In November last year, Microsoft launched its next generation console the Xbox 360 with much fanfare and an overwhelming demand in North America. Four months later, the 360 has finally made its official Hong Kong debut.
So, how does the next generation console stack up against its older brother?
For starters, the 360 has a multicore 3.2GHz IBM PowerPC-based central processing unit (4.5 times faster), a custom ATI graphics chip and software-driven multichannel surround sound.
Also thrown in are wireless controllers; gone are the days of tripping over controller cables strewn all over the floor.
There is also 720p and 1080i resolution support for all games. Another good thing is the 360 console is 802.11 A/B/G Wi-fi ready, offering wireless connectivity, although the downside is the adapter is sold separately.
Technical aspects aside, the console is everything it is hyped up to be. Using the games Dead or Alive 3 (for Xbox) and Dead or Alive 4 (for the 360) as a base of comparison (since both are reportedly optimised for their respective consoles), we ran both machines through their paces.
The graphics on the 360 are incredible. The images are crisper and amazingly sharper than those on the previous console.
