One of the greatest new features of the Xbox 360 is the ability to customize the look of your system. Instead of buying a pre-made faceplate, Nyko has come up with the idea of an always changing Faceplate with the Nyko GameFace 360. I'll take a look at this product from Nyko to see if it's worth your investment.

NYKO GAMEFACE 360
Customizable Faceplate for the Xbox 360

Inside the packaging of Nyko's Gameface 360 you will get a two pieced faceplate, the top half a clear plastic faceplate and the a bottom piece which attaches directly on the Xbox 360. The bottom layer is like your original faceplate and comes in the default gray which matches the colour of your Xbox 360's sides. The clear faceplate easily snaps over top of the gray faceplate and it also holds the templates. Also included are six pre-made skins or templates that consists of a green camouflage skin, global radar design, straight red-white lines, blue and black lava lamp, simple white bulls eye target and the always classic red and black flames. If one of those designs doesn't meet you like you also get 15 blank templates which can be printed out on your printer, or simple drawn on with anything like markers or crayons. So go preschool on your 360, or put your favorite gaming characters, images of friends, Maxim girls, funky patterns, whatever you wish, that part is up to you.

Original Templates & Faceplates

One odd thing that is missing from the package is the designing software. You'll have to download that off of Nyko's site, it only takes a second, the software is roughly about 5mb. At any rate it should be noted for those without access to an internet connection. Once you have the software it's easy to load, no install necessary and then you basically drop your images in. The software isn't nearly as easy to use any normal graphics program, but it has enough options to make something half decent. You can rotate pictures; fiddle with the brightness and contrast, as well as other effects like Blur, Sepia, Invert and Gray Scale. It's not Adobe, but it will do. Hopefully in the future we see an upgrade to the software, or maybe an Adobe or Fireworks template.

Although I'm mostly up on the Nyko GameFace, I have a few minor grips. First being that the paper template inserts don't always fit snug into the Xbox faceplate. This can make for small gaps which uncover the background gray faceplate. This was mostly recurring around the center circle even after tugging the template around. Besides small miss alignments the templates fit pretty good, although with a keen eye it's still noticeable. For perfectionist moders this won't do, but in a general sense it's ok. From a distance the mismatched templates are un-noticeable and it will only be the owner who will notice any imperfections.

My other grip is with the plastic front piece. The plastic faceplate that goes over the other supplied faceplate is pretty bulky and makes the templates seem placed instead of flat on the system like the defaulted cover. It also adds a gloss to the template which is something you might not like. This is understandable, but again for picky gamers this might be a no. Also when placed over the other faceplate the fasten tabs stick out. Like the template not fitting totally square this is something you won't notice from a far, just by examining it like CSI.

These observations are pretty basic and everyone will pick up on them, but simply in Nyko's defense it's as good as its going to get without using damaging stickers, or purchasing a whole new faceplate.

Tab Sticking Out & Template in Plastic

Now that I've said my piece on the little grips with the Gameface, overall it triumphs. The freedom to make your own designs for the Xbox 360 is pretty rewarding and fun. Whatever is your taste, your favorite band, comic heroes, or just some sweet abstract art, its nice to have an option because only a small percentage of games are hitting the faceplates up. I've posted some designs I was fooling around with and if this seems like something you're interested I wouldn't think twice.

Bottom Line, Nyko's GameFace 360 is a good product and definitely worth the price. It's not going to be perfect, but for a low cost switch able solution to multiple faceplates this is the way to go. So, pimp up your 360, give a tribute to your favorite characters, dress it up like a NES, or simple throw Master Chief on the grill.

Lowdown: Recommended

NYKO GAMEFACE 360 FEATURES:

• Easily clips onto the front of the Xbox 360 console.
• Includes high-grade polycarbonate base plate and clear shield. 16 blank printable templates and 6 pre-printed designs.
• Can be personally customized with computer print-outs, stickers, drawings or photographs giving the Xbox 360 its own unique look.
• Includes easy to use Game Face software to create your own skins with drag and drop multiple images, rotation of designs and photo modification using built-in filters.
• Software downloadble at Nyko's homepage. (www.nyko.com)
• Requires home printer capable of receiving 8 1/2" x 14" sheets