Setup

Three versions of the 360 are available: the diskless entry-level 360 Arcade, the 360 Elite, which is black and has a 120GB hard disk, and the standard 360, which packs a 20GB hard disk. Microsoft sent us a standard model. The box features a good selection of kit: there's the slightly off-white 360, now with an HDMI port as well as its proprietary AV output, plus a component video and audio cable, and an integrated optical S/PDIF output. A single wireless gamepad with two AA batteries and a headset are supplied too, along with a massive external PSU. If you've built your own PC, setting up the 360 won't be a challenge, and several neat design touches mean the first hour is full of nice surprises. Out of the box, the 360 configured itself to run at 720p, and was pre-paired with the wireless gamepad, which can also turn the console on and off.

The 360 has a 10/100 Ethernet port for networking. If your router supports DHCP, the 360 will grab an IP address and configure its networking settings automatically, just as a PC would. There's no denying the 360's Microsoft parentage: the first thing it did with its Internet connection was to patch itself, reboot and then download another update. Unlike with a PC, you can't do anything else with the 360 while it's patching.

The setup procedure strongly encourages you to create an account for Xbox Live, the 360's online play network. Mercifully, you can connect a USB keyboard to make entering data easier. When you sign up to Live, it generates a Gamercard, which shows your name (Gamertag), a profile image, reputation and an overall score (sorry, Gamerscore). This ties neatly into other Microsoft products: you can combine your Gamertag with your Hotmail/Passport login, and the 360 can log in to MSN and tell you which of your contacts have Gamertags, so you can add a few friends to your account.

You can also access your Gamercard from www.xbox.com, where you can tinker with a host of Facebook-style profile settings. The integration between PC and console is slick (deep inside Microsoft, it's probably termed 'leveraging platform synergies'), and I wasn't surprised to find that many of my PC gaming friends also turned out to be 360 owners.

In its first hour, the 360 made only a couple of false steps. The lack of built-in wireless networking isn't ideal for a machine designed for the lounge, and means that you must either run an Ethernet cable to your living room or shell out an eye-watering £59.99 for Microsoft's official WiFi adaptor. Cash is at the heart of the second issue too: changing your profile picture to anything but the handful of generic images costs, as does changing the 'theme' of the 360's OS. Finally, when registering you need to tell Microsoft your phone number and address whether or not you're adding a credit card for online payments, which is an invasion of privacy.

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