The Xbox Gaming Experience

First we went from giant controllers for the Xbox, then to more practical controllers. I happened to like the big controllers and continued to use them for the life of the Xbox. The new ones for the 360 are quite good and my Halo edition with the brutes and alien ships is EFFIN AWESOME. So Microsoft listened here even though public opinion is the opposite for them, and they added the now standard wireless controllers most of us are using. As well as a play and charge kit I still don't have. Nice job here.

As for the games and the system, the games are much better than they used to be. Helping Microsoft turn profit this year on the gaming system. Gears of War, Halo, Bioshock, Devil May Cry, Left 4 Dead, Battle Field: Bad Company, Rock Band, Call of Duty 4, Assassin's Creed, Forza Motorsport 2, etc. But the sad thing is that we might see a new system in 2011, apparently Microsoft does a 5 year lifespan for their systems (PS# is 10 years) and I hope they don't. A much better approach would be to release that PSP-like Xbox handheld they have mentioned releasing for a while. Can't wait till they do. And I have also found that games for the 360 will be supported up to 2015 at the most. That's good and reminds me of the Atari 2600/5200 shake. the the latter didn't go as far as the first and will probably be the same with Microsoft.

Xbox live is awesome, Playstation (so far) has failed in this regard to surpass Microsoft even though they clearly can. It's not always the most fun to play by yourself with strangers on Xbox Live and some have clearly had hate and nasty things thrown at them. But when your playing with your friends accept no substitutes, Xbox clearly shines in this regard. The availability of online Windows applications through the Xbox and communication/multiplayer worldwide for a mere $50 a year is priceless. Although I do have to make a comment on the wireless mikes.

I have the Halo 3 edition wireless mike and it is a beautiful little ear piece, I do have a few qualms with it. The charging takes forever, but most of the time you don't have to wait for it to say fully charged because it usually is in like 3 hours. Sometimes I also worry my friends can't hear me, I'll update you as i learn more but overall keep an old headset ready in case you don't calendar your charging times (i use the plantronics Halo 2 set).

And of course we can't forget the RROD (Red Ring of Death), if you got one in July of 2007, your supposed to be in good shape. I had my Xbox go out on me sometime last year, and so far its been about 8 months with no Red Rings. A new record (LOL!). I am aware they now take the ruined xbox's and give them a type of glue on the processor that holds in less heat to avoid the hardware failure. xbox, xbox gaming, xbox live

But heres the funny part readers, I sat my Xbox vertically....on the hard drive. I'm not kidding, but I swear to you that must have made me break mine in the first place. Now it sits horizontally of course but I have thought whether owners have had a part in getting RROD because they play so much and overheat the system. Could it be, yes. But there are so many stories of slander against the Xbox by PS3 owners that I refuse to pursue this with the stories available to me.

So there you have it, Microsoft has won me over for now. I enjoy the 360 years but hope they hold off longer than the 2011 discussed release I had previously believed was 2012.