Xbox 360 in "not very small" shocker

Yeah I wasn't martial artist inhaling before the strike, its a fat kid sucking it in to try and look skinny.

Its a cleaver design with the curves going in, makes your mind think its smaller and skinnier than it actually is.

Does that brick come on a long leash so its easy to hide? And whats your overall impression of the system and any games you have? You got PDZ?? PGR3?? You gonna be doing any reviews?

We're still awaiting decent review code. Keep an eye out though. Probably won't bother with the big first-party stuff as it's been covered to death - Will be looking at the more interesting things though.

Yes, we will. We might even review Half-Life 2 when it comes out - right Tiger?



Read: Stuff that Tiger and fifty other people around the world think is "more interesting".

SPOnG will be checking out the big stuff AND the less mainstream.

Please review Condemned. Nobody else is...

It is huge, isn't it? Couldn't believe it when I saw it in the demo pods. Wow. Makes you wonder how big the PS3 is, eh?

I think EDGE gave it a 6.

Yeah, 1.5m from back of Xbox to far side of brick. Then you have to use the bundled kettle lead - because it's notched - which is about 1.8m long.

The kettle lead is really nice, rubbery and soft, and velvety feeling.



Games on their way. Reviews to follow.

Edge gave it a 6 and said very nice graphics, quite good gameplay but the story was s**t and the detective aspects where not very well implemented (it tells you what devices you need to use and where to use them). Also its quite short at around 7hours

Couldn't we get a small first impressions?? :)

I told you what I thought of the cable, and you :/'d me. What's that if not a small first impression ;-)

Until we get software, we're a bit burgered. The unit itself is nice (but big) the power brick is not nice (and big) now we're in the frustrating position of awaiting software.

I think software arrives tomorrow.

Oh, here's a first impresssion. The much vaunteed HD-readiness comes in the form of component connectors. No DVI, no HDMI. So no use to most people.

Huh? If there's one set of sockets that most HDTV's have, it's component. Most people who bought HDTV up to about 6 months ago will be without HDMI. So I don't really understand your claim that "The much vaunteed HD-readiness ... is no use to most people"
Care to explain?

Sure. DVI is a standard. Most every HD Plasma TV here:

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatv/compare-plasma-tvs.php

has a DVI input.

But while they almost all have Component, some are RCA (which the Xbox has) and some are BNC (which it doesn't) a DVI lead would have provided greater compatibility.

We have several DVI capable LCDs in the office, only one component capable one.

(*ahem) To elaborate more and bring more to the table...

First, the facts:

Composite, S-Video, Component, VGA - Analog connections

DVI, HDMI - Digital connections

Analog - has a RANGE of quality and it fluxuates. Will one notice, probably not too much, but noticable none the less.

Digital - either on or off, working or not, looks really good or it doesn't look like anything.

Not going to give any theories on why they didn't include DVI or HDMI, seeing as how they can implement copy protection IN THE F**KING CABLES, (HDCP anyone?), other than development costs and timelines to follow. That's fine if they were under the gun, but if your gonna tout the HD ERA this and our machine does 720p so Kasumi's tits will look crisp that, put HDMI AND/OR DVI on the damn back of the machine. I suppose they put ALOT of effort into the design of the system and a good marketing plan for Japan. (Okay so maybe those are a few theories)

I work at Circuit City, been to Best Buy, PC Richards, Buyplasma.com, manufacturer's website, etc.; (ah the beloved and underused semicolon) I can tell you from ACTUALLY SEEING the cable inputs on the back of our 2005 tvs and MOST 2004 tvs, that HDMI is on over 90% of all of those tvs. And if it's not HDMI, it's DVI. like Doctor Dee aforementioned.

So here my thing is that Microsoft has to stop cramming this s**t machine down our throats and stop throwing the NEXT GEN RESOLUTION sphiel at us. 720p and 1080i have been out forever now. (hell X-Box one had games running in it!) Just because they force developers to use only 720p and 1080i doesn't make the machine NEXT GEN!

For Microsoft to have done it right and be forward thinkers, this is what they should of done:

1) Included the inputs for Component AND either DVI or HDMI.

Not going to give any theories on why they didn't include DVI or HDMI, seeing as how they can implement copy protection IN THE F**KING CABLES, (HDCP anyone?), other than development costs and timelines to follow. That's fine if they were under the gun, but if your gonna tout the HD ERA this and our machine does 720p so Kasumi's tits will look crisp that, put HDMI AND/OR DVI on the damn back of the machine. I suppose they put ALOT of effort into the design of the system and a good marketing plan for Japan. (Okay so maybe those are a few theories)

I work at Circuit City, been to Best Buy, PC Richards, Buyplasma.com, manufacturer's website, etc.; (ah the beloved and underused semicolon) I can tell you from ACTUALLY SEEING the cable inputs on the back of our 2005 tvs and MOST 2004 tvs, that HDMI is on over 90% of all of those tvs. And if it's not HDMI, it's DVI. like Doctor Dee aforementioned.

