This Avatar... Ehem NXE Craze

Since the NXE (New Xbox Experience for those who do not already know) has launched, shipped, whatever you want to call it, I am feeling like I did when the 360 first shipped. I am checking everyone's avatars and scrutinizing them as I had been checking folks gamerscore when the 360 first launched. It feels like having a new console and it feels like being a new 360 gamer again.

A lot of things are the same but for the most part everything is new and moved around (which leads to a lot of playing and discovering). I enjoy hunting out all of the new features as I had already long since ferreted out all of the old features of the umm... Old Xbox Experience (OXE if you will). I have already deleted all of my zero gamerscore games and I made sure to fully pimp out that avatar (I have a purple hoodie).

The avatars, to myself and my friends, do not just feel like a kid thing. It has already become a wonder to see how close we can represent ourselves against our real life counterparts selves.

Though I haven't set up my Netflix account seeing as I do not yet have my own Xbox back I have found my favorite feature. In the end this feature will not make or break anyone's decision but that does not really matter seeing as it makes me happy. I love the new premium themes and not just because they are formatted to fit the NXE but because of the way that they theme my friends list (the kiddie one, not the one in the guide).

I really cannot say a bad thing about the NXE and the only features that I think that I want (the I can think of) in the future are:

- When I select a download from the web-based Marketplace, I want it to turn on my Xbox in low power mode and download my items (though I am not sure if this is possible).

- I want the option to drag my party with me into another game so I can skip the step of actually getting into the game and then sending out a party invite

These are really minor but I still would like to see the download thing happening.

And lastly here is the funniest thing that I have seen with Avatars so far and I wanted to thank Major Nelson for pointing it out to me.

The Holiday Season

A good friend of mine probably had the better idea this holiday season; he played one or two games that he gave his full attention to while I have or will be trying to play five or six. The only game that I am not accepting less than the best from myself in is Fallout 3. I have to do every thing possible because it will be the title I go to last to play again (not because of the quality but because of the length and my related lack of time).

No other title makes you feel like you have to do so much in such a grand world (except for maybe Oblivion), but then again, in Oblivion, do you really feel like you are shaping the world around you? Naturally, Fallout 3 being the game that makes one feel like they are experiencing the most original concept would make it ultimate game of the year material. Possibly for some, but for myself, it is all about the raw fun, the laughs, and just the good times.

For me the game that brings the most fun is feeling like a tie. Between the dirty, dirty Horde mode (GOW2) and the overall re playable nature of Left 4 Dead I am left with a hard decision. I cannot tell you which one I'll play longer either. Only time is going to be able to tell on this one. But if there is one thing I can say about L4D that I cannot yet say about GOW, is that my wife is going to be playing L4D with myself and my good friends (that might be your decision there).

But it is not yet time for this decision because I haven't played Dead Space or Mirror's Edge yet. Hopefully I'll have squeezed them in there somehow by the end of this year otherwise I'll spend all of next year playing catch up once again (the likeliest of scenarios).

How about you? What are you playing/not playing? What are you playing now and what are you saving for later?