What’s It Like On The Other Side?

This Sony Fan Caved And Got A 360.

In the spirit of Gaming Nexus’ recent article about seeing the PS3 through the eyes of an Xbox gamer (I’m going to great pains to avoid using the word fanboy in this article) what follows is a review of sorts of the Xbox 360 from the viewpoint of a PlayStation gamer. Read on those of you curious to see what a PlayStation fanman thinks of Microsoft‘s great white hope.

Read the full article after the jump!

This Sony Fan Caved And Got A 360.

In the spirit of Gaming Nexus’ recent article about seeing the PS3 through the eyes of an Xbox gamer (I’m going to great pains to avoid using the word fanboy in this article) what follows is a review of sorts of the Xbox 360 from the viewpoint of a PlayStation gamer. Read on those of you curious to see what a PlayStation fanman thinks of Microsoft‘s great white hope.

First, a little history. My first gaming console was the original Nintendo Entrainment System and I absolutely loved that machine, without a doubt some of the best gaming experiences of my life were had with that grey brick, and I’m thankful for that. I never got a Super Nintendo, not because I didn’t want one, but because we really just couldn’t afford one at the time, I kept up on the latest games by paying regular visits to my cousin, and games like The Legend of the Mystical Ninja and Turtles IV: Turtles In Time got played well into the night and until the skin on our thumbs turned grey, festered and calloused over, good times.

Eventually my dad got my brother and I a PlayStation, we almost got a 3D0 instead, talk about dodging a bullet! Anyway, over the next five years Sony did a good job of wresting from me the last vestiges of my Nintendo brand loyalty. I’ll always have a spot in my heart for the big N, but games like Metal Gear Solid, Crash Bandicoot, Gran Turismo, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Wipeout, Resident Evil and Tekken (to mention just a few) provided hours of fun, excitement and entertainment while catering to my desire for more “grown up” gaming. Sony had me, hook line and sinker.

It would stay that way until early this year, mainly because I never had the cash to be able to afford multiple consoles, but also because I thought I wasn’t missing all that much. I figure that’s when I decided to grow up about gaming, you see it’s not that I hated competition, I just had blinders on and honestly thought the only games I wanted to play (with very few exceptions) were on the PlayStation platform. Then I went to E3 and saw Gears of War in the flesh, and got my hands on Lost Planet and Dead Rising (didn’t hurt that Microsoft put on a good press conference). Maybe this whole Xbox thing isn’t so bad after all, I thought. What sealed the deal for me was seeing the Mass Effect walkthrough video that recently went up, I’d seen stills, but had somehow avoided seeing the game in motion till then. If you haven’t seen it yet I suggest you have a look, it’s absolutely stunning.

And then yesterday, July 15th, in the middle of the day I made the decision on a whim. “I’m getting an Xbox 360 today,” I told my brother (also a Sony dude) who scoffed at me. Fast forward a few hours, and I’ve got the console all set up. Some of my fellow Sony amigo’s out there might feel the urge to turn away at this point, but there are many I’m sure who wonder somewhere deep inside, “what’s the other side like?” Allow me to break it down for you.

First, there was a little trepidation, I’ve heard more than my fair share of Xbox 360 defect stories, it seems every other week someone on a message board somewhere starts  a thread about how his 360 just went belly up, the red ring of death they call it. Well, the PS2 had its fair share of launch defects, and I still have my launch PS2 working just fine so maybe I’ll get lucky twice. If you do decide to get a 360, get the two year extended warranty, even if you have to forgo guying a game or an extra controller to do so. And now for a closer look at the consoles strengths and weaknesses.

Pros

The build quality:

Just about everything feels really sturdy (you wouldn’t want to drop the console, but that should go without saying really) cables are nice and thick, they feel like quality peripherals… well except the headset, which feels extremely flimsy.

The controller:

I’ve never been a fan of the Xbox controller design, the only thing I feel they got right was switching the position of the left analog stick with the D-pad. That said, it’s amazing what a difference a little tweaking makes. The 360 controller isn’t markedly different, but it sits better in my hands and the button placement is almost spot on. I say almost because I really think the LB and RB buttons are too skinny and too high up, making them difficult to reach in a bind. I also feel that the caps on the tops of the analog sticks are just a wee bit too small, that might be because I’m used to the size of the sticks on the DualShock, but I found my thumbs slipping off the sticks from time to time and wishing I had a little more real estate so I could get some more traction.

