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XBox (Games)

The Depth of the 360 66

Posted by Zonk from the lots-of-shinies dept.
Kotaku has a long day's worth of hands-on information about the Xbox 360. Information covers packaging, hookup, the Interoperability, Multimedia, and Live interfaces. They also have hands-on impressions of some of the launch titles, including Kameo, PGR3, Amped, and NBA 2K6. From the hookup article: "I was surprised at how much I like the new controller. The design feels lighter that current gen stuff and the minor tweaks to the shape really help make holding it a pleasure. The button layout is mostly the same as with the xbox controllers with one major exception. The black and white buttons, always a pain in the ass to find in the middle of intense Xbox games, have been converted into two small rectangles located over the triggers, making them much more intuitive to use."
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The Depth of the 360 More

The Depth of the 360

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  • Zonk effect. (Score:1, Offtopic)

    by tprime ( 673835 )
    Screw the /. effect... With the rate that Zonk is posting these articles, none of the sites will have the opportunity to be crushed with the traffic. We should call it the Zonk effect; articles showing up so fast on the main page that YOU, can't keep up before they roll off the bottom.

    In his defense against the above posting about Microsoft paying for the exposure. Of the 7 articles posted today, only 3 are about the 360. For a day that the first reviews of the system, LIVE and games are being posted,
    • I've tired of being Zonked some time ago, but apparently someone thinks this is a good direction for /. - I'm not sure who, or even if there is anyone actually steering the direction and content of /. anymore. Ugh, but oh well.

      Generally NEWS encompasses a few NEW items each time, so far we have just had links to review sites all covering the SAME stuff in exactly the SAME manner. That is the problem. Give me a few angles, give me some perspective, some insight... as it stands we have three identical stories

  • Have to Agree (Score:3, Informative)

    by Shadow Wrought ( 586631 ) <.moc.liamg. .ta. .thguorw.wodahs.> on Tuesday November 15, 2005 @05:45PM (#14038984) Homepage Journal
    I tried [slashdot.org] one of the 360 controllers at a local Game Crazy and, I have to say, they were the most comfortable controllers I've used. I'm not a big fan of MS, or the XBox, but props to them (or whoever they hired) for the design.

    • Re:Have to Agree (Score:3, Interesting)

      by RoadDoggFL ( 876257 )
      They're compatible with PC games, too.

      Not to suggest you give up the mouse and keyboard... but it's an idea if anybody still plays platformers or sports games on the PC anymore.

    • Re:Have to Agree (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      The sides and bottom are less ergonomic than controllers that have bona fide elongated grips. I don't have huge hands, so I can only imagine how uncomfortable that must feel for those that do.

      They also fell for the trap that Nintendo didn't: putting buttons in the L1 & R1 position and triggers in the L2 and R2 position. Where do the index fingers go by default? Do the middle fingers rest on the triggers? I still prefer the GameCube's triggers much, much more. Same with the feel of the left analog
    • I messed with one myself at an EB, and while it was comfortable and light, it felt much more cheaply made than an old x-box controller, or even a controller S. The plastic seemed a bit more malleable, and seams in the controller seemed less finely fit. It still feels more solid that a PS2 controller though, and I've never managed to break one of those, so it should be alright.

      Also, I might be nuts, but is the xbox logo in the middle now a button too?
  • The controllers look like the S type controllers for the original xbox; which were definately the most comfortable that I've used to date. Props for the reloaction of those black & white buttons, that was f'ing annoying.
    • The black and white buttons were the hardest to learn- by far.

      But now I can use them just as easily as any other button on the controller, so I don't have any issue with them.

      But that's after 4 years of fairly regular use...so I can understand how they provide a barrier to new users.

      Hell, I even had big trouble in the Brute Force days...

  • The brick (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/images/3604.jpg [kotaku.com]

    Though Xbox 360 is a bit smaller than the original one, if you add this huge power brick it's bigger.

    • Re:The brick (Score:4, Funny)

      by Fred Or Alive ( 738779 ) on Tuesday November 15, 2005 @06:42PM (#14039534)
      Good lord! That is an impressively large power brick.

      That is from a debug kit though... has anyone actually seen a final retail unit, and can they say if that has an internal or external PSU? I seem to remember hearing the actual retail consoles were supposed to have internal PSUs, even though the various debug units etc. have external ones.

      • Re:The brick (Score:5, Informative)

        by Keeper ( 56691 ) on Tuesday November 15, 2005 @07:34PM (#14039907)
        The brick is in the final retail unit as well. Though if you think about it for a second, it makes sense. The 360 probably has the same power requirements of a mid to high end PC. When was the last time you saw a tiny PSU for a PC?
      • Given the alternative, the brick is the best solution. Get the heat and size away from the rest of the machine.
  • Looks like it's time for a new icon for XBOX stories.
  • The only REAL console worth playing ever was the Apple Pippin [wikipedia.org], it just failed because the world is too stupid to appreciate Apple's mastery of all things electronic.
    • "... it just failed because the world is too stupid to appreciate Apple's mastery of all things electronic."

