Cool Tech Reviews

Here’s a kind of review you don’t see everyday. Aeropause compares the user interface on Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 3 to that on Microsoft’s shipping Xbox 360:

Don’t even get me started on how horrible the 360 interface has been. It sure looks bright, but it was a crap shoot on whether the option you were looking for was in the Settings blade, or buried somewhere in the “Xbox Guide”. The latest dashboard has improved the organization of the 360 interface greatly, but has done little to make it simpler and more streamlined. Microsoft has a lot of work to do, there.

It looks like someone over at Sony has a clue about how interfaces should work.

I’m certain that not all console users would agree and in the comments on the article some don’t with emphasis on the observation that the PS3 interface being just a warmed over version of the PS2 interface.

Besides the gaming, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has aspirations as a home entertainment center and that means a remote control. Paul Thurrott reviews 3 remotes for the Xbox 360:

- Xbox 360 Media Remote (free with high end Xbox 360 bundles)
- Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote ($30)
- Logitech’s Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360 ($130)

Thurrott doesn’t think much of any of them, but on a price/performance basis he gives the Universal Media Remote a luke warm endorsement. Hit the link for the details.

Matt Slagle suffers for the cause of gaming:

If you’ve scored an Xbox 360, some actual games are going to be the next logical purchase — unless you auctioned it off for thousands of dollars on eBay.

We’ve worn our fingers to the bone the past few weeks (just for you) playing through the 18 titles available when the system launched. While the offering is diverse, many of the games are merely visually tweaked versions from the older consoles. Worse, Xbox 360 games can cost a whopping $60 — roughly $10 more than games for older systems.

Here’s our take, from best to worst.

Hit the link for the details, but the top 5 are:

1. Call of Duty 2 - “it ran smoother on the $400 console than it did on my $2,500 gaming PC”
2. Condemned: Criminal Origins
3. Kameo: Elements of Power
4. Perfect Dark Zero
5. Project Gotham Racing 3, Need For Speed Most Wanted, and Ridge Racer 6

and the worst is:

• FIFA Soccer 06 Road to the 2006 FIFA World Cup

This is the first review I have seen of “Condemned: Criminal Origins”:

“Condemned: Criminal Origins” (Rated M, $59.99) This unique, thrilling action title shows the true power of Xbox 360 with some incredible, groundbreaking graphics. As FBI investigator Agent Thomas, you spend most of your time cautiously creeping through dank, abandoned subway terminals and other unsavory buildings filled with urban decay and murderous sociopaths who like to lunge at you from dark corners.

Yikes! Reviewing all the games is a dirty job, but someone has to do it.