An easy setup:

Because real men don’t need instructions, I just pulled the console and cables out of the box, plugged everything in and within minutes I was up and running. I don’t really know why I was expecting it to be a bit more difficult, but setup (including the creation of an Xbox Live account) was an absolute breeze. And the reason for that?

An awesome interface:

Kudos to Microsoft on this one really. There are so many built in functions and options for configuration and set up, as well as tons of places to go when browsing the Live Marketplace in search of demos, music and video that the whole thing could have become a nightmare to navigate. Sony’s got the Media Crossbar interface (XMB) and Microsoft’s got Blades, neat!

Lots of free demos, Marketplace is awesome:

Remember back in the 8 and 16 bit era’s when consoles came with a game included? Now we get playable demo discs (if we’re really lucky). There are no playable demo discs included with the 360 package, but if you get the Premium system (and you really ought to, more on that later) then you’ve got access to a pretty neat library of playable game demos and videos right out of the box, naturally you’ll have to have broadband access.

Cons:

You MUST have a hard drive, don’t get the Core system if you can help it. A lot of people think Microsoft only launched the Core system in order say they launched at $300, and I agree with them, but stay away from it because it’s seriously gimped. Apart from the fact that you don’t get a headset, or a wireless controller, the biggest loss here is the hard drive. You need the hard drive to really make the 360 feel worthwhile and fully functional, you’ll be missing out on a whole lot otherwise (game demos, videos and all the goodies on XBL). Of course the hard drive costs an extra $100.

No wireless connectivity out of the box:

Probably not a big deal for everyone, but for those of us that don’t appreciate the clutter of wires, and who have home networks set up, it’s kind of irritating to think that you’ll have to drop another $100 for the wireless adapter.

Xbox Live Gold:

I’ve been a PC gamer as well for while, so the idea of having to pay to play multiplayer games online strikes me as… evil. Granted you get a free month of Xbox Live Gold membership when you first get the console, but if you want to keep playing G.R.A.W, Call of Duty 2 and Battlefield 2 online, you’ll have to cough up $50. For anyone keeping score, that’s an extra $250 big ones to plonk down on the 360 to get it to match the $600 PS3’s SKU in terms of functionality (sans Blu-Ray) or $150 if you get the Premium pack.

It’s not a pretty console:

Yeah, this is down to personal preference, but I do think the 360 is not a very pretty console, so I draped a thick rug over it to hide it from view. Just kidding, the design itself is ok, not particularly pretty, but what really kills it is the color, white is just so… blah. I guess Microsoft really wants people to spring for those faceplates don’t they? Me, I’m breaking out the paint set for mine.

Minor nitpicks

Marketplace is awesome, but there really ought to be more content on there considering the service has been online for nine months, more videos, more music, and yeah, more demos too.

Microtransactions, I can tell these are going to be the bane of many a gamer’s existence.

The Verdict

Ultimately? I’m really happy with the 360, so far the demos have been great fun, awesome graphics and wonderful sound, Sony said the next generation doesn’t begin till they say so, but have a romp through Lost Planet and tell me it doesn’t. That said, I’m still going to get the PS3, I’m incredibly excited about the console and the games, perhaps even more so now that I have a 360. This way however, I won’t have to miss out on games like Gears of War, Halo 3, Mass Effect, Lost Planet, Viva Piñata, Lost Odyssey and Too Human.

If you’re a waiting for the PS3, but think you can afford both, I’d suggest not waiting any longer, go out and get a 360 and if you’re a 360 gamer who’s been wailing on the Sony fans, give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe someday soon we’ll all be playing in the same playground. Next stop, PSWii!

I’m sure some of you must now be thinking “PLANT! He never was a PlayStation dude was he!?” Those of you who know me better, well, you know me better, but if there’s any real doubt just take a look at my article history and I think you’ll see it’s leaned heavily toward the PlayStation end of the spectrum in the past, look for things to even out a bit more from here on out.