The Next Gen War

Xbox 360

Release date: 11/22/2005

Retail Boxes:
1. Xbox 360 Core - $299.99
Wired controller, composite video cables, no hard drive

2. Xbox 360 - $399.99
20 GB hard drive, wireless controller, Xbox Live headset, hi-def component video cables

Backwards Compatibility: Moderate - Some games work flawlessly, others have issues, and some flat out don't work. Check this list for details.

Availability: Excellent - Readily available in stores

A relative newcomer to the console landscape, Microsoft's second generation Xbox has a massive head start on its peers. Now a year old, developers are becoming more accustomed to its capabilities and creating absolutely groundbreaking visuals and cutting edge gameplay experiences. With over 15 million 360s expected to have been sold around the world by the end of the year, the sleek white machine has a significant head start on its competition.

Although the company was a late entrant to the console race, it pioneered the integration of single sign-on online services and multiplayer gaming into its titles. It was a big hit, too -- since its launch in 2002, 236,000 total years of Xbox Live gameplay have been recorded, and Sony and Nintendo's online offerings to date can't match its functionality. Basic access to the service's downloads and content is free, but there's a $50/year subscription fee if you want to play multiplayer titles.

If you're fed up with going to the store for your games, you'll be pleased to hear there are also a number of downloadable games waiting on Xbox Live. Sure, you'll still have to head for a store to find a "real game", but there's an impressive selection of arcade games, retro games, board games, puzzlers, and simple action titles already waiting on Xbox Live to be downloaded for sub-$10 prices. Many have online multiplayer functions, too -- but you can only download them on hard drive-equipped 360s.

Besides hard drives, inside the 360 lurks a selection of silicon that would still shame a powerful PC, even a year after its release. At its heart is a custom-made triple-core CPU, running at 3.2GHz and cooled by a mammoth copper heat pipe sculpture and a pair of fans. Graphics are provided a high-powered ATI chip, and the machine supports output all the way up to 1080p resolution, depending on the content you're watching.

Although it can't play high-def movies out of the box, Microsoft is releasing a HD-DVD drive add-on that costs $200. Starting in just a few weeks, you'll also be able to "rent" both high and standard definition movies online, by downloading one-use copies from Xbox Live. TV shows will also be available in the same way, although you'll get to keep those for good.

Top Five Game Picks:

1. Gears of War One of the best action games of the year, and the perfect showcase for the 360's power.

2. Dead Rising: Dead Rising mimics Romero's classic Dawn of the Dead movie, dropping its unfortunate star in a zombie-infested mall.

3. Saints Row The closest you'll get to GTA on the 360 until this time next year.

4. Battle for Middle Earth 2 You can't do a real-time strategy game on a console. Or so we thought, until we tried this Lord of the Rings-licensed stunner.

5. Prey Spatial awareness is king in this upside-down, back-to-front shooter - Prey loves to mess with your sense of balance and orientation, with delightfully disorienting results.

Choose A System:

Microsoft Xbox 360 Sony PlayStation 3 Nintendo Wii

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