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Preview: New Xbox Experience
Navneet Prakash, Nov 04, 2008 1828 hrs ISTPeek into the new interface
I have had the privilege of previewing many games before hand, but this was the first time when I as driving down to preview a new interface. The much talked about NXE (New Xbox Experience) is about 2 weeks away, but our friends at Microsoft were kind enough to give us a sneak peak. The NXE is more than a visual overhaul, it adds many new features to the Xbox 360 like Themes 2.0 as well as HDD installs. These features along with the new visual tweaks make the Xbox most unique, not as simple as the PS3 but far richer than the Wii.
I started off by creating an avatar, a feature that RPG fans will breeze through. Your avatar as most sane gamers would know is your virtual representation, gamer pics are passe, 3D avatars are the need of the hour. There are a few default models that you can customize to the last detail, hair, accessories, skin tone, clothes and so on. Once your avatar is ready you save him, but you can always add more features to him/her. Once that is done with, you come to the main interface, which is way more than the simple "Blade" design.
The UI is very similar to Windows Media Center, the transitions as well as sound effects are very similar. All your main tabs are listed vertically, highlighting any tab will open up sub menus horizontally, think PS3's XMB but inverted. Now my previous reference to PS3's XMB is only to give you a clear idea, on face value NXE kicks XMB's a**. All the original menus remain, although they have expanded and added more features to all of them. One of the most striking and interesting features that I saw has been introduced in Xbox Live.
While browsing though the various games, you can now stream a trailer and even see screenshots from the game. This is a good add on, as it will save one the trouble of going online and researching about it, all the relevant details are already listed.
The friends list is way more interactive now, the friends list now contains your friends 3D avatars, jumping and waving at you as you browse through their activities. If a friend is offline, his avatar will be seen dozing off, pixelated avatars also need rest, don't they? Once the update is official you will be able to use them in many XBLA games like UNO rush and Bomberman. Your avatars will be seen sitting at the UNO table flinging cards at the table or running around planting bombs, beat that. A saw another new feature called Party, where you can invite friends, play various games, share images and so on. There are many more features but I couldn't experience them as this is Beta build.
The one thing that you should remember is that NXE looks very nice, although some may find it a little too Wii-like. There is no argument that the Avatars are inspired from Miis but Microsoft has done a fine job to make them feel unique. In case the new look is not for you, there is an easy quick menu as well, which does all the relevant tasks without the fancy colors, so everybody's happy.
The update will be available on 19th November, so its only a matter of 2 weeks. I personally think that the NXE is a good update, although I am sure after a few hours I will be using the quick menu more than anything else. The most prominent features of the update aka Netflix is available only in the US, which is a bumer.
One more important note, the new themes also known as themes 2.0 are finally worth spending Microsoft points. As mentioned before the update is out 19th November, keep about 128MB free since its not a small update, you can watch the NXE trailer below.
I started off by creating an avatar, a feature that RPG fans will breeze through. Your avatar as most sane gamers would know is your virtual representation, gamer pics are passe, 3D avatars are the need of the hour. There are a few default models that you can customize to the last detail, hair, accessories, skin tone, clothes and so on. Once your avatar is ready you save him, but you can always add more features to him/her. Once that is done with, you come to the main interface, which is way more than the simple "Blade" design.
The UI is very similar to Windows Media Center, the transitions as well as sound effects are very similar. All your main tabs are listed vertically, highlighting any tab will open up sub menus horizontally, think PS3's XMB but inverted. Now my previous reference to PS3's XMB is only to give you a clear idea, on face value NXE kicks XMB's a**. All the original menus remain, although they have expanded and added more features to all of them. One of the most striking and interesting features that I saw has been introduced in Xbox Live.
While browsing though the various games, you can now stream a trailer and even see screenshots from the game. This is a good add on, as it will save one the trouble of going online and researching about it, all the relevant details are already listed.
The friends list is way more interactive now, the friends list now contains your friends 3D avatars, jumping and waving at you as you browse through their activities. If a friend is offline, his avatar will be seen dozing off, pixelated avatars also need rest, don't they? Once the update is official you will be able to use them in many XBLA games like UNO rush and Bomberman. Your avatars will be seen sitting at the UNO table flinging cards at the table or running around planting bombs, beat that. A saw another new feature called Party, where you can invite friends, play various games, share images and so on. There are many more features but I couldn't experience them as this is Beta build.
The one thing that you should remember is that NXE looks very nice, although some may find it a little too Wii-like. There is no argument that the Avatars are inspired from Miis but Microsoft has done a fine job to make them feel unique. In case the new look is not for you, there is an easy quick menu as well, which does all the relevant tasks without the fancy colors, so everybody's happy.
The update will be available on 19th November, so its only a matter of 2 weeks. I personally think that the NXE is a good update, although I am sure after a few hours I will be using the quick menu more than anything else. The most prominent features of the update aka Netflix is available only in the US, which is a bumer.
One more important note, the new themes also known as themes 2.0 are finally worth spending Microsoft points. As mentioned before the update is out 19th November, keep about 128MB free since its not a small update, you can watch the NXE trailer below.
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MaxAxe
,Noida, on Nov 05, 2008 11:27 AM
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