So, I upgraded to the New Xbox Experience the other day, and I found myself quite pleasantly surprised at what it did. The change to the entire dashboard was very pleasant to deal with, and I found myself enjoying it quickly. I was honestly excited by the idea that I can flip through the dashboard quickly, while seeing information that was important to me at a glance.
For me, this change was eagerly awaited, and the new featureset sorely wanted. I love the ability to queue up downloads from Xbox Live Arcade while at work, using a web browser, and just downloading them when my system connects to Live. It means I don’t forget to order a game. While I’m playing one, the other’s downloading, and I’m not sitting there, thumbing one at a time through games to see “will I like this?”
Instead, I can play Rez HD while Portal: Still Alive is downloading from the queue that I made at work.
If only I could leave my 360 on while at work, and have it download automatically instead of having to probe my download queue.
Still, it’s a great idea. 
I recently bought Rez HD for my XBox 360, which is an XBox Live Arcade game that costs 800
(about US $10).
The game is very heavy on synæsthesia-inducing effects, at least for me; Colors just grow in intensity as the sound grows, with bright lights flashing around when things go pop! on screen. Finishing a couple of areas leaves me feeling wiped out, but in a good way. Not like running a marathon or what have you, but just drained of most types of energy in a pleasant way.
I think Rez is hard to explain without videos, but once you play it, you’ll either get into it and understand, while the controller is thmp-thmp-thmping in your hands, or you just won’t understand it, and pass.
For the oldschool Rez players, your 360 controllers double as trance vibrators; You can have controllers 2, 3, AND 4 just buzzing away on your lap if you’d like.
The best thing about it being on XBox Live Arcade is that you can download a demo of the first level, play it through to the boss at the end, and half-kill the boss before it tells you that to finish this up, you’ll need to pay for it. So, uh, if any of you have a 360, I’d suggest downloading the demo, putting on some headphones or cranking up that 5.1, and enjoy this in widescreen mode. It so, so makes it worth it.
