So the big day finally arrived. The Xbox 360 has made the gaming world a better place. If you don’t believe me, simply go into the electronic section of any store and see if there is still a line to play a demo version of the 360.

So it’s new, but what is so great about it? The best aspect about the Xbox 360 is that right now all the games for it are outstanding. Since the price of buying this system is so high, no one is going to waste money on a bad game. Plus, game developers have had ample time to tweak their product to make the game perfect for the premier of the Xbox 360. However, in the near future, I am sure that there will be plenty of bad games to avoid.

For right now, the 360 has some of the best games ever made. Oddly, most of these games are also available for the older generation of consoles. An example of one of these outstanding games is “Call of Duty 2” for the Xbox 360, and its little brother “Big Red One.” “Big Red One” is the truncated version that is available for Play Station 2, Xbox and Game Cube.

“Big Red One” has an abbreviated version of the single-player mode that follows the combat of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division through World War II. What the “Big Red One” lacks is two other campaigns from the British and Russian point of view, which are included on the 360. This isn’t too much of a loss, because who really cares about saving Stalingrad?

Regardless of your opinion of the Soviets, “Call of Duty 2” has the best graphics that I have ever seen for any console. Even though there is a noticeable difference between the 360 and all the older generation systems, the graphics push the limits of each console.

Graphics certainly are nice, but they are not what make this game outstanding. “Call of Duty 2” is filled with all the first person shooter action that you can handle. There are a variety of weapons and tactics that make driving Rommel out of Africa and marching through Germany complex, and this gives the game a truly realistic feel.

At points, the game feels more like a movie than real life. That’s because if you have watched the HBO mini-series “Band of Brothers,” there are a lot of familiar faces in this game. Seven former members of the mini-series lend their likenesses to the game’s cause. Even though there is no connection between the two, the crossover shows the depth of the game.

Nothing in the game feels out of place. Every mission and cutscene develops the characters into believable people. As an added bonus, there is nothing confusing in the game either. There is no wasted time trying to discover how to beat each mission, each one is straightforward.

As satisfying as the single-player mode is, the multiplayer mode allows for some exciting online play. The multiplayer uses a good variety of maps and all the features that are found in the single player. There are some compromises on quality in the “Big Red One” version during online play, but it is good enough nevertheless.

The multiplayer mode does not make any innovations from previous games, but rather it executes the tried and true format to perfection. It ends up looking fairly similar, but with the “Call of Duty 2” top end graphics.

If you can, play this game for the Xbox 360. If you are waiting to sell your textbooks back before you upgrade your system, the “Big Red One” is still a good game to pick up.

After playing this game, I became very curious. I wonder how many proud owners of Xbox 360s have realized that they now need to upgrade to a high definition television to match their new console? You can always hope that Santa understands the importance of 1080i resolution.

Bill Hanley is a senior in LAS. His column appears on Tuesdays. He can be reached at [email protected].