Manufacturer: Microsoft Price: £129.99-£229.99 WITH top titles such as Fable 2, Gears of War 2 and Halo 3 all exclusive to Xbox 360, it is not surprising that Microsoft s console has built up a solid reputation for state-of-the-art gaming. Its entry-le

Manufacturer: Microsoft

Price: £129.99-£229.99

WITH top titles such as Fable 2, Gears of War 2 and Halo 3 all exclusive to Xbox 360, it is not surprising that Microsoft's console has built up a solid reputation for state-of-the-art gaming.

Its entry-level Arcade console is £50 cheaper than Nintendo's Wii, representing great value for money. While the Xbox 360 is renowned for hosting some of the best first-person shooters, there are also plenty of family-oriented games available as well as built-in parental controls to restrict content for younger gamers. The console has the best online service, too, with hundreds of game demos, trailers and exclusive content to download as well as playing host to hundreds of multiplayer games. If this appeals, you will need to fork out for the more expensive Premium or Elite models, as the Arcade console does not ship with a hard drive. The Premium's 60Gb hard drive should be more than enough for most people, making the Elite's 120Gb hard drive somewhat redundant. There are plenty of game bundles around at the moment, in the run up to Christmas, so keep your eyes peeled for a bargain.