Xbox 360 in Review

The machine has been out for 8 months, looks to be on track to have an installed base of 4-6 million units before competitors even hit the market... is it worth a buy?

Spending $400 on a machine where the primary function is video games, people who are not "early adoptors" need reasons to validate the purchase. (Unlike me and cataclyst... in this case, me more than him)

So are there enough reasons for someone who plays games to invest?

Depends on what you like:

If you are a fan of:

- JRPG (Japanese style RPGs: Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, etc)

The answer is No. While some games are on their way, if this is your primary love of video games, this is not the platform for you yet. Hold onto your money, wait to see if anything you like appears on the competitors, or some new releases. If you don't have a PS2, get one... there are like a million of these games on that platform. The PS3 will probably be better suited for this genre as well.

- Racing

Iffy. There are a few choices: Burnout Revenge, Ridge Racer, and Project Gotham 3. PGR3 and Burnout are both extremely solid games, but both are arcade style racers, Burnout being on the far arcade end of the spectrum and PGR3 pulling up the middle. There still is no sim racer available. This will be rectified with the release of Forza 2 later this year and a hardcore force-feedback steering wheel. If you like sim racing, wait some more time. If you just like arcade style racing, it's already pretty solid.

- Shooters (FP and 3rd P)

This is the genre that defined the original Xbox, and it looks like X360 will just continue to dominate this category. From Call of Duty 2, to Prey, to Chromehounds, to the upcoming Gears of War, and Halflife 2, and of course Halo 3. You can get an X360 right now and have tons to like and play.

- WRPG (Western)

One word. Oblivion. Two words. Mass Effect. Western RPG's found a home on the original Xbox, when previously they had existed exclusively on the PC. The X360 will likely dominate this category as well in the upcoming system wars. Right now, oblivion is the one trick pony, it is also available on the PC. If you have a rig that can run oblivion, you might want to still hold out on buying the X360. Mass Effect however, when it releases, will force you to take another look at the system. Yes.. it looks to be that good.

- RTS

This genre for most is best played on the PC. The PC will still be home to most RTS, the control scheme simply suits the games better. Lord Of the Rings convinced me that it is in fact POSSIBLE to play an RTS on a console, something I didn't believe in before, but if your love of gaming is RTS, you shouldn't be gaming on consoles. On the plus side, know that you CAN still enjoy this genre on your X360 if you like a variety of software.

- Music

DDR (Dance Dance Revolution), Karaoke Revolution, Guitar hero kind of games look to be appearing in force on the X360. They will likely all appear on both the PS3 and the X360. Until more details on the PS3 comes out, a buying decision might come down to the fact that on the X360 you can download new songs for these games online. There aren't ANY yet, so hold onto your money if this is your primary gaming love.

- Fighters

DOA4 is your only option right now. It is unclear if the X360 will ever get Tekken or Virtua Fighter. Next week, Street Fighter 2 will be released on Xbox Live arcade for $8 or $10 or something. Probably shouldn't buy a X360 right now for fighters unless you LOOOOVE DOA.


- Puzzle, quirky, diversions

I think X360 will have this category won hands down. Xbox Live Arcade features the ability to download and play $5-$15 games. Card games like Texas Hold 'em, uno, and Spades, or arcade shooters like galaga and new versions like Geometry wars and Mutant Storm. There are currently over 20 of these small titles, puzzle games like Astropop and bejeweled 2 and Zuma, and starting 2 weeks ago, they are releasing a new title every wednesday. They will hit over 50 titles by the end of the year. Now, if you want to spend $400 on a system to play Galaga... I would have to seriously question your line of reasoning, but it's nice to have the options. Geometry Wars alone ($5) has still probably logged more gaming hours than any other game on my system.

- Backwards Compatibility

The X360 is now backwards compatible with over 200 Xbox games and still growing, if you never owned an Xbox and want some cheap bargin bin titles that are still quality games, getting a X360 isn't such a bad idea.

In conclusion, there are a few very solid titles out for the X360. It is still in its first year of life, and I think it has more quality titles than either the Xbox or PS2 did during their first year. The PS2 had... errm.. nothing... and the Xbox had Halo. If spending $400 on a game system seems like a lot to you, then wait. The end of this year will be very interesting to say the least, and there are a lot of releases slated for the fall/winter time frame, and who knows what kind of stops are going to be pulled as the competition launches.

But, if a close friend of yours says "Buy it now for this game and come play with us. You had better listen to him..." So that said... "Buy it now for Chrome Hounds, and join our clan... the war awaits!"