Xbox 360

I broke down and bought the HD gaming system Monday. Overall I'm happy with it; the graphics are remarkable and I enjoy being able to sit in my recliner and play using a wireless controller. I bought two games when I picked up the system: NCAA 08 football and Forza 2 Motorsport. I'm pretty disappointed in NCAA football...the graphics are good, especially the closeups, but there's a lot about it that's just bad when compared to NCAA 07 on the PS2. No alternate uniform options, no create-a-school, no division 1-AA teams (so I can't start a dynasty as App. State), so it just seems bare-bones. You would think a next-gen game would have more options than one made for an old system...but no.

Forza 2, on the other hand, is pure joy. 300 cars, 45 tracks, more car customization options than I can comprehend, and the driving physics are incredible...the graphics are stunning too. I bought the game on a whim without reading any reviews (something I never do), hoping it was basically an Xbox version of the Playstation's Gran Turismo...and thats exactly what it reminds me of. The driving is so incredible that it's fun to just do laps around the track without any other cars out there. The racing appears to be great too, but I haven't done much of that yet.

Hopefully I'll have some Cat 5 cable run under the floor here in the next few weeks so I can get set up on Xbox Live. Also, next week NHL 08 comes out (which unlike NCAA 08 appears to be feature packed...it has all the AHL teams!)...and that will be my next game purchase. Then in October comes Guitar Hero III and the new Les Paul guitar. I'm just appalled at the cost of the games...I'll probably only ever have 5-6 games at a time.

Only one problem so far...I had an unreadable disc error last night. That's a horrible sign. Xbox 360s have a reported 33% failure rate, and typically the problems begin with little errors here and there which get more common and culminate in the "red ring of death", which is three red lights on the console signaling hardware failure. In all honesty I wouldn't be shocked if in two weeks my Xbox is in the coffin heading back to Redmond. :-|