Graceful greetings,

It seems to be pretty much what we have used to call "summer". For me it's one of the greatest deja vu's ever, since I'm working in the same factory for the third summer in a row, so it's not a big deal for me.

But why I enforced myself to write up this small bloggie? Well, maybe it is because I've started to play games again a bit more than I used to play during the last year. I bought myself a Xbox 360 Premium -package, since the price dropped so dramatically. It's truly not a bad gaming system, and I understand why it's fairly popular in US.

I've been playing the system for a month now, and maybe I should write up some points of my opinions about this console.

The Good

Extremely powerful CPU & Graphics chip (Gears of War, a good example of the capabilities. Simply Wow.)

The control panel (looks great and simple to use)

Xbox Live Marketplace (I would appreciate more free content though. I see little reason to use any Live points for some gamer pictures or themes)

The controller (fits the hand fairly wel)l

HD performance

Functions like a PC in a network (easy to connect to the Internet)

The Bad

The NOISE of the fans (Come on, at times it's fairly challenging to tell whether there is a console or a jumbojet in the same room)

The finish of the controllers (I have two official controllers. One of them has a squeaky thumb stick and the other has a few buttons that make strange crunches. With those prices, there should be no units like this on the mark)

Game selection (there are not that many games that count towards my taste, but there seem to be some positive surprises, like Gears of War which totally blowed my mind in co-op)

The cost of the Live points (just a bit too much for my liking)

Cost-effectiveness of the hard drive (90 euros for 20 GB? It's like paying 30 bucks for a candy bag)

Bottom line

Xbox 360 is a capable gaming system to hook you up in certain games, although some minor things hinder the atmosphere, like the controller conditions and the outlandish noise of the cooling system. Games are extremely good at their best, but also moderate fairly often. Do I recommend the system? Well, the price has dramatically dropped, and the gaming system is cheaper than Nintendo Wii, so I sure recommend this system for those who enjoy the more traditional gaming.

That's my rant for now. I gotta go jog for a while, so catch ya later!

A gamer at heart.