Video Games

It looks as though you can finally buy a reliable Xbox 360 console. Good thing, too, since the flood of holiday releases (yeah, really) starts next week.

If you are ready to finally plunk your cash down for a 360, though, be careful and do some detective work. The big problem with the 360 recently has been the machine's high potential for breaking down and requiring major repairs or outright replacement.

The infamous Red Ring of Death pandemic forced Microsoft to extend its warranty to three years. But gamers also have been eagerly awaiting consoles built with a newer, smaller, cooler-running main processor.

The new processors don't offer any performance improvements to the games themselves, but they are widely expected to eliminate the overheating problems that have plagued the 360.

It's the worst-kept secret in the industry that Microsoft (while refusing to officially acknowledge when the new chips, dubbed Falcon, were in stores) would pair the new chips with 360 Premium-version systems that also include high-end HDMI video plugs.

So if you could buy a Premium console with an HDMI port – the Xbox 360 Elite already has HDMI – then that meant you were also getting the more reliable chip.

Well, the HDMI Premiums are here, Microsoft has officially said.

Again, while Microsoft won't say if they've upgraded to the Falcon processor, it's a safe bet that they have (extending the warranty cost the company more than $1 billion, so they certainly don't want to keep pushing the faulty chips into gamers' hands). So if you're heading out to buy a 360, insist on getting the Premium model with an HDMI port. There should be an HDMI logo on the outside of the box.

Hopefully, we can now put this whole mess behind us and start enjoying some great games.

The annual Madden football game comes out on Tuesday, and potential game of the year BioShock hits the 360 a week later.

After that, it's a cornucopia of gaming goodness until the end of the year, including a little something called Halo 3 on Sept. 25.

While we're chatting about the Master Chief, I have to confess that I have no idea if the third game will be good (à la Halo 2) or great (Halo). But I do know that the marketing tsunami for the third entry is already making me a little concerned.

As The Wall Street Journal pointed out in a story this week, Microsoft is partnering with the likes of Burger King, Pepsi, Pontiac and 7-Eleven to promote the game.

No, I don't want fries with my Chief.

I do not want him on my Pontiac G6 GXP Street.

I do not want him on my Slurpee.

I do not want him on my can of Mountain Dew Game Fuel.

I do not like green eggs and ham.

Wait, that's the wrong green protagonist.

But isn't this game already popular enough? Will the umpteen millions of dollars being spent on marketing really bring in enough new customers to make the whole enterprise worth the investment?

Halo 2 got pretty much the same treatment, after all, and it didn't help Microsoft get any closer to dethroning the PS2. And I doubt all the people lining up for the Wii are going to suddenly opt for a 360 just because their triple Whopper with cheese is swaddled in a greasy Halo wrapper.

Victor Godinez covers technology for The Dallas Morning News. Read more about gaming on his blog at punchbutton.beloblog.com.