I don't know why working people resent students so much. Granted, we're a drain on their wages, soaking up precious taxes to fund our weekly binges in alcohol, fast food and lazy mornings in bed, but that doesn't make us bad people, right?

Erm...

Well, what can I do to rectify this? I don't drink (much) any more, laid off the fast food when my arteries started creaking when I stood up too fast, and still firmly believe lazy mornings in bed are a right, not a privilege. So what can I give back that'll be of any use to society?

I know – using the magic of the Internet, and the three consoles paid for by Mr. Tax-Payer, I shall transmit my thoughts directly into your brain. The purpose, you ask? To provide an un-biased comparative study of the next-gen consoles available to those of you without student loans and not much hard-earned cash to spare.

So, dear reader, where to start? Well, at the beginning, obviously. The Xbox 360 was the first of this current brace of console-goodness, and was first available in the UK on the 2nd of December 2005. The console launched with 17 titles in the EU market, which has since expanded to a comprehensive library of over 450 games (released or announced), which is the largest available title list of any of the new systems. This is one of the major advantages of the system, as there are sure to be games that appeal to everyone, be it adult, child, casual gamer or hardcore fan.

The machine is meaty, producing excellent graphics and smooth frame-rates. While older titles do not have this problem, some of the newer games feature extremely small fonts, clearly meant to be viewed on HDTVs. Poor plebs with less than that will struggle to understand what's going on. The offender who springs to mind is Dead Rising, whose particular crimes against standard definition televisions encouraged me to invest in my own HDTV (thanks again, tax-payers).

The feel of the console is good. The basic out-of-game menus are user-friendly, and the controller feels comfortable and well-made. Perusing the games available in your local emporium would suggest a heavy leaning towards tense first-person shooters. Many of these are excellent, such as the epic Halo 3, F.E.A.R., Rainbow Six: Vegas, whereas others are verging on the unplayable (Soldier of Fortune: Payback, I'm looking at you). However, there are a n extensive catalogue of non-shooters, each interesting and compelling in its own right. Games like Viva Piñata (build a garden to attract cute little piñata monsters, slaughter them for profit and for the greater good), Eternal Sonata (set within the final dream of Chopin before his death – though not mentioning the syphilis), and the upcoming Beautiful Katamari (roll stuff around into a ball and pick up other stuff) are just a few of the slightly off-kilter titles for people tired of standard fare.

Halo 3

Eternal Sonata

The console also boasts an impressive and evolving online service. Having a Live account tied to your console allows you to access game demos and trailers, downloadable arcade games, instant messaging and VOIP chat to friends, as well as access to online gaming and specific game patches or additional content. The arcade games available are generally high-quality, with demos available to test before you take the plunge and hand over your hard-earned cash. A new service allows the "rental" of movies, both in standard and high definition formats. Once paid for, the console downloads the film to its hard-drive and awaits your viewing pleasure. Microsoft plans to expand on this service considerably, with a deal in place to give access to an impressive number of titles. However, certain services are only available to Gold users, which costs £39.99 for a year's subscription. Also, the console is only connectable to the Internet via a wired connection without investing in a wireless adapter (official price £59.99).

However, there are some downsides to the Xbox 360. First and foremost, the console has got a bad reputation for breaking down. The infamous "Red Ring of Death", harbinger of your console's demise, has been widely reported and even prompted Microsoft to extend the warranty on every Xbox 360 console bought to three years. In addition, the power of the machine comes at a price – the console is noisy and prone to over-heating. The pay-to-play system for online play is frankly a rip-off, as is paying sixty quid for a USB wifi adapter – go down to your local computer store and ask. The same thing will cost under £20 (though only official adapters work with the 360). The seemingly cheaper Xbox 360 Core and Arcade models may seem like affordable gateways to next gen gaming, but the fact that they are crippled by having no internal memory means that downloading content is difficult and even playing online (with Burnout Paradise in particular) is impossible.

Pros:

· Extensive library of titles
· Effective online services
· Excellent graphics

Cons:

· Dubious lifespan
· Gold membership and peripherals expensive
· Misleading entry level systems

So with Microsoft leading the market with the 360, all eyes began to fall on their rivals with varying levels of anticipation and impatience..

Andy Patterson (student, gamer and Console Obsession resident)

Keep a look out for part 2 soon!