GOOD COP/ BAD COP ; XBOX 360

GOOD COP

5. Graphics



Oooh pretty! While the Wii lags behind and the PS3 claims it's hardware give it an advantage, the 360 has a number of games that look beautiful. With rare exception if you put a game in your 360 it will be looking good.

4. Stable Online Services

The 360 has the largest online community of current consoles, so you won't have to wait to find a match in most games. Also the servers are stout and there is little to no lag if you have a decent connection. There are other networking services and friend option to keep track of the players you play with as well.

3. Achievements

Gone are the days when you just "beat" a game. Achievements allow you to track various stats and, well, achievements as you play your favorite games. This feature gives most games hours of playability beyond the basic objectives of the game. Achievements also attribute to your gamer score, abling you to show your friends who's boss.

2. Controller

While the Wii has a remote and the PS3 has the same old controller, the 360 controller is made for a gamer who isn't a 12 year old or a full grown Japanese factory worker. The left stick is where it's supposed to be and the trigger buttons feel like triggers. Perfect.

1. 360 Gives it up

The Wii makes games for kids and your grandmother and the PS3 has a limited number of 3rd party must own titles. The 360 has been out longer and has pretty much every game you would want to play that isn't made by Nintendo or Sony. While new games are cheap, you can find some great older games at low cost because of the market saturation. If you have the money, the 360 has the time sucking games you want.

BAD COP

5. LIVE FEE

Microsoft is the only company that charges a fee to get online. Not to buy games, but to get online. It wouldn't be so noticeable a transgression but both Sony and Nintendo offer free online gameplay if the developers built it into the game. Also the Microsoft points system is skewed. Here's a tip, make 100 points one dollar. If you like to go online and shoot at people you better have an allowance.

4. No Blueray

One of the first obvious losses due to the battle of Blueray vs HDDVD, the 360 will not play your Blueray discs. If you want to watch HDDVDs you better go on EBAY for that overpriced add on player and head down to the pawn shop to choose from one of the 14 excellent movies available on HDDVD. Sony's built in player make it the obvious choice for those with HDTVs.

3. Noisy Bugger

What's that you said? I can't hear you over the roaring jet engine on the entertainment center. The 360's fan gets so loud you have to turn your TV up past 11 just to hear the voices during the cut scenes. If the 360 were personified it would be a fat American huffing and puffing as it climbed up stairs. Better give that thing a rest before it explodes.

2. Money Pit

The XBOX arcade sells for $199. What a deal! Yeah, if you want to play Kung Fu Panda and never have the intention of saving your progress. Oh you want to save. Give me $60 and I'll give you that. You want to save as much as a base priced PS3? $120 please. Look at that LAN wire. You need wireless, $100 for this adapter please. What's that you say? Nintendo and Sony have wireless and an internal hard drive built in? Lame. They don't have HALO. $60 every 10 months please.

1. Red Ring of Death

Every person I know that owns a 360 has had the Red Ring happen to them. Hamby's has it happen 3 times. This gaming wonder of the future is a piece of garbage. You go to bed every night with a chance you will wake up and the 360 will be dead. It's nothing you did. You don't drop it or put dirty discs in it, it just doesn't like you. Free repairs still take a month's time and who's to say when it will happen again? Without doubt, the biggest fiasco in the history of product quality in video games.