So here my thing is that Microsoft has to stop cramming this s**t machine down our throats and stop throwing the NEXT GEN RESOLUTION sphiel at us. 720p and 1080i have been out forever now. (hell X-Box one had games running in it!) Just because they force developers to use only 720p and 1080i doesn't make the machine NEXT GEN!

For Microsoft to have done it right and be forward thinkers, this is what they should of done:

1) Included the inputs for Component AND either DVI or HDMI.

2) Included resolutions for 1080p.

3) Put a fricken optical out ON THE DAMN SYSTEM not the OPTIONAL CABLES YOU HAVE TO BUY TO ENABLE IT!

4) Then start the massive HD ERA campaign.

Ya know what I hate too? Enhanced definition and high definition! It makes people look dumb and allows companies to brand things HD without the end user knowing if it's 720p, 1080i, or 1080p(?). IT'S PROGRESSIVE SCAN/INTERLACED SCAN PEOPLE! Tell them it's 720 Progressive, 480 Interlaced, etc. not HD and ED. X-Box gamers are not stupid. Well the jocks are but hey we all can't be winners.

Rant over. Neither cohesive or easily read...

You started repeating yourself there ;) you drunk?

Doesn't the component cable have optical out?? On the bit that plugs into the actual console I'm sure there is an optical out.

And Cardiff finally has some Xbox 360 demo pods!! aren't we posh :) so I had a quick go on Kameo and COD2. Though Kameo looked pretty good and COD2 played really but just looked like a really good hi end PC game.

I was just a little worried about your fascination with the velvety power cable ;)


I'll be expecing an update then :p


That is a bit annoying, but my TV has all three :) Component, DVI, HDMI and VGA

Also s-video, 3 scarts and composit. You can never have anough conections

This is the impression we're getting. In fact that has been the comment made most often in the office in the last few hours.

But in fairness, it is really just a PC in a (quite) nice box. To be honest, it looks a lot like one of our Dell GX280s - but in white(ish).

The first gen is bound to be quite disappointing. Does the "HD cable" not have HDMI or DVI on it? It looks like it does...

Anyway, don't ask me how but someone I know has had a 360 Premium with Kameo sent to them. Apparently, very nice.

Reviews in 360 Magazine I've seen:
PDZ 5/5
PGR3 5/5
COD2 4/5
Kameo 4/5

The guys over at Penny Arcade seem quite enamoured with Condemned, and frankly I lost all faith in Edge half a year back when they slayed a game I played and loved. Have to see what Games" give it, I suppose.

Well... the argument that first-gen games aren't that good anyway just wait untill second-gen, well it doesn't count, it's just some lame excuse fanboys use and the consolemaker use and even the press uses (we can't be hard on this first-gen game, because it's first-gen everbody knows that).
I mean if all first-gen games suck anyway then man what a bad game Super Mario 64 (its only the blueprint for every third person game to date...nothing special) would have been in it's day, pfioe... or Rogue Squadron 2 (looks better then the Special Edition DVD's and was made in 8 months), or Wave Race Blue Storm (best water effects this gen by a long shot).

It's a stupid excuse for hardware that's being rushed and were games have been rushed. And yes PGR3 looks freakin great but it's a racinggame, it's a realistic racinggame...they don't model/design anything from scratch, they take pictures of the cars, scan those in and polygonize the models in 3D and refine that technique. Orginal designinput: zero. So yes it better looked as good as it was or else the whole line-up was a disgrace (some do call it that allready but i have a good heart).

Of course it does. At least for thrid party first gen games it foes. Their programmers have not had time to begin to really extract the best from the platform.

Sure compare them to Mario 64 if you like. But it was the level design that made that great, not how much power it got out of the heardware. And the programmer were in-house... so they had had dev kits long before anyone else.



It's a good game. But that's a mighty big claim. I think modern 3D games owe as much to Doom and quake as they do to Mario.

I was referring to the exclusives, third party multi-platform releases suck 99% of the time anyway, be it first or sixth gen or whatever, but i didn't say it so sorry about that.

Well, it is a big claim, that's why i specifically said 3rd person, first person games (your examples) don't apply since the gameplay changes greatly. In bleuprint i mean the fundaments like leveldesign, gamecontrol, cameracontrol, basic gameplay mechanics. Take all those in regard and saying Super Mario 64 was and still is the blueprint to every 3rd person game being made is a claim the game can cope with. offcourse the N64 and especially its controller was built around the game to Shigeru's and his team wishes, they do go hand in hand game and hardware.

real breif:
condemened is totaly fun
graphics are nice, game play is a bit shalow but doesnt get old, its really all about the atmosphere... and with the lights down and the surroudn sounds its really crappy as hell.
story is kinda of like a watered down "seven" but still interesting, havent finished it yet but im fairly sur ei know the ending, dont care though cause its still fun to play... if i where required to give it a number i woul dsay 8.5, but compared to most of the launch line up, more like a 9.5, only safer bets are probably PGR and the sports games if those are your things.

hope that helps :)

Config: if tiger is to busy playign geometry wars I could handle some of those bothersome Fitst party titles, already have Kameo started.

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