Xbox 360 looks distinctly non-spherical

Jump In. That's what Microsoft and its advertisers have been imporing us to do in anticipation of the Xbox 360.

xbox360
Originally uploaded by clinton-m.

Months of anxious waiting are over and the backlog of pre-orders can finally see fruition, as Microsoft's next gen game console arrives in stores today to greet the holiday shopping masses.

With a name like '360', you expect something to resemble a disc or ball, instead of an object that's clearly grafted together gene codes from the Apple iMac and Sony's Playstation 2 (PS2).

I've had the dubious privilege of sitting through ads for the first batch of game titles set to be released in the month following the Xbox's debut. I have also observed patrons at EB and Future Shop put the cutting-edge console through its paces, either diving through war-torn streets in the WWII shooter, Call of Duty 2, or getting their asses stomped on by a T-Rex in the adaptation of the upcoming King Kong film remake.

Have you touched an old Xbox recently? I haven't touched one in close to a year, but I know what the now-obsolete console is capable of. I hate to be a grumpy skeptic but I have to confess I don't see what the fuss is all about. The games I saw running on the new Xbox looked impressive but I did not once get the sense I was peering over the precipitous, bleeding edge of gaming technology. Is that too much to ask for? For $499.95, you bet I'm asking, nay, demanding to have my socks knocked clean off. Blow my trousers and boxers off too while you're at it... IF YOU DARE.

That's the big problem I see with this new Xbox: it can't even remove my stinky socks. I remember watching some kid play King Kong and this awful-looking game that looked like it was a cross between Tim Burton's daydream and Pokemon and I had to look over their shoulder to see that they were in fact using the Xbox 360 and not the old one. The games, while slick, simply do not look like anything the 4-year old Xbox can't handle.

The one exception to this rule is Perfect Dark Zero, Rare's sequel to their hit shooter for the long passé N64. I had to go online to sneek a look at the screenshot and videos and yes, I'd have to say Perfect Dark makes a fine advertisement for the power of the new Xbox. It figures; after all it is being touted as the "killer app (application)" for the 360, much like how the original Halo served as the flagship must-have game to drive sales of the Xbox.

Still, despite being impressed with the visual flair of Perfect Dark Zero, I couldn't shake the feeling of being left cold by the hype that's surrounded the 360. It hardly looks like a leap into the next-generation and more like a half step. Granted, the true test of the hardware will come in the next 12 - 18 months, as game developers learn to unlock the power they previously did not have at their disposal. We will yet see many games that will look more befitting a five-hundred dollar game console-cum-"media center".

Just a footnote: Sony is unveiling their PS3 game console by the 2nd quarter of 2006. On a purely technical standpoint, the PS3 positively obliterates the Xbox 360. Sure, we all know that game consoles live or die by the quality of the games that are developed for them as opposed to raw computing power. Yet we also know Sony's excellent track record of licensing top shelf game developers and maintaining backward support for their older consoles. When the PS3 hits store shelves, you will conceivably be able to play all the new games, plus all the previous titles for the PS and PS2. That is an immense catalogue of gaming goodness right there and is surefire way to maintain brand loyalty.

All of this makes me wonder why anyone would hope on the 360 bandwagon now when they could wait a few more months and get a true next-generation experience? Oh silly me, I forgot.

It's FRIGGIN' CHRISTMAS.

Footnot to the Note: The PS3 unit, like the Xbox 360 will also be capable of standing upright and be begged to be kicked over.