Xbox 360: Something Shiny, Something new

In my childhood days, I remember going to my friend's house every weekend. Was it because he was a great friend to hang out with? No, it was because he owned the latest Super Nintendo system, while I was still playing around with my Atari 2600. The pixilated blocks on his Nintendo looked more like people, or tanks, or aero planes than the pixilated blocks on my Atari. (Which looked like, well, blocks).

Fast forward about 20 years and here we are with the latest iteration of the console war. The first contender being Microsoft's Xbox 360. We've now gone from barely recognizable pixilated characters on screen to barely distinguishable from reality. The Xbox's next-gen console is really starting to blur the line between a video game, and watching a movie or a sports game on TV.

In Street Fighter, we exchanged insults with our buddy sitting next to us, as we moved our characters left or right in a 2D environment. We could jump, and there were 6 basic moves (3 punches, 3 kicks) and a couple of special moves. Back then, it was a revolution in gaming, and I remember all of us kids talking about it every day, thinking about how far technology has come. Now, I'm exchanging insults with a stranger halfway across the globe through Xbox live, while we move incredibly detailed characters in a 3D environment. Our fighters perform hundreds of different moves. Punching, kicking, blocking, throwing, counter attacks, dodging, and other moves spanning several martial arts disciplines. We use the environment to our advantage, kicking the other fighters through to another room or another level.

However, I'm not completely amazed with this. In fact, I'm very nonchalant about this. I think it looks great, but it could be better, and it's not because I'm an adult now too. Kids all around the world appreciate the games, but they know that in a year, or even a few months, it will be a lot better. In our technology rush, this is no great breakthrough; it's just a small step.

The Xbox 360, is probably closer to being a computer than any of the current consoles out on the market (So much so, that it does occasionally crash and overheat). It has a hard drive and internet capabilities (for playing games and downloading content).

The 360 is definitely superior to its Original Xbox counterpart in every way. It's more powerful, the games look better (although a lot of them play the same), the online play is better, the wireless controllers feel great, and added features like achievements really add a satisfying dimension to finishing a level, or defeating 50 opponents in a row. Of course, High Definition is the way to go with the Xbox 360. With a HD TV, or computer screen, the 360 really shines with graphics looking so crisp and shiny that they will hypnotize you.

I can't wait to see what Sony, and Nintendo has in store with their new console Iterations.

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