The New Xbox Experience Review

By Richard Windsor | November 18, 2008

When I first saw the NXE the thought crossed my mind that Microsoft was trying to make the 360’s new dashboard pretty just for the sake of being pretty. The dashboard we had was already very functional and miles ahead of the competition. So why would Microsoft completely change the dashboard? After spending the last 4 days knee deep in the NXE I realized that there was room for much improvement in the overall experience, but could the new dashboard really deliver on that? Let’s find out!

Interface

The very first thing you notice about the NXE is that it’s really really pretty! It’s quite a visual leap to what we have been using the last 3 years. Yes, it uses a system remarkably similar to Apple’s cover flow, but it does have its own feel and style that make it different. Not once did I ever feel like I was in iTunes. The menus were very quick to load and even seemed speedier then the previous dashboard. I noticed that sending text and voice messages seemed to run just a hair faster. Panels loaded very fast and rarely ever was I waiting for one to load up.

Navigating the new dashboard doesn’t require much in the way of relearning anything. The NXE really is very intuitive and easily learned. The new up and down blade system is a lot of fun to use, and is just as fast and effective as the old blade system. My only criticism of the navigation is that it’s very easy to accidentally hit up instead of left or right, and this can send you places you don’t want to go. Luckily this is a very small issue, and after a while I found that I stopped doing this altogether.

The other part of the NXE’s new navigation is the new blade system. Instead of getting the side blade when pressing the guide button, you will now get a slimmed down version of the old dashboard interface. This new guide allows access to your friends and also gives you a few new options you didn’t have before. My favorite new feature here is the quick launch. Say you are playing Gears 2, and a friend is on playing the new Left 4 Dead demo. Normally you would have to go back to the dashboard and then find the demo file and start it up. With quick launch you just hit the guide button and you now have access to every game installed on your system, just click on the game and it will launch right away. It’s a simple feature, but it’s a nice one to have. There are many of these new little features that you won’t notice till you spend some time with it.

Friends List

The NXE allows you to view friends in two separate manners. If you liked the old method then no worries, because you only need to hit your guide button to bring up the traditional friends list. It has received a slight visual upgrade, but besides that it’s completely identical to what you are using now.

The new method of browsing your friends allows you to see all their Avatars. Those who are playing games will show up with a game box setting next to them showcasing what they are playing. The system is very cool looking and works pretty quickly considering it has to download all the avatar information. From this friends list you can form parties, and then launch into whatever game you choose. It really is very easy to use, and it allows for more of a community feeling when gathering friends.

You will find yourself using both the traditional friends list and the new avatar based one quite often. They both serve their purpose quite well and compliment each other nicely.

Avatar Creation

Love them or hate them the 360 now has Avatar’s, and personally I really kind of like the idea. I know there is this hardcore group of gamers out there who will complain and kick their feet about having to make one, but at the end of the day I think even those people will end up liking the new Avatar system.

The creation of your Avatar is very straightforward. You simply select all you body parts and accessories until you get a reasonable facsimile of yourself. There are enough options out of the gate that should allow almost anyone to recreate themselves in digital form. The system is definitely on par with the Mii system and in many aspects it’s much better. Once you have completed your doppelganger you can then take a photo of it to be used as a gamertag picture, but don’t worry as this is completely optional.

I really like the new Avatar system because I noticed that it added a bit of charm to what was a functional, but sterile, friend system. Browsing through your friends list is a lot more enjoyable because to you can pick out your friends easier once you learn what they look like. The whole thing does actually feel like a more grown up version of the Mii system, and it doesn’t feel goofy or childish at all.

Netflix Integration

The integration of Netflix and the 360 is something I have wanted for over a year. It seemed silly to buy one of these Netflix boxes when I had a perfectly capable device already sitting next to my TV. To clarify things a little bit people must understand that this does not give you access to Netflix entire catalogue of movies. Almost all new releases only go out on DVD or Blu-Ray. What you do get is access to a huge catalogue of classic movies alongside some current and old TV episodes. There is a great deal of content to choose from and it grows everyday.

To get your Netflix account up and running you only need to follow a few easy setup steps and you will be watching movies and TV shows in no time. You cannot browse the Netflix instant watch catalogue from your 360, you must add them to your queue with your PC. It’s a simple process and your queue is updated on your 360 almost instantly.

The one thing you should not expect is superb visual quality. The content does not look bad by any means, but it’s not going to show off your HDTV. There is some HD content which you can stream, but you do need quite a speedy connection in order to play this content. If you try and watch an HD movie, but your connection tanks, Netflix will re-stream the content at a lower visual quality to allow uninterrupted playback.

Overall the Netflix integration is really well done. The streaming of content is nearly flawless, there is tons of content to choose from, and it’s very easy to navigate. If I had to pick one negative about the service it would be that you can’t access the library directly from the 360, but that’s not a deal breaker by any means.

The Marketplace

If there was one thing I heard people bitching about the most in the current dashboard it would have to be how hard it is to find stuff on the Marketplace. The new marketplace is not really that different, but the cosmetic changes they did make have a huge impact on the time it takes to find what you want. The menus have been streamlined a bit, and you can access them from several areas within the dashboard. Finding a demo or arcade game is now very easy. Everything else works quite the same way as it did before, which is a good thing since it worked well already.

The new marketplace is not a revolution by any means, but it has evolved into something way more user friendly then its predecessor. I am glad that Microsoft didn’t try and re-invent the marketplace, it didn’t need that. It just needed a bit more direction and polish, and that is exactly what it got.

Installing Games

The ability to install any game to your hard drive should be a godsend for anyone who hates hearing the disc drive turn in their system. The install process is simple and easy, plus it works rather quickly, unlike the install of PS3 games. I installed Gears of War 2, Fallout 3, and went back and tried out Mass Effect. Each game that I installed did load faster, but sometimes there was never a “big” difference. The best part about this feature is just being able to keep your volume down low and not be able to hear the disc tray run, which is good enough for me. The install times of each game will vary, but none of the games I installed took longer then 8 or 9 minutes.

Final Word

I was a bit apprehensive about the new dashboard at first, but after using it for a full week I can say that it is a serious improvement on almost every front. There are still a few things here and there that could use some tweaking, but that’s what the next dashboard update will be for. The navigation is simple, yet effective. The graphics are clean and easily readable on any TV set, and the feature set is far deeper then any online service available today. I tried long and hard to find any kind of bug or issue that I could rant about, but to my surprise the NXE is quite a solid piece of software and there really isn’t much to complain about. I am sure someone will find something to complain about, but for me the NXE is a welcomed upgrade.

The Good

+ Slick Interface
+ Performance
+ Avatars
+ Easier to use Marketplace
+ Netflix
+ Its Purdy!

The Bad

- Game Installs are hit and miss
- Some may not like Avatars
- Ads are slightly more prevalent