I've been meaning to blog this for awhile, but haven't found the time. A few weeks ago I played the 360 for the first time at a buddies house. It's very hard for me to admit this, but I think I've been converted.

Unlike some gamers I've always been a one console kinda guy. First it was the Nintendo (yes, the original). It was difficult to get off of the Nintendo but when I first played the PlayStation (yes, the original) I was immediately converted. I remember feeling guilty about abandoning the Nintendo at first but the draw of games like Syphon Filter and Tomb Raider was just too hard to turn away from. That affair lasted quite a long time for me and included me going through more then a few PS2's (if you haven't seen the pic of my latest PS2 check this post).

It was a good run even though there were a few lulls where there were no games that really did much for me. The original Socom (and online gaming really) breathed new passion into my gaming career (did I just say career?) and made more loyal to Sony than ever. Socom 2 came out a short time later and was a disappointment to me. The hit detection system was flawed, there were tons of glitches and lag was a huge problem with the online play. It was obviously a rush job to ensure speed to market while the first version was still such a success. Then there was Socom 3 - a completely different game then the other two. I'm still not sure they bothered putting the Socom name on the box.

So back to the point of this post. I played a handful of games at my buddies house and each of them were more impressive then the last. NBA Live (I think that was the one), Call Of Duty (part something - 2 maybe?), Fight Night Round 3 and the ultimate - Gears Of War. What an unbelievable game. I've never seen graphics like this. Not only were the graphics far better then I've ever seen but the gameplay was amazing too! A true team based shooter that relies on real warfare tactics (stealth and precision) rather then the 'run and gun' type tactics that so many games rely on. I'm hooked and converted.

It also doesn't hurt that the XBox is about 200 bones less then the PS3. Now I just need to scratch up the cash and buy me one of those bad boys.