All you need to know about Xbox 360

GamePro - After enduring months of contrived viral marketing campaigns and fluffy monologues from James Allard, the Xbox 360 launch has finally come upon us. If you are one of the lucky few to have preordered months back or endured long waits at a Wal-Mart, the question of buying is irrelevant. For many others, the big question lingers: Is the $300 investment worth every cent?
Half-hearted Halo to backwards compatibility
Microsoft Corp.'s much-touted backwards compatibility isn't what it seems for the Xbox 360. One of the major issues is that it's missing a slew of major franchises in its list of compatible titles: Why is Dead or Alive 3 compatible but not its sequel, Dead or Alive Ultimate? Not to mention the absence of Splinter Cell, Burnout and Soul Calibur II, or the fact that you need to download a patch to play Halo 2 online.
Blatant shortcomings aside, the Xbox 360 does play compatible titles smoothly. Although Microsoft claims that Xbox games get enhanced with 4x anti-aliasing and 720 progressive-scan resolution, our prepatched Halo 2 shows a negligible visual upgrade. This, of course, is set to change with the console launch, with Microsoft offering a massive download that will purportedly improve the look of games -- and hopefully extend that inadequate compatibility list to include more high-profile games.
Thankfully, none of Halo 2's sharp controls get lost to the Xbox 360 controller, meaning games won't feel any different than with the original Xbox.
Parental controls
The violent-content blame game could end with the Xbox 360 because the console integrates a robust system that will let parents have control over what games their kids play. The Family Setting will enable users to lock out content based on regional ratings systems for both games and movies, as well as regulate access to Xbox Live. The password-protected system even allows parents to control access to specific Xbox Live areas such as downloadable content, friends lists and online status. By far, Microsoft has delivered the most versatile parental control system in a console to date.
Unifying the online front
If there is one area in which the Xbox 360 could trump the PlayStation 3, it will likely be the online experience. The best word to describe the online infrastructure? Organized. Xbox 360 features a convenient profile button (located on the center of the controller) that's accessible anytime -- even when a game is loading. Profiles are divided into two subcategories: off-line profiles and online Gamertags. The same profile can be used for every game, making