The Xbox Club

A couple of months ago I did something I wanted to do for a long time but did not have the excess income until now, I picked up an Xbox 360. Microsoft dropped the price on the 360 the same weekend I picked the console. I went with the Xbox 360 Pro 60GB version with wireless controller for $300 and copy of Halo 3 (for free).
When I first picked up the console I just expected a typical gaming experience: plug it in, turn it on and play a game. What I didn’t expect was a very mature entertainment platform. Not only can you play games with the Xbox 360 you can also download movies, games, game demos and download movie rentals from your netflix account.
Microsoft has also built a very mature online gaming community in Xbox Live that allows you to easily play your favorite games with your friends. And with a recent update on the console interface they have made the system easier to navigate, tell what friends are up to and much easier on the eyes.

I’ve quickly discovered that owning an Xbox 360 is more like joining a club than owning a piece of hardware. Part of the process of setting up a new Xbox 360 is creating your “gamer tag” and Avatar (think Nintendo Mii). This unique tag is used for multiple things including tracking your achievements in every Xbox game, connecting with friends online, tracking your stats in multiplayer games, and storing Microsoft points used to buy games and movies in the Xbox marketplace.

Given my overall experience with the Xbox 360 and the sheer amount of content available I would recommend this system to anyone over the Nintendo Wii or Sony PlayStation 3.

ugh!

ugh I say! Just when you think things are settling down they pick right back up again. For the past 4 days straight I have spent almost every waking hour working on homework or studying. The good news is the end is in sight. After today things will be much less busy. This weekend I am having the first semi-annual LANFest at my condo. Looks to be a larger then expected turnout for the first time with 9 people attending. In my the half hour break I took this weekend I whiped up a little promo flier for the event: