Xbox 360 Reviews and New Releases

Its finally happened, just four months after release, it seems the XBox 360 has now been officially hacked to play backup XBox 360 software. A group of hackers, headed by a guy affectionaly known as TheSpecialist have found a way to use an exploit on the firmware of the DVD drive, of all things.

Although not officially released yet by the group, the information on how to carry out the firmware hack will no doubt begin to filter out onto the internet at some point very soon. A video clip has been released which shows the group loading a backup copy of PGR 3 into the hacked XBox 360 and then booting the unit up. After a few seconds and a little bit of DVD lens activity, the game springs to life with not so much as an XBox 360 mod chip in sight!

Having looked closely at the video myself, it has be said, it looks genuine and there is no good reason to doubt its authenticity. The video clip shows the disk being loaded, then the XBox 360 being booted up and then the camera slowly pans up, following the line of the video cable from the XBox and to the TV set without any special effects or camera cuts.

A statement from Microsoft stated that the security of the XBox 360 is second to none and it would leave hackers completely baffled. They almost went as far as to state that the XBox 360 was un-hackable. Of course, this is a foolish thing to do, as it only encourages more hackers to attempt the challenge and gain the status that goes with such an achievement. Just four months after the XBox 360 is released, we seem to have seen its first hack. Im sure there will be many more XBox 360 hacks to follow, possibly also with the release of the long awaited XBox 360 mod chips.

If the claims that the video and information about this hack are true, this is set to wipe the smug grin completely off Microsoft's face. What MS seem to forget is that although they are the richest company on the planet, and therefore can afford to employ some of the worlds best boffins, that doesnt mean to say that they are the only smart guys in this world. Some people do it for high wages... but some do it just for kicks.

Microsoft were left with egg on their face having claimed the security on the original XBox console was tight, yet a short time after release, we saw the first devices which could bypass Microsoft's security measures and allow playback of imported and backup games on the XBox. Of course, there are legal implications with this.


Watch this space for the latest on the hacking of the XBox 360 console as this is set to rock the gaming world. You can find more XBox 360 accessories here:

http://www.uk-consoles.co.uk/shop/xbox-360-c-22.html


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You can check the latest news on Hacking the XBox 360

Barry - UK Consoles
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In a recent issue of Time magazine, Microsoft's hard-hitting billionaire announced his battle plan for sparring with Sony in the next generation console wars of the entertainment industry.

His weapon? The sequel to Bungie/Microsoft megahit, which has pulled in a staggering amount of sales, selling well over 6 million copies to date, the space Epic that will hit shelves with the title:

Halo 3.

Bill Gates was positively glowing when he announced that Halo 3 was going to pose big problems for Sony and the rival system to the XBOX 360, the Playstation 3. On the launch date for the PS3, Bill Gates plans to release Halo 3 on the raving masses, and he expects this to be a solid blow to the Xbox's cheif competitor.

Said Gates, "The day Sony launches [the new PlayStation], they walk right into Halo 3."

Unlike the original "Halo", which was on the epic flagship lineup for the original Xbox, Halo 3 will be a part of what Microsoft considers "the all important second-wave".

Will it be a death blow? Probably not. But rest assured, this move is throwing the console war into high gear. Sony Executives and stockholders have a lot to worry about, and in the coming months we should really see things heating up.


About the Author
SEVEN is a mysterious and influential member of the Microsoft and Bungie Community. He has recently set up a Halo forum and a Halo 3 forum for members to discuss the latest bungie happenings.

Gamers and techies have waited with bated breath for advancements and innovations in gaming. To set the pulse racing and the mind thinking one needs to be challenged. This has become possible by computer technology and the wonderful world of gaming. Just as adventures and wars would have done in yester years these days it is technology that offers to quench the thirst for adventure. Microsoft has created a challenge in the form of the Xbox 360-- a visionary, super powerful, multimedia console that brings to you the GenX gaming world. Of course, the markets being competitive present so many choices.

If you need to be convinced here are a few reasons why you must buy the Xbox360.

1. There are games galore for the thirsty. Kameo elements of power, Project Gotam 3, Perfect dark Zero, and many more. All unique, with great effects and gaming wizardry.

2. The Xbox360 has wireless controllers as well as internet connectivity. The premium pack presents great delights offering freedom of movement and a superb range of over 30 feet. Ergonomically designed the controller has skip wires, tangles and boomerangs.

3. With an aim to please even the most discerning palate, the Xbox360 has an amazing variety of games. Some are exclusively designed for the box like Condemned, and Dead or Alive. Titles that have been widely acknowledge by expert gamers are: Call of Duty 2, Project Gotham Racing 3, Kameo, King Kong, and Condemned.

4. Amazing and most welcome is the fact that over 200 Xbox games will be backwardly compatible with the Xbox360.

5. Xbox 360 brings with it the arcade marketplace. Imagine free games, cheap games, and addictive non-stop games. The possibilities are endless and thrilling.

