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XBOX WINS AT GAMES

If you're still debating which game console to buy and you're serious about games, then there's only one clear choice to make and it's the Xbox. Granted the Sony PlayStation 2 has a lot more games and granted the Nintendo Game Cube is superior to its successful Nintendo 64 console. But the Xbox has better graphics, sound abilities and it has more of a future already built in. The Xbox's real potential has yet to be tapped and yet the games available for it now are already superior.

The Xbox comes standard with a built-in fast 8 gigabyte hard drive. This allows games to be played more seamlessly and without the loading interruptions typically seen on other consoles that must pause while they load additional programming from the slow CD-ROM drive. Having the ability to store data on a hard drive allows games to have more depth of story and detail needed in adventure and role playing games. Xbox also has built-in Ethernet networking for high-speed communication and broadband Internet access. And although the Internet access won't be released by Microsoft until later this Summer, it promises to herald in a whole new dimension to multiplayer online gaming. Microsoft won't say exactly what is coming but in an interview with Seamus Blackley, Microsoft's Xbox Technology Officer, Blackley told me the broadband ability will allow gamers to speak to each other via headsets while playing games. You'll even be able to change the tonality of your voice so your online persona can take on the qualities of a 300 pound linebacker or a 2 inch tall fairy.

Adding one of the A/V adapters gives the Xbox additional video and sound capabilities. The High Definition AV Pak, for example allows the Xbox to be hooked to a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound system via an optical cable. And the video connectors let you hook the Xbox to a High Definition Television set better known as HDTV. After viewing DOA III on an HDTV set, I can promise that it will spoil you for anything else that's less. It was like someone had used a squeegee to clean the glass on the TV set and bring every detail into crystal clear focus. i could almost count the blades of grass, the grains of sand on the beach and see the texture in a character's hair. It was truly a breathtaking experience.

Other built-in abilities let you play music CDs and then copy or "rip" any sound track from the CD and store it directly to the hard drive. The Xbox has a slick high-tech interface that lets you organize, display and play the music to a pulsing color display. And if you don't particularly like the music track on a game you're playing, you can replace it with any of those music tracks you've ripped. The drive can also read DVDs making the Xbox an ideal DVD movie player. You must purchase the $29.99 DVD Movie Playback Kit that includes a fully functional hand held remote control. DVD movies aren't necessary to game playing and Microsoft didn't feel the need to make everyone pay for DVD functionality. But since the DVD drive is already there, $29.99 is a small price to pay for a quality DVD player. The Xbox can take advantage of most special DVD functions like hearing alternative language tracks. Parental controls let you set the level of both DVDs and games that may be viewed by your children.

One very important aspect that Blackley was quick to point out is that every Xbox has the same abilities. If you think about it, that's very important. How many times have you wanted to buy a game for your computer only to discover you couldn't play it because it required a special kind of video card or more memory? But since every Xbox is configured the same, those concerns won't exist. You can be sure that any game you buy now or later on will work on your Xbox.

Since the Xbox was designed to please the people who actually design and write video and computer games, we can be sure to see most all of the really exciting game titles appearing in the Xbox arena real soon.

www.xbox.com