When comparing the Xbox 360 to the PS2 or the original Xbox, it is important to keep in mind that they are very different consoles. The five-year gap between the 360 release and the releases of previous generation consoles gives the 360 a considerable advantage when it comes to features like graphics, sound, and HD video.

At the same time, since the 360 is a newcomer to the console market, there aren’t very many games out. The games that are out don't push the system to the limit like the games that are currently coming out for the original Xbox and Playstation 2.

So what are the differences between the 360 and the previous generation consoles?

Graphics
In terms of graphics, the Xbox 360 is nothing short of amazing. The trees in PGR finally look like trees, the Dead or Alive 4 girls look more bouncy *wink wink*, and faces in Madden 06 actually resemble the players they are modeled after.

Gamers switching from the PS2 will notice the largest difference in graphics. Gone are the awkward looking models, jagged corners, and low-res textures that we've all gotten used to. Instead, all the edges for the models are very smooth and there is almost never a jagged edge in sight.

One noticeable exception to this seems to be Perfect Dark Zero. The graphics in that game are actually noticeably worse then those for the original Halo. So bad in fact, that many gamers find it unbearable to play. Just goes to show that no matter how powerful the system, in the end it still comes down to what the developers do with it.

Software
The 12 titles that have been released to date for the 360 are no match for the PS2’s gargantuan library that spans 500+ titles and almost every genre imaginable. Even if you count the hundred or so original Xbox titles that are currently supported by the 360’s emulation system, the 360 software library comes nowhere close to being as vast or diverse as the PS2’s.

If you’re thinking of buying a 360 just for its current games, then you should probably reconsider. There is nowhere near enough games out to justify the purchase. Anyone buying a 360 should instead consider investing in a console that will play the next four or five years' worth of games.

One important thing to consider when purchasing a 360 is what kind of games you personally play. Fans of Japanese style RPG, for example, may feel alienated by Xbox 360. Poor sales of the 360 in Japan will likely discourage many Japanese developers from working on it, thus it's unlikely that we'll be seeing many exclusive games like Final Fantasy or Tales of Symphonies for the 360.

On the other hand, those who enjoy more action-based RPG titles, such as the upcoming Elder Scrolls IV and Nightly Nine Nights may find the 360 to be an excellent addition to their household. Similarly, fans of FPS and fighting games will likely find the 360 has plenty to offer with upcoming 360 titles such as Halo 3, Ghost Recon, Fight Night, and currently released titles like Dead or Alive 4 and Call of Duty 2.

Online play
If there’s one thing that Microsoft does much better then Sony is online play. Sony’s cumbersome network adapter and poorly implemented online service are no match for Xbox live. XbL is fully integrated into the 360, which makes getting online a breeze. You just plug your 360 in and create an account. It’s just that easy.

Granted, those actually wanting to play games online will still need to purchase an Xbox Live Gold game card which runs about $50 per year. But those just wanting to explore and use the basic service can do so for free. Basic service includes the friends list, the marketplace, and the demo and preview downloads.

One of the biggest complaints about the Live for the original Xbox was that it took forever to download anything. This issue seems to have been fixed, as currently most downloads only take a few minutes to complete. Recent updates to the service have added some great new features including multi-download queuing and a multitude of slick interface improvements.

Lag time
One of the most common complaints about online gaming play is that nasty three letter word: Lag. Unfortunately Live still has it. For the most part there isn’t much lag when you're playing online. Occasionally you'll run into some very laggy players, but that’s just unavoidable.

One of the most spectacular lags occurs while spectating. While waiting for your turn in DOA4, for example, the game makes you spectate other player’s matches. You'll often see very glitchy and jagged movements that can get quite annoying, especially since it's nearly impossibly to learn from spectating matches. During actual combat the lag doesn’t seem to be too much of an issue. While very good players will probably notice the delay, it's not as obvious or extreme as it is during spectating.

New stuff
A few cool new additions to XbL for the 360 are the game demo downloads, the movie previews, and the points system. The demo downloads are a welcome addition to Live. Finally you can try out the newest games without having to track down those annoying demo disks and shelling out $7 or $8 for a magazine you don’t really want to read.

The movie previews are pretty cool and you can watch them right off your 360’s in HD or on your big screen TV. That is, assuming you have one of those. Otherwise it’s just ok. The newly implemented points system allows gamers to purchase titles like Smash TV and Geometry Wars for the equivalent of about five bucks. If you have a little bit of time to kill and don’t really want to start a full fledged game these games can provide a good deal of fun for relatively cheep.

Is it worth 400 bucks?
And now the $400 question: is it worth it? If you chose to buy an X360, you are defiantly getting your money’s worth. Even more so since Microsoft is actually loosing money on the consoles themselves. Think about it this way, for $400 you are getting at least four years' worth of upcoming games, so that puts your total to about $100 a year. That's not too bad considering that if you bought a PS2 right now, you'd pay $150 for at most a year of new games.

On the other hand, $400 is quite a piece of change and realistically it's probably going to come out to about $500 with a game and tax, so if your patient it would be a wise move to wait until Microsoft cuts the price on the 360 a bit (expect that price drop to come around the time the PS3 launches).

See also

• X360 vs. Atari 2600 - Comparison
• X360 vs. PCs - Comparison
• X360 vs. PS2 - Comparison
  
• x360 vs. PS3 - Comparison
  
• x360 vs. Xbox - Comparison