I was a mean Pong and Pac-Man player in my day (never mind when), but that's about where my video game career ended. So I don't quite fit the profile of the gaming fanatic who might be reading this column and standing in line in hopes of taking home Microsoft's Xbox 360. (Good luck.) After months of hype, the souped-up video game console becomes available on Tuesday at midnight, well ahead of Nintendo's Revolution and Sony's PlayStation 3. Those rival systems are due in 2006.
But after playing with Xbox for a few days, I'm ready to make a video game comeback. Xbox 360 is an immersive system whose dazzling cinematic graphics and Dolby Digital surround sound are especially addictive when connected to a high-definition TV.
If you can afford it, spring for the premium edition. Besides a hard drive, it includes a wireless controller (the core system includes only a wired version), headset and high-def cable.
For hardcore and even casual gamers, that hard drive is a must. You'll be able to store games (and other content) and also play some older Xbox titles. Microsoft says more than 200 current Xbox games are compatible with the latest machine.
For now, the lineup for new games is sparse but diverse. There'll be 18 at launch (in the $50-to-$60 range), including titles from Microsoft Game Studios, as well as such publishers as Activision, Electronic Arts and Namco. More than 200 games are under development, Microsoft says.
Still, all new titles meet high-def standards (in geeky terms: 720p resolution, 16-by-9 widescreen, multichannel sound).
I was entertained by most of the games (and, because I'm past my video game prime, frustrated, too). I was transformed back to 1941 as I took on the role of a Russian soldier in the World War II action shooter Call of Duty 2 by Activision. Blood splattered; my controller reverberated.
Video sports
I played nine holes of Pebble Beach in EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06. You could see the shame in Tiger's face as I hit one lousy shot after another. I didn't fare much better coaching the San Diego Chargers against the Oakland Raiders in EA's Madden NFL 06. It gets all the details right, including audible bone-crunching hits.
I liked all three racing games I tried: Namco's Ridge Racer 6, Microsoft's Project Gotham Racing 3 and EA's Need for Speed Most Wanted. Twice, though, Xbox froze, reminding me of the many times over the years that my PCs have crashed.
You can orient the sleek and slightly curvy ivory-colored box horizontally or vertically. (The original Xbox was black and boxy.) Yet, despite Xbox's powerful innards (IBM PowerPC processor, ATI graphics), there isn't a hint of Windows.
The system's dashboard menus, subdivided into Xbox Live, Games, Media and System, are intuitive and appealing. And they're managed by either the controller or a separate remote control. Parents can set family controls to prevent small kids from, say, sampling mature games.
Xbox 360 buyers get a free basic subscription to Xbox Live, Microsoft's online gaming network. That lets you exchange voice and text messages with other members. You can also access Xbox Live Marketplace, to download pictures, game demos and trailers. If you upgrade to gold membership ($50 a year), you can compete in multiplayer games and tournaments, matched against players of similar skill.
Xbox 360 isn't just about games. It can also serve as an entertainment hub. Among its non-gaming stunts:
• It's a progressive scan DVD player (though it can't handle high-def DVDs).
• By hooking a digital camera to Xbox (via one of three USB ports), you can show on TV the images you stored on the camera, rotate pictures and make slide shows.
• Attach a portable music player to Xbox (through USB) and listen to songs through speakers on your TV or home theater. Add a soundtrack for your slide show.
Songs must be in the MP3 or WMA formats and not saddled by digital rights restrictions. Xbox recognized tunes on an iPod Shuffle I'd connected but wouldn't play songs downloaded from iTunes. You can also rip music onto 360's 20-gigabyte removable hard drive. (It's included with the $400 Xbox 360 premium edition.)
• If Xbox (which accepts an Ethernet cable) is connected to your home network, you can stream media files from a Windows XP computer or Windows Media Center PC - including high-def movies.
I connected Xbox to a Sony HDTV in my family room. Then I streamed pictures, music and videos off a Hewlett-Packard Media Center PC in my basement. In this way, Xbox functions as a Media Center "Extender." (I had to download a free software upgrade on the Media Center and temporarily disable my network firewall.)
Those extra features are appealing, but make no mistake: It's the avid gamers who will be lining up around midnight.
