look a little like Shane from the X-Factor...BLAND (hah, see what I did there?!).

    But then I think it still looks much too similar to the original Metropolis Street Racer on the Dreamcast (only more 'plastic')...and LORDY was that ever a yawn-fest.

  • PearOfAnguish #100 6 years ago

    £800? Gone down since I last looked, and you're not gonna get anything special for that. Still too much just to make some games look shiny. But hey, if you wanna drop that kind of cash just to play teh n3xt gen omg, that's up to you.

    I have no idea whether CoD 2 runs at 60FPS, I haven't checked, but it runs fast enough for me not to notice any problems with the framerate, which is all I need.

  • byron_hinson #101 6 years ago

    Actually for just over £700 you'll get the excellent Samsung HDTV that even Microsoft are using to show off the 360 in stores.

  • Corben_Dallas #102 6 years ago

    Cheers Krudster!

    My XB forgets everytime its unplugs and its a pain to reenter the time/date every restart, my PS2 keeps it in memory and u only every do it once.

    Glad to see they sorted this.

  • Nillsens #103 6 years ago

    Does it play WoW? :p

  • bootsy_NL_30 #104 6 years ago


    someone here compared pgr3 to MSR (ok I saw the gamespot video review and I dont know how you think that but ok)
    COD 2 I agree with I run it fine on my mid level PC so theres no point buying a console for it.
    Kameo -----mwa
    Condemned...does look beautiful etc but just seems to lack the pedigree of the japanese survival horror games.
    PDZ looks like a pile of steaming crap with some of the worst character designs ever (http://www.x boxyde.com/news_2325_en.html) and blatent product placement for a certain TV manufacturer
    so whats left? a few american sports games,fifa (uh yeah Pro Evo 4 evenings are really going to be replaced by that!)
    and .........well what else...DOA4 the tech demo of the fighting genre, just play any DOA series after a game of Soul Caliber and tell me if 60fps is a big deal.

    I'm playing FEAR at the moment and Far Cry on my PC and on my single core P4 processor with a mid range 6xxx series card I got enemies trying to flank me, using cover,sneaking up behind me bla bla bla ifyou read or watch a 360 in action it just doesnt feel that different to the last generation Xbox games. (as far as AI goes)

  • brombeer #105 6 years ago

    Not only the AI Bootsy...

  • yorkiebar #106 6 years ago

    just played COD2 on a 360 - fantastic. Graphics stunning, and ultra smooth - very impressed. Amazed how big the console is, though - almost as big as the current gen xbox - only looking like a kenwood fizzy drink machine.

  • SlackMaster #107 6 years ago

    TBH it'd be the games that'd tempt me or disuade me from getting the 360 rather than Hi-Def and I certainly wouldn't be buying a Hi-Def TV just to play a next gen console. ATM the prices are too high for HDTV and I've just got better things to spend my money on.

    Will probably be waiting until next year, maybe mid 2006 before getting a 360, and ATM I can wait.

    I think it looks good and I've always considered the XBox a good console, but if the Revolution comes out around that time that I decide to buy the 360 I may opt for a REV instead.
    Edited by 1 at 22/11/05 @ 11:15

  • shamblemonkee #108 6 years ago

    Pho-Zoon: "anyone else preordering on argos.co.uk?"

    Moi, what was i thinking?!

  • Shaolin_Joe #109 6 years ago

    Not getting one.

    Hated the xbox! it was too big, too ugly, too generic and not enough unique games.
    I got an xbox just to play Full Spectrum Warrior and what happend? it came ourt on PC!!!

    So I sold my xbox on ebay and got a PC version of FSW instead!

    Gonna get Call of Duty 2 on PC and as for Perfect Dark Zero!!!! Man that looks bad!

    For now I'll stick to my PS2 and Cube! :)

  • foamy #110 6 years ago

    Doods, watch out. X360's on america are all f*cked up. Excessive heating. Not enough cooling. Where the heck is water cooling?

    Anyway, I hope we get the 1.1 version or higher here on Europe.
    Although, I'm still getting one. :D

    http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=462099
    Edited by 1 at 24/11/05 @ 20:01

  • crashVoodoo #111 6 years ago

    "i've noticed on some other sites it says that things look shit hot in hi-def but not all that much of an upgrade when viewed on a standard tv. thing is, their standard def is NTSC which not to put too fine a point on it ... is crap

    what does it look like on OUR standard def tvs. i know the ATI vid chip does all that scaling down, will we get a better deal simply cos we have more lines to play with ?"

    did anyone actually know the answer to me question ... EG ? anyone ? no-one?