Potentially brilliant

I have had an Xbox 360 for well over 6 months now and have made the most of it's potential. I use it for everything it is capable of: gaming, music, movies and communication.

Connecting all of the above mentioned is the Xbox Dashboard. This is an excellent menu system that simplifies navigation amongst Xbox Live, games, media and console settings.

Xbox Live is Microsoft's attempt at connecting the world of gaming and bringing gamers together not only in games but also with voice and video chat. I had never owned the original Xbox or played on Live but I had read excellent reviews. I was expecting to find an open community which I could browse (in the form of forums) and plenty of user added content. All I really found was Xbox Live Marketplace which is an area where a limited amount of content supplied by Microsoft can be downloaded. So my first opinion of Live was a little of disappointment. However, over the months I began to make friends who enjoyed the same games and interests as myself. My friends list grew and with it did the capabilities that Live is renowned for. Xbox Live is not so much the content but it's brilliant connectivity between gamers. Turning on your next generation console may no longer just be for the want of playing a game, now you can use it as a way of socialising.

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Great technology on a budget

I originally started with the Philips 26" 26PF5321 which I purchased from a different store. After about six months I could no longer get a picture on the screen (just weird colours). I had been reasonably happy with the TV up until then but decided not to get an exchange. Instead I got a refund and looked elsewhere.

I came across this similar unit on Amazon - basically a slightly upgraded version - and found not only was it better but also cheaper even at the time of my first purchase six months earlier! I bought it straight away.

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Single player is great, Online is brilliant!

Over the years Splinter Cell has always remained a solid game with a slow pace and storyline, appealing only to gamers with patience and determination. Double Agent is more of the same...if you want it to be. Many features have been either tweaked or newly added to try and bridge the gap amongst those wanting strategic stealth and those wanting fun stealth.

Ubisoft began this alteration visually. Now developed specifically with next-gen gaming in mind, the graphics have been greatly improved. With the new technology available on the XBOX 360, along with the graphics comes glamour. Now you will find yourself not only in beautiful and varying locations but wearing a different outfit for each mission. This may seem slightly odd for a serious game but it lends a very stylish James Bond feel. Due to the variation of levels - from a prison breakout to a cruise ship - you will wonder where you are headed next.

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Hugely disappointing

Having been disappointed with the first few hours of this game I tried my hardest to press on and get beyond the slow start many reviewers had mentioned previously. About seven hours in and still incredibly bored by the gameplay and appauled by the graphics, I came across a glitch in the game. This glitch meant I was actually trapped inside a certain room and no longer able to play. I contacted the developers hoping for some sort of fix and after many weeks of waiting for a response I was finally told I could only get past the glitch if I could find a cheat. I was also told that the developers do not recommend cheats as they are often the cause of similar glitches. It turned out there weren't any cheats available to get me out of the situation I was in, yet there were many more people suffering with similar glitches.

However, all this being said, I chose to start the game again in the hope of finding the masterpiece it's said to be.

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