Seth Schiesel at the old grey lady wrote his impressions of the Xbox 360 after sitting down with one at Microsoft's X05 show in Amsterdam last week. While Bungie wasn't showing anything, it is impossible for the new console to escape the shadow of its star franchise, even when nothing's actually been said about it. In comparison, it seems that the shooter slated for the marquee spot in the 360's launch lineup is faring very well:

As for the games themselves, it became clear at X05 that it was utterly unfair to the team making Perfect Dark Zero to thrust that game into the role of Halo's heir. The original Halo, in 2001, was the game that almost single-handedly made the Xbox a must-buy for serious console gamers. As the debut first-party (meaning it is being published by Microsoft itself) shooter for the 360, Perfect Dark Zero has been expected to fill the Halo role for the new system. It won't. Perfect Dark Zero is fun and well made, but does not appear to be an expectation-shattering leap forward for the first-person shooter genre the way Halo was.

Schiesel liked the look of Rare's Kameo much better, likening it to a Zelda-type adventure game, but with more action, and Epic's Gears of War, due out next year.

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