6. The Graphics are stupendous and bring to life the games in virtual reality. Xbox360 has three 3.2 GH processors that run with a 500MhzATI graphics processor. Whew—let’s bow to power.

7. Endless possibilities with the Xbox360. Games, CDs, movies and customized music. It even connects to the Microsoft media center for a complete media sensation. You can let your creativity and innovativeness take wing.

8. The Xbox 360 is more than an everyday console. It is interactive and you can buy many things like bonus levels, episodic content, gamer specials, and gamer tag images. You can download demos, and bonus packs from game developers. A live platform with no limits marketplace for developers and publishers.

9. The Xbox360 is a keeper of records. It creates history. The gamer card becomes your identity with name, image, scores, games you like, and your aims and mottos. This takes online fraternities a step closer to one another.

10. Fulfils many dreams and fantasies. The games are the best, interesting, mind stimulating, and exciting. The Xbox 360 takes the gaming world forwards and offers options like downloads, online plays, movies, as well as a touch button marketplace for games.

The Xbox360 is a must for serious gamers. It indicates your dedication as a gamer and reflects your tastes and reputation in the cyber gaming universe. Opens up endless possibilities and takes you to the next generation gaming delights.

Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for http://www.1866Shopping.com, the premier online shopping directory provides online shopping, outlet shopping, retail shopping stores, offer online shopping cart, shops and store directory, online shops, Shopping Malls, shopping centers, discount shopping, shopping offers and more. He also freelances for Free Online Music Site http://www.1888Music.com

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The Xbox 360 is one of the most important products for Microsoft this year and it has your living room squarely in its sights. It has even been described as the second coming of Sega's Dreamcast! This new Xbox is smaller than the original and its wireless features, along with its stylishly concave shape, make it fit nicely into the living room, a very welcome change from the standard X Box. In fact, it's about 20% smaller than the original and the console can either rest on its end or on its side. The sides are "sucked in" and the power button is oversized and surrounded by a ring of glowing green light. Finally, the color of the console is a soft white, compared to the harsh black color of the original that really made it stand out.

As far as the technology the X Box incorporates, all of its hardware is custom-made from the ground up. It also features a custom graphics chip designed by NVIDIA, which is not entirely dissimilar to the GeForce 3. This graphics chip is the most powerful of any other game console. As you may know, graphics-intense applications such as video games are in fact mathematically-intense applications so the graphics chip of a game console can perform is of crucial importance to the gaming performance it can deliver. In fact, the whole purpose of graphics chips is to aid in the mathematical computations so if for example a circle needs to be drawn, the processor passes the circle's center and radius to the graphics chip and the graphics chip does all the computations, rather than have the processor create the circle's surface pixel by pixel. What the X Box does is delivering PC-level processing power to your living room. Far more than a game console, the X Box 360 is in fact, a total media center.

So how exactly is that PC-level power integrated in what looks like a game console? Well, first of all, it uses MTEC technology to liquid cool the hardware, so as to avoid noisy fans. CoolIT, the vendor of X Box 360 cooling system claims it's a unique solution that gives more stable performance and better temperatures. The X Box also has a built-in hard drive used to save games and download goodies off of Xbox Live. As you might have guessed, it also features an Ethernet connection port which gives it built-in broadband capability. It also supports wireless connectivity for up to 4 different controllers. The controllers can actually act as full remote controls and turn the X Box on and off. Apart from that, the device also has three USB ports and three memory slots, with memory units starting at 64MB.

As far as what games you can play on the X Box 360, Electronic Arts announced the largest commitment in its history to Xbox 360. Other key industry publishers announced that there are more than 160 X Box 360 games already in development! These new X Box 360 games, Microsoft says, will be making better use of the X Box 360's advanced video and audio capabilities. It also seems that while PS3 games will be at around $80, X Box 360 games are at around $50! Currently, most X Box 360 games are ports from the standard xbox and don't fully utilize the console's advanced capabilities. Even the first crop of X Box 360 games is expected not to take full advantage of some of X Box 360's features.


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Lots of people are wondering whether to buy XBOX 360 or wait for PS3. So, to help you make a decision I've compiled a comparison of the XBOX 360 and PS3.

Both are tremendously powerful and have some advantage over each other. PS3 has advantage with its compatibility with previous PS versions and XBOX has tremendous support for device connectivity with its HD Media Center. Its connectivity including direct support for Apple iPod is great. And Sony has nothing like Xbox Live service which gets even better with Xbox 360. But, biggest advantage XBOX will have over PS3 will be price, XBOX was released for $299 - $399 (core or premium) but it's clear from all the report I have read PS3 will be launched for around $500.

