Two years on from its first outing in the UK, Microsoft brings us the Elite, a new take on the Xbox 360 console aimed at satisfying the gaming fraternity, but has the new additions to an old friend been worthwhile? We get gaming to find out.

HDMI socket; 120GB hard drive; great graphics

Power pack is massive; still noisy

First Impressions My reaction is I remember when playing a video game was a ridiculously simple thing. When I fired up Frogger on my ancient Atari back in the late 80s, all you had to do was push the joystick in one of four directions to get to the other side and win the level.

Games and movies collide, again, this time in high-def. Microsoft's Xbox 360 HD DVD player is targeted specifically at the owners of the Xbox 360 gaming console-or those on the fence about purchasing one. It's an affordable way to bring HD DVD into your existing multimedia system.

The next-generation of gaming is here, and Microsoft is first to the party. Should you buy the Xb0x 360 now or hold out for the Playstation 3? Read on to find out!

HD Content; User interface; Mass market appeal; Seamless online connectivity

High price point; Needs a killer app; Demands an HDTV; Dodgy backwards compatibility

The Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system places you at the center of the experience. Available this holiday season in Europe, Japan, and North America, Xbox 360 ignites a new era of digital entertainment that is always connected, always personalized, and always in high definition.

The Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite supports HDTV 1080i televisions, widescreen

Kinect won't cater to the hard-core gaming market -- it's just not accurate enough. But it's rollicking great fun. Exhausting and ridiculous, you're guaranteed a giggle if you get the kids involved or set it up at your next party. Just bear in mind that you'll need plenty of space.

Fantastic fun; Simple; accessible gameplay; Easy set-up; Impressive motion-tracking technology

Demands plenty of space; Tracking is often glitchy; Two player maximum at launch; Expensive

e were fascinated to compare Microsoft and Apple set-top philosophies. Based on looks, the Xbox 360 loses out immediately; it's like a desktop PC from the 1990s, and yes, appearances matter if it's going to live in your living room.

Versatile connection options to TV; CD and DVD playback; removable hard drive; good integration of media capabilities into a ‘gaming' console

Ethernet connection; requires third-party application for iTunes support; it's ugly; hilariously large mains power brick; noisy fan

Would have been nice to know that there was nothing included with this, now I need to go and search for an xbox 360 power supply, controller, and the like. At this price, I could have nearly bought a new system, at the price of this console, and the things I will need to make it work.

It is a console; that is supposedly refurbished

No Certificate of refurbished nature of console; No shipping list, or anything like that; No Controller No power supply No Cables Console had caked dust in the fan, had to clean that myself

Very pleased with the item that I ordered