Xbox 360 impression

Yesterday evening I had a chance to have a go at Microsoft's new Xbox 360. Running on it was a demo of Call of Duty 2.

First impression on the console. It is huge. It is almost the exact same size as the original Xbox if placed horizontally. The new white design is easier on the eye compared to the black brick, and with its sleek design, actually looks slimmer, but it is all illusion.

The power adapter is possibly the worst bit of the whole system. At a quarter the size of the 360 itself, it is a complete monster. I could not imagine ever wanting this in my living room.

The new wireless controller is quite comfortable to hold although I did find the analogue stick a tad too responsive. I didn't test the range as the controller was tethered.

Now the game itself isn't that impressive. The graphics aren't as good as Half-Life 2 or Far Cry. Also the graphics has that PC feel to it - very sharp, in fact almost too sharp. Behind my glasses, I was not able to detect any usage of anti-aliasing (smoothing).

The 360 was hooked up to a 21" LCD screen with XGA resolution and the graphics seemed fine for casual gamers. As a former PC gamer I have seen it all, although I am still curious to see how it performs if paired with a high definition screen.

Playing Call of Duty 2 on a joypad proved once again how superior it is that FPS games are on PC, with a keyboard and mouse. It is just impossible to point and shoot with a joypad. This isn’t the fault of the 360's controller as all current consoles suffers the same impracticality. Which is why I can't wait for Nintendo Revolution with the new freestyle remote controller.

Will I get one? No. My next PC upgrade is due in a year and by then it would have surpassed the power of the 360. Also none of the launch title really caught my eye.

I am actually more curious to see the multi-core Cell powered Sony PS3 and Nintendo Revolution in action.