Live from Seattle - IT'S XBOX LIVE!! Company: Microsoft Product: Xbox Live Two of the key selling points of the Xbox were its built-in Hard Drive and Broadband Adapter. Until now, this duo has been little more than a hole in the back of the system and the world's biggest memory card. But after Microsoft lunches Live on November 15th, these will become two of the most important components on the system. I'll get it right out in the open, at E3 I wasn't totally sold on the whole Xbox Live idea. I mean, at first glance Microsoft's 'pay-to-play' model was less than appealing - especially to a broke college student. In comparison, Sony's 'no pay play' looked like gold and had me hooked all the way. As time rolled on, and after talking to a few guys who are currently testing Live, as well as playing on the sometimes reliable Sony connections (sorry guys, I call them as I see 'em) - Live is looking more and more like the online gaming platform of choice. Getting started on Live is as simple as plugging in a wire and running a start-up disk. In order to go 'Live' with the Xbox, players will have to purchase the 50 dollar start up kit. Included in the kit are: Live Startup Disk - sure you know what this is for. Xbox Communicator Headset - Let's you talk to other gamers. A free online game - most likely Re-Volt, an RC car game - but as of now this is TBA. One Xbox 'gamer' name - this is the name other Online gamers will know you by. One- Year Live subscription All you need to provide is the Xbox and Broadband Internet connection. Yes, you heard me right - unfortunately for 56k owners, only those with DSL, Cable, T1 or other high-speed Internet connections will be able to participate in Live. So far this has proven to be a major hurdle for Live since BB is not as widely available (or affordable) as Narrowband connections. Also note, that your Broadband service fee is completely different from your Live subscription fee. One of the cooler features of Live is the Communicator Headset (LCH). Similar to the headset used in SOCOM on the PS2, the LCH will allow you to reach out and talk to your fellow gamers and discuss the finer points of gaming (okay who are we kidding, it'll be a total smack talk-fest - but that's fun too). The best part is that you can do this in ANY Live enabled game. For the paranoid, Live will also feature voice masking, allowing gamers to hide their 'real' voice from other players. Live will also give players the option of having a Friend's List so they can find the people they want to play with quickly. For those who are the more sociable type, Live will also support a Matchmaking option that will allow gamers to quickly find games with other gamers of similar skill levels. So far, the announced Live titles are: NFL Fever 2003 NBA 2k3 NFL 2k3 Whacked! Moto GP Unreal Championship MechAssault Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6: Ravenshield XIII Phantasy Star Online By the end of next year, this list looks to grow by at least 50 titles, including Halo 2 and Project Gotham Racing 2. Several companies are also planning to release special downloadable content for games including new levels, weapons, characters and much more. Only time will tell how successful Live will be, but so far, the future is looking bright. -Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker