Nice write up, it's always interesting to see how others percieve things, that are for me, now taken for granted. So, congratulations on your new 360, hopefully you will find other games for it that you enjoy as well.
I think that generally your impressions on the 360 are very similar to how I would describe my PS3. I won't go into details as I don't want anybody (not you, but anybody) derailing the thread by taking offense to my opinoin of the PS3, but generally I would say, I like the PS3, it has a few exclusives* that I've enjoyed, but it is not my console of choice for numerous reasons.
Different strokes for different folks you know!
Regardless, I hope your wife and kids enjoy the 360. Since you have Gold, you should try the Gears 3 beta...it's a thing of raw, visceral, beauty!
* I am NOT comparing the number of exclusives to the 360, I'm saying there are few that I am interested in. The ones I AM interested in, I have purchased and for the most part, really enjoyed.
