Ideal For Enthusiastic Gamers (Xbox Live 12 Month Subscription Plan)

Member Name: DocDan3

Product:	Xbox Live 12 Month Subscription Plan
Date:	07/05/09 (160 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Full of Fun, Teamwork, Friends, Tactical, Downloads, Messaging + Webcam, Marketplace

Disadvantages: Some Annoying Members of The Community

Xbox Live is an online gaming service for the Xbox and Xbox 360, however I will be reviewing the latest version for the Xbox 360. Xbox Live enables you to play online, using an Internet connection with other players around the world. Not only can you play against others, but also your love for gaming is at your hands with downloadable demos, videos, gamer pictures, themes and more!

The Xbox Live Marketplace is the home of Xbox Live and has progressed over the months to offer more and more. Currently, you can download game demos to try out upcoming releases. You can also download gamer pictures for your profile along with themes, which may revolve around a certain gaming title you are loyal to. You can even download movies for a small fee and watch them in high definition on your Xbox 360. These movies will be valid for a few days so there is no immediate rush to watch them! All of the above things are things you can do with a Silver account, but no more! When you have a Gold account, you can do all this as well as play with other gamers around the world on the many games that support Xbox Live.

The Xbox Live community is vast and friendly in comparison to other online gaming services, which I have experienced. It also depends on the game, but much of the community is out there to have a good time, so are friendly and pleasant to play with. It brings a whole new dimension to gaming, being able to do so against or with the world. Almost all games released nowadays support Xbox Live with some kind of feature to play people over it.

It is easy to make an account, but first you need to have Internet connection. You can do this by connecting an Ethernet cable from your Xbox 360 to a port or by using a wireless device such as the Xbox 360 Wireless Network Adapter (highly recommended). Then, you need to buy a subscription. You can do this in a shop, online or even on the Xbox 360 itself, which I think is reasonably more expensive. On Amazon.co.uk, you can purchase a 3 month subscription (Gold) for £12.76 and a 12 month subscription (Gold) for £34.98. I would definitely recommend the 12 month subscription as it lasts 4 times as long and is much better value. I assure you that this service will bring you much more gameplay and fun with your Xbox 360.

A prime example of a great game to play on Xbox Live is Halo 3. You can enter into a variety or ranked/unraked playlists to test your skills against the world. No more playing with bots - you can take your skills to the test against other good players around the world, from the USA to France and Australia. To know that you are playing with real players adds a whole new dimension to all Xbox Live games. It also makes the games a lot more challenging, as the average skill of other players is much higher than in single player games. It's also great to work as part of a team and communicate using the Xbox Live microphone, whether you have a wired or wireless one. You can discuss team tactics and come up with strategies to beat the other team, as if you were fighting in a real battle. In other games besides Halo 3, you can work as part of a team to complete levels or purely have fun together. For example on GTA IV, you can work together to act out a variety of missions and play plenty of mini-games or have races with up to 16 people. The thrill of having so many people in your party is so exhilarating and gives you a great feeling whilst playing.

Another feature of Xbox Live is to join Xbox Live Parties to communicate with a group of friends. Despite what game you are all playing or whether you are watching a video or listening to music, you can join a Party with up to 16 friends where you can exclusively hear each other so any other players from current games are muted and they cannot hear you. This enables you to organise games with groups of friends or just have a chat whilst you are playing different games. It's a simple feature but an excellent one, which I make use of all the time. As well as this, you can make use of using the webcam, which you can buy for the Xbox 360. You can have video chats with people or use it as part of certain Arcade Games available from the Xbox Live Marketplace. Also, you can use the keyboard available for the Xbox 360 to type messages when signed into Windows Live Messenger on your Xbox 360. This way, you can chat to your online friends in between games at ease with the keyboard.

With the new Xbox Live Experience and the latest Dashboard update, you can view your friends by scrolling through them and seeing their animated avatars. You can create your own and customise it to make it look like you or some wacky weirdo. You can customise everything in detail from eyes to eyebrows, mouth, nose, ears, hair, clothes, body and colours. You can scroll through your friends and see their avatars along with any other players in their party. The animated background shows the game they are playing too, so it's a quick and animated way of viewing your friends. Other features of the Dashboard include adverts for the latest games, demos and other cool stuff. These can be selected to quickly access pages on the Xbox Live Marketplace where you can download. The Xbox.com website is obviously interlinked with Xbox Live including events, new games and hot things on the Marketplace. Overall, it's a great gaming experience - ideal for any enthusiastic gamer out there.

In conclusion, Xbox live is a fantastic service that opens many doors when gaming with your Xbox 360. You can earn more achievements; download game demos before release to test out games as well as a whole bunch of cool stuff. The best feature has to be playing alongside other Xbox 360 gamers across the world. You can add friends, send messages (voice and text) besides many other options. If you have an Xbox 360, then I highly recommend you have Xbox Live!

Thanks for reading

Dan ©

Summary: An excellent service - the ultimate gaming experience