They got me and I am glad they did.

The PS3, the Wii, or the 360? With three game consoles on the market that are somewhat expensive what can a father of three do? I bought a Wii over a year ago and love it, but needed to buy another system for my entertainment and it came down to the PS3 or the 360.

Well, the 360 won.

Part of the reason for Microsofts victory is their game library. Halo 3 being the biggest piece. Getting a console to market one year ahead of the competition helped Microsoft get their foot into the door. Once they got the foot in, they kicked the door open and are now making what I believe to be the best console on the market.

The game library is huge and there are plenty of games to choose from. However with that said, I notice the games are geared more for the older crowd instead of the young ones. I have problems finding adult games for the Wii and vise versa for the 360. The other issue I have is backward compatability. I bought the 20gb version of the 360 so I could play all my old Xbox games on it as well. The problem is, Microsoft only selected the titles they felt were worthy of being played on the 360. Many of my old favorites cannot be played on my new system which is a disappointment. I was looking forward to playing Topspin on the 360 and building a tennis career all over again but was denied. The Wii is backward compatable with all the Gamecube games so I do not see why Microsoft would not make all of their games this way. Sony makes you buy their more expensive system, but that system allows all games to be played if you buy it. Microsoft would be smart to add more titles to their list. The last I checked the list was updated last in November 2007 almost one year ago.

Just like I was awed watching sports in HD, playing games in HD is a whole new experience. It makes it very hard to play a game in regular digital when you've played them in HD. I can now only watch sports in HD and play games in HD. My Wii just cannot compete with the graphics and if it did not have a motion sensor controller, I would not touch it. Rumor has it that Microsoft is developing this technology and if they do, the Wii may not be played by me ever again. The graphics are head and shoulders above any other system and that includes the PS3. Madden 08 looked horrible on the PS3 while on the 360 it looked brilliant.

A beef I have with Microsoft is the fact you have to pay to get online. I don't understand how hard it would be to give the purchaser of the system a 90 - 120 day free trial on X-Box live. The fact that you have to pay almost $60 a year for X-Box live bothers me. I can get over the fact that they do not include a game with my system, but this seems like a no brainer to get a customer sucked into the online experience. With over 5 years under their belt Microsoft has the best online experience to offer and the 360 has to be used online to get its full potential. Almost every game I have played on this system is far better when played online. For example, Halo 3 can only be played in 4 player co-op online. The multiplayer is unreal online, as are many other games. If a 360 is to be bought, online access needs to be in your plans.

The 360 has multiple USB ports which allow all kinds of computer equipment to be used on it. I use the system as a back up for my photo albums. Save them on my computer, and then on my 360. If one crashes, I have the other as a back up and don't have to worry about cd's or flash drives. Also, if you buy the wired controller you can use that on your PC for a PC game. The music portion of the 360 is not all that. You must delete all music off your system in order to remove it and then reload what you want. Individual song or albums cannot be removed. I have been told a patch should be coming for this issue, but only those who are online will be able to get it.

The system came with a controller, 20gb storage, power cord, and head set. Shortly after purchase the price was dropped to $299 but I got a great deal on my controllers so I made up for it. The manual for the 360 is where I really am disappointed. This system for lack of a better term is a computer. The manual has basic set up instructions in it. Nothing in it gives you a insight as to what the 360 can really do. Every computer I have ever bought had books of information. The 360 is horrible in this regard. I am somewhat computer savy, but I feel like I am missing something when using this system because the manual is so poorly put together.

So now that I have complained about what I don't like, I have to address the "Three Rings of Death" issue. The reason we bought a Wii in the first place was because of the fail rate the 360 had. After doing some reading and asking other 360 owners, the "Three Rings of Death" is no longer an issue. If the system you purchase has an HDMI port (mine does) it was manufactured with the correction to the issue. So, if you plan on buying a used system from someone, that should be the first thing you check. No HDMI port, don't buy it. Microsoft has by far the best warranty on their system. Three years. It was the selling point for us.

I know this sounds like a negative review on the 360, but it is all about the games and playing them on this system is the tops. I have played the Wii a lot and the PS3 with some friends and I am most impressed with the 360 and its graphics and games. If you like first person shooters and sports, this is the system you should buy. If you have kids under 10, the Wii might be better suited for you.

*****Owned the system now for about 7 months and last night got the red light.  Not the three lights, but the red light.  So, instead of the red ring of death I have the partial red ring of death.  I guess there are more than one way to kill a 360.  Heat is not always the issue.  Called Microsoft and they told me to ship it back to them.  I printed shipping labels and plan on letting you all know if the meet their 2-3 weeks they promised or not.  I bought this console knowing this might happen, and it has.  Glad to have Microsoft at least step up and repair it for me.  I have read their customer service is horrible, but so far the only pain I have experienced is not being able to play for the next few weeks.  Updates to come.*****