Xbox kicks it up: 360 has bells, whistles, bummers

Here's what friends and techno-sycophants wanted to know when they found out I was trying out the Xbox 360 before it hit stores today, after more hype than Tom and Katie's engagement:

Is it cool?/Does it rawk?

Should I buy one?

Is the Xbox 360 related to CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," and are either of them backward-compatible?

How old are you really?

I'll answer some of those.

If Microsoft's original Xbox was the Cadillac of video-game consoles, the 360 is the Concorde. Hell of a ride, but you'd better have deep pockets.

Yes, it rawks. The thing's a powerhouse that provides the best and best-looking play of any game console yet. And, intended as a digital hub of the home, it does so much that there isn't room even to list it all. Among its most impressive features is its ability to continue separating you from more of your money after you buy it — especially if you start with the $299 "core system" and not the $399 full doo-dad version.

10 times the power

The machine itself is smaller and sleeker than the original Xbox, and stands upright as well as flat. Even the controllers are a little smaller this time and feel less likely to induce the George Jetsonesque sore finger from prolonged use. On the other hand, that soreness is nature's way of telling you to download a life.

The 360 is up to 10 times more powerful than its predecessor, says David Hufford, director of Xbox product management. That doesn't mean the games look 10 times better, but they do look magnificent even on regular TVs and promise to look even better on HDTVs. I spent the most time with Microsoft's "Project Gotham Racing 3," whose light, shadow and city detail are so stunning that I felt like I should turn myself in to the cops when I pulled over. Even the more cartoony MS elf-action title, "Kameo: Elements of Power," looks nearly as good as any Pixar movie.

The features:

Playing games, DVDs and CDs is just the start. Pressing the "Xbox guide" controller button takes you to a "Dashboard," where you can flip among four screens, or "blades": "Xbox Live" for online play, "games," "media" for access to your home computer and other digital media, and "system" for the 360's settings (which include parental controls).

Here are the top four things I hear while playing games online:

1. "(Expletive)."

2. "(Expletive)."

3. "Sorry, dude."

4. "Whoa!"

So I've never been enamored of online play, not to mention its submoronic chatter. But the 360 puts great emphasis on Xbox Live, and it's hard to imagine how they could have made it much better. You can play with/against people anywhere and yap at them, but the 360 also makes elaborate profiles, allowing feedback from other gamers (similar to eBay's), with "matchmaking" that hooks you up with the right players — whether it's by skill level or age-appropriateness.

While the repetition of typical capture-the-flag and death-match play is a no-starter for me, driving against other humans in "Project Gotham 3" was a kick on the 360. Apart from the general fact that human drivers tend to be less predictable and unforgiving opponents than A.I. ones, the high-caliber action and graphics were flawless — even connected through a wireless router and not directly to my PC.

The "media" blade really lets you branch out. Plug in your iPod (or other brand digital-music thingie) and use your own music as game soundtracks. Connect to a digital camera or PC with Windows XP to download photos or stream media files. And if you have Media Center PC, the world is your oyster, or at least live and recorded TV and on-demand movies are.

Limited games

Should you buy a 360?

There are 18 games available at launch today. And here's where we start coming back down to Earth: The 360 is not backward-compatible with all the previous Xbox games. Hufford says about 200 titles will be playable, with the focus on the top-sellers. That's a little less than half the total games. (For the list, go to www.xbox.com.)

"Over time we're going to continuously update that list," Hufford says. Still, that'll be a deal-breaker for many people, but he argues, "That's not the reason people buy a new console. If you ask consumers, do they care about backward-compatibility, they say yes. If you ask why they play a next-generation console, it's to play future games. It's like popping cassette tapes into a CD player."

Valid point: I don't often go back to a game once I've worked through it. But remember, this was the PlayStation2's master-stroke, and one reason it vastly outsells the Xbox. Sony didn't render its original PlayStation titles useless so that you had to stack up components like an A/V nerd. Who wants to make room for both a 360 and an original Xbox? Attention marketing departments of the world: Obsolescence = bitterness.

The 360 comes packaged with an Xbox Live "Silver" account, which gets you some free downloadable content. But it doesn't allow you to play online! It mainly gives you access to the Xbox Live Marketplace, where you can buy stuff that includes the "Gold" membership which lets you play and swear with others. The Gold "value kit" is $69.99, and includes a headset, some "Microsoft points" and a coupon, while the basic Gold subscription is $49.99.

The "Fully Loaded" 360 system costs $399. It comes with a wireless controller and everything else you'll need: detachable hard drive, Xbox Live headset, media remote, cables and the like. The $299 "Core System" has the same interior guts, but comes with a wired controller and none of the extras — which cost much more than another $100 if you buy them all separately. For instance, you can't even save your progress on a game with the Core System unless you buy a memory unit or a hard drive, the latter of which costs $99.99 alone.

"We found that there is definitely a market for people that are more price-sensitive," Hufford says.

My advice: If you're going to take the plunge, pony up for the Fully Loaded version. Parents who think they're in for a respite from the pleading if they come across with the Core System are just asking for more volume. And that's not even counting the next consoles from Sony and Nintendo coming out in 2006.

Mark Rahner: 206-464-8259 or mrahner@seattletimes.com