Video Gaming Blog

The Beginning
The XBox 360 is the console that took the place of the original XBox. Its main competition? PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii – two other major players in the seventh generation of consoles. The console itself had a variety of names during its development. Some possibilities included XBox Next to NextBox, and even Xenon. However, XBox 360 seemed to be a bit more easily marketed, and thusly the name stuck.

First ideas for the 360 came about in 2003, with planning beginning in Februrary of 2003. Throughout the rest of 2003, many higher ups in the gaming industry signed on to help with the development of the 360. Sega’s former president signed on early in the project, and ATI developed the graphics processing unit later that year. Prior to release, even Apple got in on the action, as several Alpha development kits were caught using the PowerMac G5 hardware.

Launch
November 22, 2005 was the release date for the XBox 360 in the United States. Fans everywhere rushed out not only to buy the console, but also to buy XBox 360 games, which were already being released in a small flood. Two versions were available upon original launch, the XBox 360 package or the XBox 360 Core package. Several other packages have come along since then, to include the Elite model.

But gamers around the world are getting ramped up yet again as Microsoft plans to release yet another version of the XBox 360. This one with the more simple name of XBox 360 S. But don’t let the release of a newer version dictate whether or not you buy XBox 360 games. You will still be able to play all the same games on the XBox 360 S. This isn’t like the change from XBox to XBox 360. So go on out and buy XBox 360 games – buy some for your friends, too. You’re all certain to be gaming to your heart’s content now that you know where your XBox 360 came from.

It’s getting closer and closer to Christmas, but don’t fret; The massive amount of highly anticipated games coming out this Holiday season can make your Christmas shopping this year all too easy. Moreover, most of these games are sequels to their insanely popular predecessors.

With the release of Left 4 Dead 2, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2 and Assassin’s Creed 2 all just around the corner, gamers are tense with the excitement of getting their hands on each title. Even though most of you have probably heard of if not played each games’ first installment, let’s take a look at each one.

Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360, PC) is Valve’s hit survival horror game. While Valve is a company that has made a name for itself with franchises like Half-Life, Team Fortress, Portal, and Counter-Strike, it’s no surprise that their newest endeavor is just as, if not more, successful than the previous projects.
Left 4 Dead 2 definitely has a lot of expectations to live up to; Hopefully Valve will be able to keep up with the players’ demands. The release date is set for November 17th, so mark your calendars.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) is probably the most popular online game for the Xbox 360 to-date, despite it being released almost two years ago. As far as first person shooters go, the amount of customization and skills to be acquired is first-rate. Not to mention the gameplay, which is almost always fast-paced and smooth.
CoD 4: Modern Warfare and its sequel were developed by Infinity Ward, who also created the first three and CoD 5: World at War. CoD 4: Modern Warfare 2 goes on shelves on November 10th. With it, the original Call of Duty 4 is coming out for the Nintendo Wii, so that will be something for Nintendo fans to look forward to.

Assassin’s Creed (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) was one of the most story-heavy games this author has ever played. I say that in the best way possible, however, as there is no point in the story that bored me. The actual mechanics were a bit boring, unfortunately. Hopefully that will be fixed by Ubisoft’s next installment in the series, Assassin’s Creed 2. This game will also see its release on the 17th of November. There were a lot of questions raised at the end of the first game, and I for one expect some answers in the second.

And if none of that interests you, there’s still more on the way. Crackdown 2 is expected a little later in 2010 and Halo 3: ODST is out now, fresh off the presses. Both titles are available on the Xbox 360. Final Fantasy XIII is going to be released in Japan on December 17th this year for the PS3, with an international release hopefully not too far behind it. With so many great titles in sight, it’s hard not to find something that everyone will like!

It looks like an Exciting New Year to Come!

Eric Hudson