Hard Drive Extras

The Xbox 360™ Hard Drive is, in and of itself, a vastly useful bit of hardware. Sure, it houses your saved games, music playlists, downloaded content, and other media, but it this baby is also loaded with great stuff: gamer pictures for your gamer card, themes for your dashboard menu, movies, and even a free Xbox Live® Arcade game and three Xbox 360 gaming demos!

Gamer Picture
This icon exists on your gamer card, visible to all on Xbox Live and online when you sign up for My Xbox here at Xbox.com. Get your gamer card here if you don't have one already. The hard drive comes pre-loaded with a great variety of gamer pictures to help give you a unique identity.

Look for thumbnail-sized appearances from some of your favorite game characters as well as interesting, artful, and just plain odd designs in their own right.

Some icon samples.

Dashboard Theme
Much like desktop themes on your PC, Xbox 360 Dashboard themes will spice up your menu navigation. There are many available in Xbox Live Marketplace, but the hard drive is packed with several to get you started. Cool stuff from developers Team Ninja, Bungie, and Bizarre Creations are featured … I'll leave just what that means to your imagination.

Xbox 360 Gaming Demos
Nothing beats trying a game out before you decide whether or not to buy it. Get a taste of some of the most popular titles for Xbox 360, all preloaded on your Hard Drive.

Kameo: Elements of Power
From acclaimed game developer Rare®, Kameo™: Elements of Power™ features a wondrous and immense world, brilliant puzzles and challenges, and innovative and unique creature-oriented combat and exploration. If you haven't played Kameo before, now's your chance. In this new demo, fight in a massive battle, invade a crumbling castle, and explore a vast world!

Project Gotham Racing 3
Take the wheel of the fastest, most expensive supercars from around the world from top manufacturers like Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Aston Martin in Project Gotham Racing® 3. Drive through the streets of New York, Tokyo, and many other cities. Excite the crowds by demonstrating how can race with incredible speed, pull off unbelievable powerslides, and catch big. This is the only racing game that rewards you for how you drive fast, not how fast you drive.

The free demo gives you a taste of speed in two events (a street race and a time trial) that wind through the streets of Tokyo. The demo also lets you buckle in behind the wheels of six cars, including a Ferrari F430, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, and a Lamborghini Murcielago 6.2. However, the demo version features no playability over Xbox Live or access to race replays.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider LEGEND
The world's sexiest archaeologist/adventurer is back, this time on Xbox 360 with Lara Croft Tomb Raider™ LEGEND. A new quest brings Lara to lost ancient realms that guard "Secrets of the Past." Visit a vast array of cinematic and exotic locations including ancient tombs, dangerous jungles, snowy mountain ruins, and numerous unexpected surprises in between.

Lara's back, and ready for more.

The dynamic animation system puts the focus on continuous motion, giving Lara the ability to seamlessly handle any obstacle. Use the environment, technical gear, and weapons to overcome challenging situations and puzzles. The demo lets you play through the first level of the game and explore a mountain cave in South America.

Burnout Revenge
How do you get revenge on your Rivals? Takedowns, of course. The Xbox 360 version of Burnout Revenge™ is the first next-gen version in the Burnout franchise and delivers the most spectacular crashes in the series' history. Vehicle deformation and Hollywood-inspired special effects produce bigger explosions than ever before.

Explore the colorful world of Piñata Island.

Viva Piñata
Enjoy a peek into Viva Piñata™! Explore another world where wild-roaming, living piñata animals inhabit a growing, changing garden world. Take control of this environment to attract over 60 types of piñata, foster good relationships among the species, and protect them from the dangers that threaten to break them open.

Xbox Live Arcade Freebie
On the hard drive, Hexic® HD, the new puzzle entry from acclaimed designer Alexey Pajitnov (creator of Tetris) is already installed. Beyond addictive gameplay, Hexic also offers a great introduction to the casual gaming world of Xbox Live Arcade, and even boasts achievements in its own right, so you can get to work on your Gamerscore right away!

Movie Time
The Xbox 360 hard drive also includes interesting short movies for those rare times when you're not playing games:

• Preview: Warren Miller Films, from Warren Miller Entertainment: Like the title suggests, this seven minute video provides a taste of what to expect from Higher Ground, the latest movie from skiing and snowboard guru and legendary filmmaker Warren Miller. Look for Higher Ground at a special event near you, this winter.
• Step into Liquid: Step into Liquid takes a look at monstrous waves and the lives of those who ride them.
• Justice League Unlimited: "For the Man Who Has Everything":Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman battle the world-conquering Mongul at the Fortress of Solitude.
• UFC All Access: Rachelle Leah takes an inside look into the training of UFC® Middleweight Champion, Rich Franklin.
• Goal II—Living The Dream (video trailer):  Fame, luxury and temptation threaten to destroy Santiago's life when he is transferred to Real Madrid.
• Adidas Equipo: José and Pedro pick ten players each from the world's best to create two Impossible Teams. 
• Adidas Partido: Impossible Match: José, Beckham, Riquelme, Kahn, and Beckenbauer vs. Pedro, Raúl, Zidane, Cissé and Platini 

Whether it's a dashboard theme for your favorite games, game-specific gamer card icons, downloadable movies, music, or the free Xbox 360 gaming demos or Xbox Live Arcade game that gets you pumped, the hard drive gets you started in the right direction with great content.

Article by Alex McLain