"A great console to add to your collection!"

When the Xbox was released back in the Fall of 2001, a handful of people picked it up. They were amazed by the console for having such power, such as Nvidia-powered graphics, and a Intel-made custom processor.

Developed by Microsoft Corporation(along with Intel, Nvidia, and Micron)
Released Worldwide

To start off with the features of the console.

The Xbox comes with a Intel-customized 733MHz processor, Nvidia-powered graphics, and 64MB of memory from Micron. The console is mostly black and has a green dot right on the middle. Looks nice for a gaming console. The color fits perfectly. Other parts of the console comes with a 8GB Hard Drive for ripping off music from original Audio CDs, saving games, and storing system settings. 8GB is fairly enough for those who don't tend to bring around save files. Those who do will have to buy a 8MB Memory Card sold separately from stores.

On to the DVD playback feature: Yes, the XBox can DVD movies as well as DVD games. Each game DVD capacity holds up the 9GB of information. This allows developers to create huge worlds in their games. As for the DVD movie playback feature, you'll need to buy a remote(sold separately as well) in order to get the full functionality of the feature. The DVD drive is 2-5X(funny there is no specifics). The system also comes with 4 controller ports for easier multiplayer mayhem. It features HDTV support for both games and DVD movies(you need to buy the kit as well for it to work).

Can we say superior graphics?

Face it, nothing is superior. The Xbox can produce better graphics than the PlayStation 2 for all we know, considering is came out a year after and technology gets more better and better. From RPGs to Racing, sliding to Shooters, coming down to Action just looks brilliant. Take one example from me, a action game like Halo, or a extreme sports game like Dead or Alive: XTreme Beach Volleyball just looks beautiful. Everything is detailed right there using what the Xbox can offer.

This doesn't mean you should buy a Xbox just for graphics. Graphics don't make a game. Sure, Japanese developers can produce way better graphics for all I know. An exception to this would be id Software, which their next game Doom III being ported to this console, will look beautiful. The graphics would only matter if you are a videogame fanatic who are really into the girls in games and how they are detailed. No offense(if there is any), however.

Is the controller that huge?? Thank you, Microsoft.

Face it, the launch controller was too big for some people. For others, it was the perfect size and surely they had no problems using it. Anyways, Microsoft didn't want them to become upset, so they release a smaller version of the controller known as Controller S. This one will definitely feel more comfortable when playing games.

The launch controller was black in color which is good, because it blends in with the system. As I've said before, the system offers 4 controller ports so therefore you wont need to buy any extra hardware(Unlike PlayStation 2) to plug in(Although the PS2 can support up to 8 Players, using 2 MultiTaps).

Keep the number of decibels to a minimum.

Yeah, you don't want to become deaf by hearing a lot of loud music that you just copied into your hard drive. Good thing is that certain games will allow you to listen to your own music by loading them from the drive(Tony Hawks' Pro Skater is one example). Keep the volume to around 20 decibels or so.:) The Xbox can produce up to 64 sound channels, and supports DTS and Dolby as well. Games weren't really about sound anyways, but we all love the great music developers has put into the game.

The Future of Xbox

More great games and peripherals will come our way. For those who say Xbox hasn't many good games, you are missing out on a whole lot and haven't experienced the nature of the console yet. The future will come. All we have to do is get our hopes up. Sure, the Japanese are not very supportive of this system, but at least they tried(Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams from Konami and Onimusha: Warlords from Capcom to name a couple). We know they will keep trying(except Square-Enix) until they get it right. Eventually, the Xbox will rise and we'll see how it can really kick arse!

The Ups and Downs

Pros:
+ Great graphics
+ Mediocre Game Library
+ Built-in Hard Drive
+ 4 Controller Ports
+ HDTV Support
+ Will have a good future coming

Cons:
- Not very good 3rd party support
- Lack of RPGs

Final Rating is 9/10. No console from the next-gen era should ever deserve anything below a 7!

Do you have the money? Will you reconsider?

You should buy this and give it a go. It's your choice though. I rencently bought my Xbox a year ago and it's working fine.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/28/03