Microsoft took a big risk bringing the Xbox 360 early. They don't know what SONY has planned, or even what Nintendo has planned!

Yes, yes, we're all basking in the wonderful glow of Microsoft's new games console but is there more to come? Will Apple bring out a games console? Or maybe Richard Branson will bring out a Virgin games console?

Or maybe I'm just being too sceptical, maybe the Xbox 360 really has it all. It has got the best online games community, great graphics, great look and great ideas! Nothing can block out the wonderful ray of  'Xbox 360 sunshine'!

Well, we'll have to see...won't we?

Let's be serious here folks, this is HALO 3 we're talking about.

There's been a HUGE 'buzz' about it, and HUGE has to be the understatement of the century! What's with the June 6th 2006 release date, GameSpot? If that's true, then should we expect a 'rushed' sequel?

I hope not. If the rumours that HALO 3 is the final installment in the HALO series, then don't we want it to be damn good? I want HALO 3 to be better than the previous two put together! Don't just concentrate on the multiplayer, Bungie! Think about creating a well constructed plot for the single-player!
I just hope we're not just gonna get a updated version of HALO 2's graphics, it would be nice to see Bungie experimenting with different engines like the latest Unreal Engine!

If Microsoft want to convince people that Xbox 360 has it all by releasing HALO 3, then they need to focus on HALO 3. Don't just rush out with HALO 3 on the PS3 launch, Gears of War will be a good enough reason for people to buy an Xbox 360 instead! I'm sure fans like myself want to see something amazing when they play HALO 3, so don't disappoint them.

I haven't seen a huge array of Star Wars games planned for next year or the year after.

Empire at War seems to be the only Star Wars game in production and that's it. Just because all the films are done, doesn't mean the games have to end!

How about another chapter in the Knights of the Old Republic Universe or the sequel to Republic Commando with the new improved clones from Revenge of the Sith or even the Stormtroopers from the original trilogy? So many great ideas going to waste...

I was playing one of my ol' favourites today, called Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. Now this game has flaws, but its got some great gameplay, it just went on for too long. Now, how about a sequel, but with Jango's son Boba Fett? With the Next-Gen power of the Xbox 360?

But maybe people are getting a bit bored of Star Wars, which could explain Lucasarts focus on the Next-Gen Indiana Jones game planned for 2007. Could this be a game for the new Indiana Jones movie rumoured to be called Indiana Jones and the Lost Continent? Or could Lucasarts just be steering clear of Star Wars for a while and bringing back the classics like Sam & Max or Day of the Tentacle?

I like the sound of it, but I don't think they  should forget Star Wars. There's still so much to be done with it in games, and there are still fans out there who want to keep experiencing it.

I feel the beginning of a New Year is a time to reflect on what has happened in the previous year and then at the same time try to forget it.

2005 is gone, get over it! Welcome to 2006, folks! Anyway, 2006 is so much better than 2005 because....its 2006!

However, the beginning of New Year wasn't as glorious as I hoped, because disaster struck an hour into 2006. At 1:00a.m, I sat down to play some Xbox 360 'goodness', when my precious machine shutdown. :cry:

Yes, my Xbox 360 no longer works. What a terrible way to start 2006! Back to Microsoft you go! *sigh* I've heard Microsoft are very quick at sorting out any problems, so I'm not too worried...

Ah, who am I kidding, I'm absolutely crapping myself! Jeez, I need to get out more! Ah, well, I'll just have to entertain myself with this New Year Television, it isn't so bad, apart from those documentaries about Religion or the Da Vinci Code...

Maybe I should watch every Star Wars film in order, with no breaks! I would probably die of starvation or just have an incredibly sore ass but hey, it would be fun!

Anyway, enjoy the rest of your holidays, or if you're back at work...er...enjoy work! I guess that's not really possible unless you work somewhere fun like GameSpot.

Well, that's Christmas Day over...damn, I hate it when Christmas Day is over. But hey, the HUGE selection of games coming out next year will help me get over it! Most notably Criterion's shooter Black and Epic Games' Gears of War.The majority of games coming out next year seem to be FPSs, which is great news for me as I can't get enough of the genre! Microsoft is fufilling its promise of bringing us some fantastic titles for the Xbox 360 with Prey and Oblivion coming out in the Spring! It's time to start saving your cash folks, you'll need it! To those of you who still haven't recieved your Xbox 360s, don't worry! I thought all was lost until a small shipment arrived here in Inverness, and I got my hands on one! If you're really desperate (like I was!) order an Xbox 360 in as many retailers as possible, then you've got more of a chance of getting one! It may sound crazy, but hey, it works! I hope you had a fantastic Christmas and I hope you have a great New Year! See you in 2006!

