7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
Overall, a very, very good console.
Date of Review: Nov 24, 2002
The Bottom Line: I strongly recommend the Xbox. With good games, sturdy construction, strong manufacturer/developer support, and high performance it will be a player for some time.
First of all, I should point out that a four-star rating to me is incredibly good. It will truly take an incredible product to garner a five-star rating from me, so don't hold this fact against the Xbox. In other words, a four star rating is about as high as most products can ever hope to go; I reserve the five-star for the truly exceptional product that rarely, if ever, comes down the pike.
X what?
The Xbox is the first videogame console from software giant Microsoft. My guess is that they took a gander at all the money that consumer-electronics giant Sony was making with Playstation 2 and decided to jump into the fray.
Quick, early rant
One of the random criticisms of the Xbox is that it is basically a scaled-back PC because it contains some pretty off-the-shelf PC components such as the CPU and hard drive. This criticism, to me, is fruitless because all consoles have CPU's - and whether they are off-the-shelf PC parts makes little difference... and the hard drive is simply a storage device. What makes it a console and not a PC is that it is a closed box hardware-wise - it cannot be upgraded, and all Xboxers have the same thing under the hood. This allows developers to develop for it like they would any console. Yes, it is a computer (all consoles are) that uses PC parts, but it is not a PC.
Now on to the review...
First off, about format: The Xbox plays games on DVD, and can also play standard DVD's (movies and so forth) if you purchase the separate DVD kit. I purchased the DVD kit for $30, but it may be available for less now. The way it was explained to me was that if Microsoft had DVD playback available out of the box they would have to pay a fee to some DVD consortium with every Xbox sold. The price of the DVD kit is basically that fee for the remote, instead of tacked on to the price of the console. The remote itself is nothing special, and DVD playback looks pretty good - I'd say about average.
Out-of-box experience: When you first take the Xbox out of the box, you'll notice that it's bigger than most other consoles... probably the biggest console you've ever seen. This is most likely due to the fact that it already contains a hard drive and network card. Personally, I'd rather have a bigger console than have to purchase expensive memory cards and network adapters later... and it's not that big; I can lift it with one hand pretty easily.
The package includes the console, standard A/V cables, a power cord, and one controller. All of these items are extremely well-made and have a heavy-duty feel to them. The controller cable has a nice feature - a break-away point. If it's pulled on too hard it will separate at that point to prevent yanking the Xbox to the floor (or onto someones' head).
Set-up is similar to that of any recent console - plug it into your TV and power outlet, set the internal clock, and you're ready to go.
The controller: To me, the Xbox controller is great; it fits my hands very comfortably, the weight is perfect, and the action of the sticks and buttons is right-on. Others have complained about the large size, and Microsoft responded with the Controller S which is a smaller option. I have a controller S as well, and it's an excellent controller too.
The games: So far, the Xbox has some truly great games for every taste: Halo (FPS), Project Gotham Racing, Rallisport Challenge (racing), EA and Sega sports titles (sports), Splinter Cell (stealth/action), Tony Hawk Pro Skater series (action sports), Elder Scrolls Morrowind (RPG), and many more... The Xbox also has its' share of average titles, and even some really abysmal ones... like any console I've ever had.
Graphics: When done right, Xbox games have very high visual quality that cannot be matched on other current consoles. The frame-rate stays high, the characters contain more polygons, and the environments are bigger and have more realistic effects.
Sound: To me, Xbox sound is comparable to that of other current consoles. If you are lucky enough to have a Dolby 5.1 surround set-up you are doing even better, since the Xbox supports that standard.
The future: The Xbox looks to have a good future. There are several more good titles on the way, Xbox Live online plans has just taken off successfully, and it looks like Microsoft is in this for the long haul.
