"Microsoft enters the console arena with a bang!"

INTRODUCTION:
After the revitalization of the Video game market in 1984 (He he, the year I was born) by Nintendo, the console market hd since been controlled by Japanese Giants such as Nintendo, Sega and Sony. After the Demise of Atari, it seemed that consoles would remain set in the Japanese market.

However, towards the end of the 20th century, American software giant Microsoft had decided to enter the gaming arena after conquering the Browser and OS wars. Their first attempt into this venture was to buy out Nintendo, but they refused despite the vast amount of money offered.

Then deciding to go it alone, Microsoft was determined to make a foothold in the console games market. With a decade of expertise in PC hardware, they decided to make a console based on currently existing computer technology - resulting in a PC in a consoles clothes: a custom 733Mhz Celeron CPU with 64MB of RAM, a custom Geforce 3 graphics card, and a 10GB Hard drive - making it the most powerful console of the time.

After setting up a few small R&D studios, and the controversial buy out of long-time Mac developer Bungie Software, development for games was under way.

The console was released in late 2001 in America, and was a bona-fide hit due to the killer application known as HALO - A revolutionary first person shooter originally scheduled for release on PC and Mac in 2000.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
Knowing that the system was basically a customised PC I had imagined the system to be as chunky as my desktop PC tower. Thankfully the system is slightly smaller than a PC tower, but still it is a large and heavy beast compared to the PS2, Dreamcast and Gamecube.

Right away I could tell this was a system aimed at the 28 year old average American gaming addict - the system goes for a similar dark theme akin to the Playstation2, and includes controllers geared towards big hands with plenty of grip and buttons placed for big thumbs (*Note that this is from the launch system - since 2004, the Original controller was phased out in favour of the Japanese S-Type pads).

The system is endowed with a Giant X shape on the top, with a green glowing gem in the centre, and a front loading DVD tray which moulds very well into the system.

As for the Controllers, the design was borrowed from that of Sega's Dreamcast console - similar button layout plus an extra stick and two more buttons, as well as 2 expansion ports for memory cards (Minus the Visual Memory screen port).

A solid looking console, no mucking around here or fancy frills, but it is a behemoth......

FEATURES:
The system appears to have everything of traditional consoles, but there are a few extras that make the system feel more than just a console.

Dashboard - The Xbox's main operating system. Not quite as in depth or complex as the Windows operating system, but it has more flexibility than any other OS on the competing consoles. A 3D rendered green web is the main background as you switch between various options, and adjust the game saves on your hard drive.

Music player and storage - One thing that sets the Xbox apart from the rest is its built in Hard drive, and to take further advantage of this, Microsoft added the ability to rip your favourite Music CD onto the hard drive for easy listening,and even custom soundtracks for games! Just insert your CD and you can rip them to a folder on the Xbox HD - but it's not quite as easy as on a PC. You can only use original CD's, the Music is always encoded in WMA and it takes quite a while to rip, and you have to manually edit each track's title and tag details, which is more trouble than its worth given that there's no keyboard.....

Hard disk caching - Probably the biggest advantage of the inclusion of the Hard drive is that games can be partially installed onto the hard drive, allowing more detail to be added, and reduced load times in games. The games automatically do this themselves, but the initial loads are quite long, and they can get erased after you have played a number of different games. Still, it beats having to wait 20 seconds just to restart a level after dying in a game...

Online gameplay - Just like on PC's, the Xbox allows for competitive game play against opponents from around the world. Provided you have a fast broadband connection,an Xbox live subscription and compatible games, you can enjoy a game against others, as well as the ability to have conversations with the headset mike that plugs into your controller. Also, games can be updated and new material can be downloaded. Considering that you have to pay for the service on top of your internet connection, I didn't find it much better than PC online gaming.

DVD Playback - Play DVD movie discs - built into the system, but only usable with the remote control pack. Nothing totally different from a DVD player but it works.....

GRAPHICS:
The Xbox's biggest selling feature was that it featured graphic power 3 times more than its competitors.

Many of the launch games were designed to show off the Xbox's graphic prowess - which was mainly higher polygon counts, details, and reflection effects. However despite how good many of these games looked, not all of them pulled off the effect in balance.

Halo, for example, used excessive reflections and shadows to give a feel of realism. The detail was quite an achievement at the time, but it came at a price - the game ran rather choppy, with a frame rate no higher than 30, and often dipping to 10 during critical fights. Whats the point of making a game look really good if it plays at snails pace? There were first-person shooters available at the time on the PS2 that ran smoother than this.

Thankfully other games like Project Gotham Racing and Dead or Alive 3 managed to deliver a great deal of visual splendor while maintaining a smooth frame rate.

Recently, developers have now been able to tap into the Xbox's power to show that the ageing Geforce 3 chipset can display visuals to rival the latest PC titles, most notably is Halo 2 (which still runs at 30fps, but has more impressive visuals than the original).

CONTROL:
The Xbox has had 2 controllers during its life cycle. The original controller was a big beast similar to the Dreamcast, with a few minor adjustments. Some complained that it was too big and chunky, when compared to the Gamecube and PS2 pads, so another controller was made to replace it.

The current S-type pad feels more like the PS2 pads, while having its own individuality, as well as the re-alignment of the grey and black buttons, which are now harder to press down.

Two analog sticks, a d-pad, 6 face buttons and two shoulder triggers, you get the picture.

SOUND:This really shouldn't be an issue given that the system uses DVD's as storage. The Xbox is capable of delivering 5.1 dolby surround in games as well as through move playback.

You get high quality music in various formats written into different games (Including the popular ADX format created for Dreamcast), as well as special effects for sound effects such as reverb and echos to suit the game atmosphere.

GAMES:
The games library is not quite as expansive as the PlayStation2, but certainly richer than the Gamecube. The majority of games on Xbox are from European and American developers, so you are treated to a slew of 3D action games, First Person Shooters, and Sports titles. There are not alot of Japanese developers backing the Xbox besides Tecmo - who have created outstanding fighting and action games (Dead or alive and the Ninja Gaiden remake). There are not alot of RPG's, 2D action or fighting games , which may disappoint some, but there are a healthy number of these available in Japan (but you'll need a Japanese console).

Many of Microsoft's internally developed games are a hit or miss affair. Halo and Project Gotham made the Xbox what it is, while other games such as Kakuto Chojin, Sudeki, and Fable float in obscurity.

A great selection of games, but not as varied as on Playstation2.

OVERALL:
If you like FPS and action its a great system to own, you might want to think twice if you aren't into these genres. Don't expect as many hits as on Sony's console, but it has its own set of games to make it a worthy purchase.

At the time of writing, the Xbox 2 is on the horizon, and despite rumors that it may run on Macintosh G5 hardware, we can still hope that Microsoft will allow old Xbox games to run on it.

-Steven

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/28/05