Remember when I said that the 360 was lame and all that? I know it seems like such a long time ago that such silly things were produced from my oral cavity to your aural senses. Funny thing about the things I say though.. I’m always completely honest and in the moment. From everything I’d seen and played the 360 looked like it would be somewhere between “super-lame and “not quite worthy of crucifixion.” As I’ve actually been playing it recently, though, I’ve discovered just how far off I was. I was playing pong without a paddle. I was wrong.
I’ve put quite a bit of time into my white box, and I am pleasantly surprised. For one thing, I love new consoles so it could’ve been shit or, even worse, the Atari Jaguar and I still would have caressed it and cared for it like it was my own child. It flexes its community muscle almost constantly and it is so large and sexy that one must wonder if the console is on some kind of steroid to produce such results. The online structure is only in the infancy stage so I’m sure we have a lot to see unfold, but it is wonderful as it is now. At its current stage it is light years ahead of anything I have seen or heard announced. It is kind of nice to log on and see who is watching a movie or whatnot. Being able to log on and download game demos and HD quality trailers of games for free is pretty spectacular as well.
One feature that I didn’t really think was that great (I mocked the hell out of it) was the Xbox Live arcade. I’ll have to admit that I’ve spent quite a lot of time with many of the game’s trial versions, and even purchased several of them. I’ve mentioned before her almost visceral attraction to Bejeweled, but I don’t know if I’ve discussed, at appropriate length, my addiction to Geometry Wars, Smash TV, Zuma, Marble Blast Ultra, and Mutant Storm. I always enjoy games that harken back to the golden age of gaming (the NES and early SNES periods) and these fit that bill perfectly. I highly recommend, I’m not moving the gun till you do, that you go at least download the FREE demos of these games.
NBA2k6 is simply the best iteration of basketball created for a console of any kind. Graphically, sonically, and gameplay wise it simply cannot be defeated. I don’t really know what else to say about it. If you think you’d like to throw a ball through a hoop I really can’t think of a better medium to do it. Call of Duty 2 is a great Call of Dutyey game, so if you like that sort of thing you’ll love it. Perfect Dark will appease those fans, but I must admit I’m not in love with it yet. I like it… but I don’t love it. My normal abysmal feelings towards FPS are not there though, so that should mean something.
I’ll talk more about this later. For now you should go play a 360 somewhere.
