Xbox 360's graphics and multimedia make it a must-have

With the Xbox 360, Microsoft has a shot at dethroning Sony as video game king.

Herald rating * * * *

Let's face it, if you're a hardcore video gamer the only machine that will have lit your fire in the past year is Microsoft's Xbox, which has sped ahead of the ageing but much-loved Playstation 2 as developers take full advantage of the superior graphics grunt.

Now the Xbox 360 has arrived, and with a head start of at least six months on the Playstation 3, Microsoft has a shot at grabbing Sony's mantle as video game king.

Can it pull it off? Japanese giant Sony's ties with games developers should never be underestimated and the PS3 promises to be an impressive hardware upgrade. But the 360's mix of high-performance graphics, usability and multimedia functions will make it one of the hottest things on the market.

From the moment you unpack the off-white, oblong Xbox, you know you're looking at a vastly superior device to its bulky black predecessor. While it's no Sony or Toshiba in the style department, Microsoft has shown that it is beginning to understand the consumer electronics market. Looks aside, the 360's main drawcard is its ability to create lush, realistic graphics. Specifically designed games come alive, unencumbered by jagged pixelation, underdrawn backgrounds and sketchy detail.

If you thought Burnout, Splinter Cell and Halo 2 looked good on the Xbox, just wait until you see their 360 versions.

The IBM Power PC chip and ATI processor used in the 360 do an amazing job at rendering graphics quickly. We haven't seen this type of power in a video games console before - these graphics are akin to those of high-end PC games.

Microsoft has launched the 360 with a stable of games heavy on rehashed titles, such as Project Gotham Racing, Ridge Racer 6 and Call of Duty 2. And the outstanding Fight Night: Round 3 - Boxing has never been this visceral and lifelike.

More new titles will follow this year. And using the free downloadable patch, about a third of the old Xbox games are compatible with the 360.

Microsoft is working to make more of its back catalogue compatible, so don't throw that old console away just yet if you love those old classics.

The 360 was designed specifically for the new era of "high definition" television and gaming and that means games can be displayed at higher resolution when the 360 is plugged into a TV that is HD-ready. Most tube TVs aren't, but the 360 will work with standard definition TVs and the graphics are still impressive. Most of those fancy new flat-screen TVs are HD-ready. A nifty little component-video adapter allows you to switch between modes.

A clever design feature of the 360 is the detachable 20GB hard drive that clings to its side. On to this drive you can load music ripped using the 360's CD/DVD drive and store game data, photos, pictures and video clips. Even better, you can take your hard drive to a friend's place, plug it into their Xbox and access all the media.

The 360 has a slick user interface that you'll soon get to know by its colour coding: green for gaming, blue for media and orange for Xbox Live, the online gaming service which is now more tightly integrated into the Xbox.

The new hand-held controller is much nicer to hold and the buttons are better positioned. Best of all, the controller is wireless so you're not restricted to sitting right in front of the box.

Four wireless controllers can be used at once and they can also be used to turn off the Xbox 360 and open the CD/DVD drive.

You'll get a rather nice media remote with the premium pack which is better than most TV and DVD player remotes.

You can plug all sorts of devices into the 360 using its three USB ports.

A wide range of hardware makers are supported - even Microsoft's direct rivals - from the Sony PSP handheld console and its Cybershot digital camera to Apple's iPod and Seagate's portable hard drives.

You can play the songs and view the files on the peripherals but not transfer them to the 360 hard drive because of copyright protection.

As a media hub the 360 keeps things simple but effective. The media player will detect the song titles of music ripped to the hard drive and you can create playlists of your favourite tunes.

For those comfortable working with computers, the optional wireless networking extra is an attractive option.

The adapter plugs into the Xbox and talks to your computer over a wireless network through Microsoft Windows Media Connect, a free software download. Access the music and pictures on your computer in another room on the 360.

If your computer runs on Microsoft Media Centre Edition software you can go even further, recording live TV on your computer and transferring the files wirelessly to the Xbox to watch on your TV.

But although the Xbox 360 supports high-definition video games, you'll have to buy an external high-definition DVD drive to take advantage of the better quality standard for watching movies.

The external drives are not yet on sale and there's no indication of how much they will cost. It's irritating that you'll need to plug in an extra box to enjoy the next generation of "rich media".

The networking functions of the Xbox 360 are powerful, but Microsoft was tight-fisted not to have built wi-fi into the box.

The inability to record live TV directly to the Xbox 360 hard drive cuts out its use as a handy digital recorder in the My Sky vein.

In excluding these things, Microsoft has left the door open for Sony to fill the gaps with its Playstation 3 console, which will have a high-definition Blu-Ray drive built in.

Still, it's better to get the basic, useful functions right than to aim for the ultimate entertainment device and fail. The 360 will appeal primarily to gamers, but there's plenty more to appeal to the rest of the family.

The 360 comes in two models, a premium bundle and a cut-down core bundle which comes without hard drive or wireless controller.

I'd suggest the more expensive option is the one to go for, unless you're interested solely in the 360's graphics smarts.

Xbox 360

Price: $720 (Core model $549)

* Pros: breathtaking graphics, nice interface, decent controller and remote

* Cons: No internal high-definition drive, no built-in wi-fi live TV recording