Geek4ever

Well with every new XBOX 360 comes a little thing they like to call XBOX Live. This is a service provided by Microsoft, and to download most content its free (silver level), though if you want to play multiplayer games, you have to pony up cash (gold level), about the same you would pay for a new game.

Whats good:

• Game Demo downloads, thi is great. You get to preview games before you buy, so hopefully this won’t lead to any wasted money on titles.
• In the US you have access to rent HD movies, for a small fee you can download a HD quality movie, eg Superman Returns and watch it for 24 hours.
• Some of the games on XBOX Live Arcade can be quite good, not many though.

Whats bad:

• If you are outside the US, the media downloads are non existent, actually the whole service pretty much becomes a joke.
• Some game demos can’t be downloaded straight away on the silver level, you have to wait a week.
• Most games on XBOX Live Arcade aren’t that good due to the 50Mb limit. Unless you have a big desire to play old arcade titles that have internet multiplayer added, there isn’t really much there that is worthwhile, plus most of the titles appeared to be overpriced.

Overall:

The price they charge for Live access is pretty steep, doesn’t really seem worth it if you are outside the US or don’t play many multiplayer games.