Xbox 360

I’m a little late!

The Xbox 360 is the second generation of the Xbox line of consoles. I remember it as the machine that brought Kinect, playing a load of local Co-Op Call of Duty, and using it to turn me and flatmates into our own little Rock Band. Well that machine is now 20 years old and retro, so I thought I do little to remind myself about the machine. Console

Even though the Xbox 360 came out in 2005, I never got one. Due to money of course. I couldn’t save enough to get it at the time. Plus I did think at the time their was a lot of games for me when it did. Sure I’ve played them or even own some, but a lot of them had no connection to me. However, it did make me want to have the next gaming thing. I’d watch ads on old IGN, and downloaded a lot of the promotional material. I just knew I had to wait. 

I didn’t get the 360 until 2007. A joint gift with me and my brother, and we got one of those lovely Argos bundles (which they hardly do any more) where we got the consoles, a couple games and a second controller, and sadly that console didn’t last. The replacement we got I still own and think works. We loved it. 

The first thing we loved about it was the wireless controller. Not being limited by cable was a big thing. Yes I know GameCube had one, but this was the default one, and that was cool. While also being about to plug it in to the broadband, meant we could download demo’s of the games we watched trailers for. It definitely was something we enjoyed getting and having at the time. 

By the time we got the console there were a lot of games out for it. A lot of them have been made Greatest Hits. £20 and I had some of the best selling games within a month of owning the console (I miss that price point). Then sadly a thing happened where I didn't know where to start. I had games like Mass Effect, Bioshock, and things like Saints Row, Viva Pinta and Stranglehold. Which did I want to play first? No idea, but at least I had the games. 

One thing I did know at the time, I did like having it over the very expensive PS3. Which at the time, came down to what games the console was offering. As now many games were coming to both, so while I didn’t have both, I’d get for what I did have. While also finding out that a lot of the game ran better on Xbox, it was a no brainer. In a way it locked me to a platform for some games because of this. Some series like Tony Hawks we jumped to Xbox for its last two games, and WWE for a couple of games. But some series like Assassin’s Creed I still collect for the Xbox family of consoles, for now.

Of course over the life span and beyond I have gotten a lot of games for this console. Mainly due to the fact this was the console I had when I was making my own money. So when I wanted a game I could order, get on launch or just pick it up when I saw it somewhere. I am not going to say this was a smart idea, as you should already know I have too many games, I either didn't play or finished. However, there was a lot that I did, and enjoyed them a lot. 

Of course I love all the Assassin’s Creed on the 360, with Brotherhood being my favourite on there. I did finish Bioshock and love the twist it had in the end. Mirrors Edge was a game I got on launch and I did enjoy playing when it came out, and when I replayed it not too long ago. While I did also pre-order Saints Row 2, I didn't actually finish during my first play though. I don't know why, but it was a good game. And of course, I did buy and completed Grand Theft Auto 4 when it came out.

I can not mention all the multiplayer games I played there. It's such a shame when I think back to all the games I played in co-op with my brother, and now that is very restricted to online. We did play Kane & Lync in co-op. I remember we had fun, do I remember what the games were about? Nope, but hey I remember we liked it. But not only with him, university is where it was really loved. 

As I decided to bring my Xbox with me, it was the smartest decision I made. It instantly got me to be friends with people. As we all had one, and we all had different games we could play together. However, I was the only one who had multiple controllers, so there was that. And I don’t just mean gamepads. I had the full Band in the box, and multiple guitars for one of our most played games, Rock Band. 

It’s games like this that make loved the shared experiences. A thing of, you just had to be there to get it. Where we good, I’m not sure any more, I’ve lost the video evidence. But just grabbing a guitar and a microphone (Lips I remember you) and just having a lot of fun is what I think about the Xbox 360. Sure we had a Wii and that was easy, but this felt a little more grown up. Then gaming got so grown up, we stopped having local fun for a bit, and this is where I remember was the time social casual games were great. 

When it was current, the 360 was my primary console, for most it’s life. I got the second upgraded console, and that is still with me and working. As such, most of the games of that generation are on the console. Which is why today, I don’t regret that choice. As with backwards compatibility on the Xbox Series X, so many of my games I can just pop in and play without issue. Some of them I didn’t even know I could, such as not knowing my Dreamcast Collection allows me to play all the games on there as individual apps on the console. Which meant I didn’t need to buy Sonic Adventure again! 

Not to mention a lot of the games from this generation being remade, and allowing me to play them in UHD is nice. But also some when they are being remade I just still pop in the original and love them. It’s just nice to have options. Just a shame that I don’t think more libraries will be added back in, but you never know. 

Since then I have enjoyed the Xbox brand, and boy has that been a hard pill to swallow, considering what they are doing now. As now not everything is good, but at least I’ve still got my gamer score from way back when. Not to mention getting Red Ringed, I feel like most of us experienced. I do get what people are saying, they miss when games were good!

For me, I feel like this generation is when I got serious about gaming. I kept up with news, followed stories, and watched a lot of behind the scenes stuff. It’s just a shame that soon after this I felt out of gaming for a couple of years, due to being too busy. I like to think if I had the same amount of time, as I did then, I would be so into whatever console that was out. The only thing I wish was that the pricing was still very similar. For this purpose the Xbox 360 will forever be in my heart, and one my favourite consoles ever. A definite top 5 contender.