Xbox 360 close-up

The gaming world can't wait anymore. With the launch of Xbox 360 announced on Nov 22, but which will be available on stores from 18th onwards, everyone is asking 'What will you be playing on 18th?'

billgatesxbox

Ok let's take a tour of what this gaming console by Microsoft, the announcement of which has taken the world by storm, is all about.

As the official MS website on Xbox puts it - 'From action to adventure, puzzle, racing, sports, and strategy titles so intense they'll leave you staring in awe, it's all on Xbox 360™. You want it, you got it: blockbuster franchises, must-have exclusives, groundbreaking originals, support from all the major developers you know and love. There's never been a system launching with so many must-have games'!

Yeah, sounds to tempting indeed. Let's check on the features.

The latest Xbox is a sleek machine. But what makes it 'next-gen' stuff and innovative is the interface, the Xbox Dashboard. Then it gives you the freedom of choice to do a wide range of things. You can choose a different music by plugging in your iPOD/iRiver etc, or your HD or stream in through your PC and click the 'X' on the controller, then you can customize the game you wanna play listening to whatever music you wanna listen.

Then the 'real world' of gaming where Xbox comes alive only when you connect online to Xbox Live with other gamers where you can start gaming with similar preferences by default (the system would be taking notes, cataloging and categorizing you all the time and once you go online, with the info it would have collected by then, would hook you up with gamers of similar preferences). However, you have the option to change your preferences that the system would choose as default. Then, you can compete and get rated with gamers worldwide in front of thousands of 'spectators'. Project Gotham Racing 3 has tested up to 300,000 spectators watching a race on the Heroes Channel (a feature that tracks the Top 50 players and allows you to watch their races in real-time, or via short-delay).

Read for additional info in James Ransom-Wiley's post in Joystiq.

So are you game? Ok, now let's check the games now in alphabetical order:

1. Action -

a) Brute force

b) Dead to Rights

c) Enter the Matrix

d) Full Spectrum Warriors

e) Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

f) MechAssault

g) Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee

h) Spider-Man

i) Spider-Man 2

j) Star Wars Obi-Wan,

k) Star Wars Battlefront and

l) Star Wars Starfighters

m) The Simpsons Hit & Run

n) Tom Clancy's Triology

o) Tom Clancy's Ghost Reckon

p) Tom Clancy's Ghost Reckon : Island Thunder

q) Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3

r) Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

s) Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow

t) True Crime : Streets of LA

2. Adventure -

a) The Lord of the Rings : Return of the King

b) Silent Hills 2 : Restless Dreams

3. Driving -

a) ATV : Quad Power Racing 2

b) Burnout 3 : Takedown

c) Blood Wake

d) Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2

e) Midnight Club II

f) Need for Speed : Hot Pursuit 2

g) Project Gotham Racing

h) Rallisport Challenge

i) The Simpsons Road Rage

j) Spy Hunter

k) Test Drive

l) Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions

4. Family -

a) Blinx: The Time Sweeper

b) Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex

c) Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix

d) Disney/Pixar's Finding Nemo

e) Shrek 2

f) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

g) Harry Potter™: Quidditch World Cup

h) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

i) Fuzion Frenzy

j) Namco Museum

k) Pac-Man World 2

l) Sonic Heroes

m) SpongeBob SquarePants™: Battle for Bikini Bottom

n) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

o) Yu-Gi-Oh!™ The Dawn of Destiny

5 Fighting -

a) Dead or Alive 3

b) Fight Night 2004

c) Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance

d) SoulCalibur II

e) WWE: RAW

6 Role Playing Games (RPG) -

a) Baldur's Gate™: Dark Alliance™

b) Fable: The Lost Chapters

c) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

d) The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind® Game of the Year Edition

e) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

7 Shooter -

a) 007: Agent Under Fire

b) James Bond 007™: Everything or Nothing

c) Call of Duty: Finest Hour

d) Conflict: Desert Storm

e) Counter-Strike for Xbox

f) Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge

g) James Bond 007: NightFire

h) Max Payne

i) Medal of Honor Frontline

j) Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War

k) Unreal Championship

8 Sports -

a) NFL Street

b) NBA Street Vol.2

c) SSX Tricky

d) Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

e) Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

f) Tony Hawk's Underground

g) Tony Hawk's Underground 2

For detailed info on each of the games listed above go to the Xbox official website.