My Xbox 360 Is Finally Back From The Repair Center

After about two weeks of being without it and going back to my older consoles to catch up on some classics that I missed out on, my Xbox 360 is finally back from the repair center. Sort of.

When the UPS truck pulled up outside this past Friday, I rushed downstairs like a kid waking up on Christmas morning to greet the delivery man and receive my package. In a white box, almost exactly like the one I shipped it in was my Xbox 360. I rushed to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and opened it up. Immediately after opening it, I looked at the console inside and said to myself, “This isn’t my 360”. The letter I received in the package confirmed this.

Instead of receiving my repaired Xbox 360, I have been sent a replacement unit. With the news of receiving a replacement, some worries began to develop. Does this mean I have another ticking time bomb on my hands? What of the reported upgrades the 360 has received recently, namely the second heat sink over the GPU? Does this mean my 360 doesn’t have this?

I’ve noticed that my Xbox 360 does have at least one of the new enhancements newer models have received. The disc drive is noticeably quieter and seems to load games a bit quicker. Video quality seems to be a bit improved as well. I noticed that the opening movie that plays before the title screen in Forza Motorsport 2 is a bit smoother, lacking the minor compression artifacts I noticed when playing the game on my old 360.

Despite my earlier worries, the system plays like a dream. Load times are a bit quicker, it runs quieter and of course, it plays some of my favorite games of the generation thus far. Earlier today, I checked out The Darkness and I’ve played an hour or two of it so far. I really like it so far. The Darkness powers really steal the show and are a blast to use (I’ve only really used the Creeping Darkness so far) and the gunplay is pretty good. It’s not up there with top tier shooters, but then again, I don’t think it was intended to be and as it is, it’s still very well crafted. I haven’t played the multiplayer (due to my lack of a real internet connection) but I’ve heard it’s nothing special, especially when compared to the single player mode.

That’s all I have to say for now because I’ve gotta get back to playing my Xbox 360. Forza 2 is calling me and I don’t like to keep it waiting too long. :D