      What do you do when somebody says something that's mind bogglingly ignorant, but you're not sure if they're being sarcastic or not?
      • Reply to the post and ask /. what to do, like you'd ever get a reasonable response...

        Anyway, I vote for "Give me all of your money."
      • I was being sarcastic... but I am glad in that I succeeded in making you wonder.
        Although if I had unlimited funds I would totally seek out and purchase a Pippin, just to have it in a "what the hell were they thinking" section of my console collection (along with Nintendo's Virtual Boy of course).
        I'm not being sarcastic when I say that this [atari.com] excites me more than an Xbox 360 for holiday gaming goodness.
        (getting pretty of sick of the 360 hype - who knows maybe I'll own one someday, just don't care about this la
      • Actually, that pippin idea sounds cool, but was clearly poorly executed and completely at the wrong time. Something like that done NOW, would be quite cool, so long as they could actually get games developed for it. Games are certainly not one of apples strong points!
  • Wow, I misread that as "The Death of 360." A little early for that, huh?
  • Honestly, how much is Microsoft paying for all this advertising on /.? 14 articles in 7 days now. Until now I couldn't have told you 14 different points of interest in the 360.

  • Wow (Score:2, Informative)

    by MullerMn ( 526350 ) *
    So, Nintendo have come up with an entirely new way of controlling a console, that is totally different from everything that has come before it, atleast in the main stream.

    Microsoft, with their enourmous resources, have made the controller lighter, and moved some buttons.

    Pathetic.
    • Uhm...so?

      Nintendo has taken a product, changed a few physical things, and sold it as new. (Gameboy -> Gameboy Pocket.)

      When a company is this new into some area (Microsoft being 'new' to consoles), they will usually stick with the Tried And True Method. Nintendo did this during the NES to SNES transition. Sony did the exact same thing with Playstation to Playstation 2. Were Nintendo and Sony pathetic as well?
      • I'm not defending the grandparent post, but there was almost no change in the PS1 to PS2 controllers (I'm talking both dual shocks). In fact, I can barely tell any difference. The difference between the NES and SNES controlers was an extra four buttons and ergonomics. The SNES' didn't cut into your palms when you were playing an intense session of Mega Man. They were also slightly larger so the carpel-tunnel had more trouble setting in. I still have problems with the smaller controllers. I grew as gam
    • As interesting as the Nintendo Revolution controller looks and sounds in theory, it's still way too early to pass judgement. For all we know, it could be tiring to use after a while, or too unreliable, or too quirky. (Or it could be totally awesome and indeed revolutionize game controls forever)

      MS definately did go with the safe approach, no doubt about it. Arguably that was probably the best thing to do, after all the flack they took with the original Xbox controller. :)
    • ### Microsoft, with their enourmous resources, have made the controller lighter, and moved some buttons.

      Yes and thats exactly what I like about the XBox360, it didn't do anything revolutionary, but they took what they have and made it better, plain and simple, and from what I have seen they seem to have succeeded, the controller looks fine, the console itself as well, what was wrong with the old XBox seems to be fixed. Yes, its not an endless hype-o-ramma like the PS3 or some revolutionary thing like the Ni

  • I saw one today... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by tm2b ( 42473 ) on Tuesday November 15, 2005 @08:54PM (#14040368) Journal
    The one I saw at Target today was really pretty.

    Very pretty, that is, until it crashed. Then it took a few minutes for it to restart and for the kid playing it to get back to the game (a Call of Duty game, I think), and then it was pretty again... until it crashed again.

    I think I'll wait a while before even thinking of buying one.
    • Ok, that's one anecdote about seeing a 360 crash playing CoD2. I'm going to need to hear a lot more reports (or see one do it myself) before I actually believe this. Besides, I'm not wasting my last mod point on a +1: Funny for the parent.
      • I believe the GP here. All he was said was that he saw it crash a few times. That's entirely believable. This is the first run of a complex computer system. There will be some problems with a few units. It's also possible that CoD2 was a poor port. He didn't even condemn the system as a whole. He just pointed out that he wasn't interested after he saw the display. I don't blame him. I have a habit of not buying items I see broken in the store. If for no other reason, you should belive him so you m

      • Re:I saw one today... (Score:3, Interesting)

        by apoc06 ( 853263 )
        there are actually quite a few articles out on the net that chronicle experiences like the one he has had. honestly from the way things sound its just that the x360 gets overheated easily and theres not enough ventilation in the demo kiosks.
    • Blue Screen or Green Screen?
  • The black and white buttons, always a pain in the ass to find in the middle of intense Xbox games, have been converted into two small rectangles located over the triggers, making them much more intuitive to use."
    They are easy to locate on the Duke! Bring back the Duke! :)

    Eh, I know it's not going to happen. The new controllers look allright, though.

  • I'd call the "depth" of the 360 pretty damn shallow. So basically we have an identical launch to the PS2... one solid driving game based on an established franchise which is the only noteworthy title. The usual sports suspects with a fresh coat of paint and nothing else. The obligatory "extreme" sport. And last but least the shallow button masher that shows off the first-gen title graphic prowess that everyone will praise initially but will lose luster quickly. Except that's it for the 360, at least the PS2

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