There are some new things available for Xbox 360 live that you are going to want to know about. First off is the separation of Xbox 360 live into two separate services - silver and gold. I am going to take a look at both of these Xbox 360 live services so that you can have a better understanding of which service to go with.

Xbox 360 Live - Silver

The Xbox 360 live silver service is the free version of Xbox 360 live. This service offers players an easy way to get online and find downloads for your games. In addition you can use the voice chat to communicate with other Xbox live players. That is all the service provides however. Silver service is of virtually no use if you plan to play games online. While it does provide you with all the content you need for single player game play, you do not get this until one week after gold subscribers. For me, Xbox 360 live gold is the only way to go. This service is where the Xbox truly comes alive.

Xbox 360 Live - Gold

The Gold service has many features that make it an awesome way to game online. First up is how your online avatar is displayed to the world. Each account can set up a different "motto" which will be displayed to other gamers online. In addition your account will keep a record of you achievements that you earn during game play. You can also link this back to your Facebook account so that people will see updates of your achievements. Each account has a unique username that is also displayed to all the other gamers. As you play more and more you build up a reputation. If players like playing with you they can vote on you in a positive light. As this builds up you will find it easier and easier to get games. In addition, it will become easier to avoid bad players or players with a bad attitude.

Your Gamerscores keep track of all of you total player achievement points. You also can build a friends list which will list all of your chosen friends. You can have up to a hundred people on this list. It will also let you know when any of your friends come online. There is also a recent player list which will list the last 50 players that you have played with.

These are only some of the features available with Xbox 360 live. There is improved chat integration, as well as integration with many Microsoft products including messenger and other chat and video programs. Check it out today.