There's no reason to rush if you don't yet have HDTV. And you might want to stay on the sidelines to see what Sony's and Nintendo's new entries are made of next year. But until its rivals prove otherwise, Xbox 360 has set the video game benchmark - yes, even besting Pong and Pac-Man.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20051121/tc_usatoday/xbox360revivesaddictivenessofvideogames;_ylt=AiGTf2yVKIfw60l8apSvg8EjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--
But after playing with Xbox for a few days, I'm ready to make a video game comeback. Xbox 360 is an immersive system whose dazzling cinematic graphics and Dolby Digital surround sound are especially addictive when connected to a high-definition TV.
If you can afford it, spring for the premium edition. Besides a hard drive, it includes a wireless controller (the core system includes only a wired version), headset and high-def cable.
For hardcore and even casual gamers, that hard drive is a must. You'll be able to store games (and other content) and also play some older Xbox titles. Microsoft says more than 200 current Xbox games are compatible with the latest machine.
For now, the lineup for new games is sparse but diverse. There'll be 18 at launch (in the $50-to-$60 range), including titles from Microsoft Game Studios, as well as such publishers as Activision, Electronic Arts and Namco. More than 200 games are under development, Microsoft says.
Still, all new titles meet high-def standards (in geeky terms: 720p resolution, 16-by-9 widescreen, multichannel sound).
I was entertained by most of the games (and, because I'm past my video game prime, frustrated, too). I was transformed back to 1941 as I took on the role of a Russian soldier in the World War II action shooter Call of Duty 2 by Activision. Blood splattered; my controller reverberated.
Video sports
I played nine holes of Pebble Beach in EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06. You could see the shame in Tiger's face as I hit one lousy shot after another. I didn't fare much better coaching the San Diego Chargers against the Oakland Raiders in EA's Madden NFL 06. It gets all the details right, including audible bone-crunching hits.
I liked all three racing games I tried: Namco's Ridge Racer 6, Microsoft's Project Gotham Racing 3 and EA's Need for Speed Most Wanted. Twice, though, Xbox froze, reminding me of the many times over the years that my PCs have crashed.
You can orient the sleek and slightly curvy ivory-colored box horizontally or vertically. (The original Xbox was black and boxy.) Yet, despite Xbox's powerful innards (IBM PowerPC processor, ATI graphics), there isn't a hint of Windows.
The system's dashboard menus, subdivided into Xbox Live, Games, Media and System, are intuitive and appealing. And they're managed by either the controller or a separate remote control. Parents can set family controls to prevent small kids from, say, sampling mature games.
Xbox 360 buyers get a free basic subscription to Xbox Live, Microsoft's online gaming network. That lets you exchange voice and text messages with other members. You can also access Xbox Live Marketplace, to download pictures, game demos and trailers. If you upgrade to gold membership ($50 a year), you can compete in multiplayer games and tournaments, matched against players of similar skill.
Xbox 360 isn't just about games. It can also serve as an entertainment hub. Among its non-gaming stunts:
• It's a progressive scan DVD player (though it can't handle high-def DVDs).
• By hooking a digital camera to Xbox (via one of three USB ports), you can show on TV the images you stored on the camera, rotate pictures and make slide shows.
• Attach a portable music player to Xbox (through USB) and listen to songs through speakers on your TV or home theater. Add a soundtrack for your slide show.
Songs must be in the MP3 or WMA formats and not saddled by digital rights restrictions. Xbox recognized tunes on an iPod Shuffle I'd connected but wouldn't play songs downloaded from iTunes. You can also rip music onto 360's 20-gigabyte removable hard drive. (It's included with the $400 Xbox 360 premium edition.)
• If Xbox (which accepts an Ethernet cable) is connected to your home network, you can stream media files from a Windows XP computer or Windows Media Center PC - including high-def movies.
I connected Xbox to a Sony HDTV in my family room. Then I streamed pictures, music and videos off a Hewlett-Packard Media Center PC in my basement. In this way, Xbox functions as a Media Center "Extender." (I had to download a free software upgrade on the Media Center and temporarily disable my network firewall.)
Those extra features are appealing, but make no mistake: It's the avid gamers who will be lining up around midnight.
There's no reason to rush if you don't yet have HDTV. And you might want to stay on the sidelines to see what Sony's and Nintendo's new entries are made of next year. But until its rivals prove otherwise, Xbox 360 has set the video game benchmark - yes, even besting Pong and Pac-Man.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20051121/tc_usatoday/xbox360revivesaddictivenessofvideogames;_ylt=AiGTf2yVKIfw60l8apSvg8EjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--