Here is summary of difference between two consoles. You can read full article at http://www.justxbox.com/xbox-360-vs-ps3-play-station-3-.html

CPU

Xbox 360 Processor type Custom IBM PowerPC - 3 symmetrical cores @3.2 GHz each 2 hardware threads per core, 6 total VMX-128 vector unit per core; 3 total 128 VMX-128 registers per hardware thread 1 MB L2 cache

PlayStation 3

Cell Processor -PowerPC-base Core @3.2GHz 1 VMX vector unit per core 7x SPE @3.2GHz 7x 128b 128 SIMD GPRs 7x 256KB SRAM for SPE 512KB L2 cache

Graphics

XBOX uses a ATI-based custom processor with 500 MHZ processor with fllowinf features Up to 512 MB GDDR3 system RAM (700 MHz), 10 MB of embedded DRAM , 48-way parallel floating-point dynamically scheduled shader pipelines, Unified shader architecture, 48 billion shader operations per second

PS3 will use NVIDIA-based RSX "Reality Synthesizer" with 550 MHz processor,it will have 256MB GDDR3 (700MHz) memory.

Video

XBOX 360 will have following resolution 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i
PS3 will have following resolution 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080P

Storage

Xbox 360 will have a 12X dual-layer DVD. Premium system will come with 20 GB removable hard drive
Sony PS3 will have Blue-ray DVD drive with a optional Hard drive with size TBD.

You can read full article at http://www.justxbox.com/xbox-360-vs-ps3-play-station-3-.html


About the Author
Webmaster at www.JustXBOX.com -- Your #1 site for XBOX 360 & XBOX Games, Reviews, & News

HALO 3 FOR XBOX 360

XBOX 360 VS. PS3

The folks here at Xbox® have taken a bold step by declaring that all games that appear on the Xbox 360™ video game system will support high-definition resolutions up to 720 progressive scan and 1080 interlace. It's important to note the difference between this policy and that of the original Xbox® console. With games on the original Xbox, developers had the option to support HD graphics, but Xbox 360 demands that all games feature high-definition options. To clear up some confusion, here are a few key points to bear in mind regarding high-definition support on Xbox 360.

You do not need a TV that supports high definition to use the Xbox 360 system. Like all consoles before it, Xbox 360 works perfectly on standard-definition TVs (the resolution for standard def is 480 interlace).
The high-definition support for Xbox 360 is dynamic, so even if a game is designed with 720p in mind, but your TV only supports 480p or 1080i, Xbox 360 runs the game in the best resolution your TV offers (up to 720p and 1080i).
If you do plan on running games in high definition with your HDTV, you'll need the Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable, which comes standard with the Xbox 360 system (not the Xbox 360 Core System) and is sold separately as well.
If you're using the Xbox 360 VGA HD AV Cable to connect your Xbox 360 console to a computer monitor or TV monitor with a VGA connection, you'll have the opportunity to select from a variety of resolutions. They are:
640 x 480
848 x 480
1024 x 768
1280 x 720 (equivalent to 720p)
1280 x 768
1280 x 1024
1360 x 768
Whether using the Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable or the Xbox 360 VGA HD AV Cable, you'll find the resolution settings in the System menu on the Xbox 360 Dashboard. Select Console Settings in the System menu, and then select Display to find all your resolution options.
Xbox 360 offers unprecedented support for high-definition gaming, yet it remains flexible as well. Whether using a standard definition TV (480i), an HDTV with only one progressive scan option, or an HDTV with every available option (up to 720p and 1080i), or even a computer monitor, Xbox 360 will employ the best resolution your TV or monitor can display.

Article by Alex McLain

Fusing powerful hardware, software, and services, Xbox 360 fully engages you in a gaming experience that is more expansive, dramatic, and lifelike, where the possibilities are limitless and your imagination knows no boundaries. Check out the contents and features below and choose the console that’s right for you.

Xbox 360

If you're a serious gamer looking for the ultimate console, the search ends here. Xbox 360 is fully loaded. It's the unsurpassed gaming and entertainment experience right out of the box delivering the Ultimate gaming and entertainment experience for the best value.

Xbox 360 Core System

Xbox 360 Core System delivers the same powerful gaming as Xbox 360 but starts with the basics and lets you expand at your own pace. It’s everything you need to hit the ground running. Plug in the console and the controller and you're playing. Then decide what extras you add—it's expandable to the full Xbox 360 experience.

Microsoft has unveiled two molds of the Xbox 360; the premium package, for heavy-duty gamers, and the core system, a machine made for less experienced gamers thriving for success in the era of gaming. The difference is colossal and that includes the $100.00 difference in price.

What comes in each box?
Both consoles have three-core CPU’s, each running at 3.2GHz; 500MHz ATI graphics processor; 512MB memory; and built-in wireless.

The Premium box contains a console with Premium Chrome Finish, a 20GB Hard Drive, Wireless Controller, Xbox Live Headset, Component HD AV Cable and an Ethernet Cable for online gaming.

The Core box contains a console which is white in color, wired controller and a composite AV cable.

Why would I want the Premium Package?
In order to play an array of original Xbox games, the hard drive is required. Either the hard drive or memory unit is required in order to save games and content, play online over Xbox Live, and voice chat with friends and family. In addition to the hard drive or memory unit being required to chat online; the headset is also required to communicate.

End result here is if you want the best possible experience from your Xbox 360, the Premium package is the way to go.

Rock On!
- Cody Pirlott

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