XBOX Live will blow PS2 online away!

I am now a consumer beta tester for XBOX Live. The service is awesome. It comes with a headset that plugs into your controller and allows you to chat with other players. I was skeptical at first, but the voice quality is so good its like talking on the phone. Other great features are the matchmaking and the friends list. The matchmaking is so easy. I can choose quickmatch and join a game right away or choose optimatch and pick a game based on certain criteria. The friends list is also cool. Because Microsoft owns all the servers if I am in game A and my friend comes online but wants to play game B, I can switch games right away. Compared to PS2’s online strategy (*cough* Dreamcast), XBOX Live is going to be such a better value. I’ll post more information as I get to play the games more.

In unrelated news, I played Mario Sunshine in Software Etc. last night. This game could finally make me get a Gamecube. The water pack is a nice feature that doesn’t detract from the game play. There are also some levels that are old school Mario 64. I’m not going to rush right out and get this but its definately on my list of things to buy.