This month, for me, has been pretty hectic. We're heading into the Holiday season fast (Christmas has sneaked up on us pretty darn fast!), and school and the website has been keeping me very occupied. Tragedy (pretty pathetic to be making a BIG deal about it!) struck this week, when I recieved a message that I would be one of many who would not recieve their Xbox 360 games console on launch. It was a major disappointment, but there is a small ray of hope amongst all of it, when the distributor mentioned that I could get my console before 2006. What a relief, eh? I'm really not that bothered though, sure, it was something to look forward to, but I guess waiting longer isn't that BIG deal! As I said, many have suffered the loss, the UK has had a extremely low shipment of Microsoft's Next-Gen console, several stores haven't even recieved their stock at all, leaving many customers very unsatisfied! Last month, the American launch left many bitter and angry when they arrived home empty handed. But, it isn't all tragic! NO, for me, there's been a small triumph! My upcoming website, Xbox Recon, is almost finished. I've really squeezed the site into my compact hosting service account, and boy, all the work has really payed off...BIGTIME! Sure, its no GameSpot, but its something I built, without a pre-made template or a pre-made gallery, and that my friends, makes all the difference! As I said, this is not a PROs site, this is a simple, straightforward site without all the Flash animations, etc. I'm proud of it, and if the rest of it goes well, I hope you'll like it.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few days, you're probably not going to know what Half Life 2 is all about. Basically, its the sequel to one of the most groundbreaking FPSs (first-person shooters) ever! Now you don't have to have experienced Half-Life's storyline to understand the events of Half-Life 2. Some of the characters that appeared in the previous game return, such as the G-Man, but apart from that, it feels like a completely different scenario. Now, Half-Life 2 isn't just a BIG shooting gallery, oh, no, this is all about thinking before shooting and using ever inch of your enviroment to your advantage. A whole host of physics, graphical textures, etc are all packed into developer Valve's Source Engine, which after several years in development, made this game possible. I could go on for hours about Half-Life 2 in general, but I'm going to restrain myself from doing so and talk to those of you who never got to experience Half-Life 2 on the PC. I have no idea why anyone would miss out on Half-Life 2 on the PC, it could be because your PC isn't powerful enough to handle its demanding graphics, etc, but if you own an Xbox, then I have some great news for you. On November 18th, you will have the chance to experience Half-Life 2's entire epic storyline. It looks almost identical to the PC version apart from some slight graphical differences, the only thing you'll miss out on is the multiplayer, which isn't that BIG a deal. Half-Life 2 has got tons and tons of hours of gameplay in it, the game's physics alone could keep you busy for hours, especially when you get your hands on the weapon known as the Gravity Gun.... Atmospheric, stunning, huge and action packed, Half-Life 2 truly is one of the best games ever created on any platform. I think it will be while before any game can beat Half-Life 2's standards, and that game will most likely be Half-Life 3! If you don't have it, get it, you'll be missing out on something special if you don't.

How is it possible I hear you ask? How the hell is it possible to fit such a graphically demanding title on to a games console that doesn't have the most recent and up-to-date hardware? Well, I have no idea, GameSpot probably have no idea, the only people who have an idea are the game's developer Valve! Some minor sacrifices were made to fit it on to 'The Box', such as the multiplayer and downloadable content, but hey, does it really matter? The fact is the game looks great, no, it looks awesome! You can see only a slight difference graphically compared to the PC version, the 'jaggies' are obviously present in the game so it does look a bit rough, but when you see how it smoothly it runs, you'll forget all that. You have to admire Valve's dedication to fit Half Life 2 on the Xbox rather than just giving up and just putting it on the Xbox 360. Half Life 2 on the Xbox isn't just a port, its a HUGE technical achievement, no-one thought it was possible, but Valve made it possible. You can forgive the lack or multiplayer or the slight graphical difference, its just amazing how Half Life 2 is running on the Xbox! Valve has proved there's still some great power in the good ol' Xbox.

GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann, recently gave the highly anticpated shooter a very surprising score of 8.0. His reason for giving this unexpected score is because of its rather basic multiplayer which is almost identical to the multiplayer of Quake III Arena, 'Quake 4 is kind of a weird case. The single-player is great fun, but the uninspired multiplayer leaves a lot to be desired. The end result feels like two different games. The single-player has a straightforward, no-nonsense approach to it that makes a great showpiece for the Doom 3 engine, while the online portion feels like it fell out of a time warp. If you're looking for Quake III Arena's deathmatch with better graphics and much higher system requirements, this is your game. But if you're looking for some new ideas from the series that made online deathmatch a big deal in the first place, you're barking up the wrong tree.' I'm not that bothered though, I love the classic Quake multiplayer and I'm looking forward to experiencing it with better graphics. It's quite disappointing that Raven Software didn't consider other ideas, but it sounds like they worked on the single player more than on the multiplayer. I presume the Xbox 360 port will be identical to the PC version, so I don't expect any changes, which I guess is a good and bad thing. Thanks for reading, - SS

Whenever you decide to buy a console, you have to decide what games you're going to purchase with it. So, as I eagerly wait for the arrival of the Xbox 360 games console, I'm having a LONG think about what games I'm going to get with it. I've restricted myself to purchasing 3 GAMES (though, I sometimes wonder whether it should be 4, or 5, or six...) and so far I've got, Perfect Dark Zero, Quake 4 and... Ah, you see, i just can't decide what that third game will be? Project Gotham Racing 3? Call of Duty 2? Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter? GUN? I have no idea what to do. Well, if you have any recommendations, I'll be glad to hear of them! Thanks for reading, - SS