kay, I've got to ask: is there anyone out there who was struggling that much with the Xbox 360's old user interface? Sure, it may have lacked the flash of the PlayStation 3's Xcross Media Bar or the elegant simplicity of the Wii's menu, but it was more than serviceable, especially considering the wealth of features it navigated. The New Xbox Experience (or NXE), while far from a failure, tries too hard to emulate the competition — avatars and aesthetics are delivered, but at the cost of simplicity and power.
Strangers before friends? Bad idea.It's a shame that where the NXE fails most is in its basic operation — in an attempt to make things easier to find, certain features I used to access frequently are now buried two or three levels deep within a menu. I can hear the Microsoft zealots now: "You just hate it cause it's different!" No, I'm merely counting key presses. Certain social functions which used to be so straightforward are made ridiculously tedious in the NXE. Most of this stems from Microsoft's insistence on emulating the horizontal orientation of Sony's user interface. While owners of standard definition televisions undoubtedly curse Sony for its use of small text, that same scaled-down view helps the rest of us find what we're looking for. The NXE's menus are often so scaled-up and graphics heavy that you have no idea what option is going to greet you two or three clicks down a list. I like surprises, but not when I'm navigating a menu.
Avatars, the other major change introduced in the NXE, are relatively pointless. While Nintendo succeeded at making its "Miis" integral parts of the first party play experience, Microsoft has thus far only revealed one piece of software which implements these caricatures. As it stands now, they're little more than window dressing.
For all the frustration and pointlessness wrought by the NXE's visual tweaks, it's hard to deny that Microsoft has added quite a bit of power under the hood with this upgrade. The option to form persistent parties is a godsend — no longer will we be forced to listen to obnoxious strangers when all we desire is an intimate evening of gaming with our closest friends. Up to eight players can now chat independently of a game's lobby.
Netflix, meet Xbox Live.Also of note is the option to stream Netflix movies directly from the Xbox's dashboard. All you need is an Xbox Live Gold account and any level of Netflix subscription, and you're granted instant access to thousands of films. The video is nearly DVD quality, and while audio is currently limited to stereo (sorry surround sound fans), it's more than intelligible. All told, it's features like this which justify Microsoft's goal of placing "a computer in every living room." Throw in the Xbox's preexisting power as a media streaming device, and the 360 becomes one heck of a home entertainment portal.
In short, Microsoft's NXE is a mixed bag. The features you're bound to hear the most about are probably of the least consequence, while so many background improvements have been made to basic services that you'll quickly wonder how you lived without it. Well, you'll be hearing me bicker about the user interface until the release of the inevitable "classic view," but that doesn't mean I won't be relishing in late night gaming binges with eight of my closest friends.
