For most of us gamers out there, updates to the 360 come to us as we awake from our afternoon nap, throw off the loose Cheetos that hang on to our sweatpants, and boot up the console, only to see what looks like an error message. We rub our eyes sleepily to get the goop out and hope to goodness that Xbox Live isn’t down.

Coming soon though is an NXE update that I think everyone will benefit from in some way. I was lucky enough to send in my survey and be selected for the second wave of NXE preview program invites. Over the past week or so I have been able to put the NXE update through its paces (minus the Netflix updates which I don’t have) and will give my impressions so far on the update coming August 11^th.

The first thing I noticed was the speed of the dashboard has been much improved. Press the Xbox button after you boot up and the dashboard quickly appears. Lag is all but gone now when switching between tabs, say between your friends list and your game library. My theory is this is a software update to dedicate more memory for the NXE, to load all of the menu items into a cache to speed things up.

Another thing you’ll notice is that it is much easier now to view your achievements for each game and see a status bar of how far you are along in getting all of them. The achievements take on the look of little badges now (instead of being listed for you to have to waste time scrolling). The achievements you have unlocked will of course be in color, and those you haven’t being locked or grayed out.

A few more things to note are the Party mode improvements. Now you will be able to send out invites for games or chatting without having to navigate multiple screens anymore. If you use party chats or send out invites often you know what I’m talking about! You’re sitting there anxious to play with friends but are having to view all of your friends that you want to play with to select, “Invite to Chat/Game” over and over again. Also, for some reason your buddy happens to drop out of a party for whatever reason because of disconnecting or other issue?  Don’t worry! They’ll be back (if you want them) and will automatically reconnect to your party when they sign back in to Xbox Live without having to do a single thing.

Microsoft is also rolling out a service in the update called Games On Demand.  This just spells out that you will need to spring for that bigger hard drive if you don’t already have one for your console, because the following is a full detailed list of games that will be included with the update, ready for your enjoyment from the hard drive (barring purchase of course).

• Assassin’s Creed
• Burnout Paradise
• Call of Duty 2
• Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• Fight Night Round 3
• Kameo: Elements of Power
• LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
• Mass Effect
• Meet The Robinsons
• MX vs. ATV Untamed
• Need for Speed Carbon
• Need for Speed: Most Wanted
• Perfect Dark Zero
• Prey
• Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis
• Sega Rally
• TEST DRIVE: UNLIMITED
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas
• Tomb Raider Legend
• Viva Pinata
• Viva Pinata 2: Trouble in Paradise

Do you want to spend real money (or Microsoft Points) on imaginary things? (sarcasm) I sure do! (/end sarcasm) Following in the footsteps of the PlayStation Home’s popularity for clothing, furniture, and apartment selections, the NXE Update brings with it a marketplace to do just that (minus the avatar dwellings). You probably need that Fable II t-shirt don’t you? I’m just saying, its there if that’s your bag. Not only will your avatar be fashionable now with hot new licensed clothing, you can also get a few clothing accessories by playing the games you have already have to go with your motif (Please let there be a chainsaw!). So far I have only seen a trumpet and a pirate telescope that my avatar can hold on to and use, but who is to say that later on you might get your hands on a Gears of War lancer rifle?

One thing that really excites me (even though I don’t have it) is the ability to watch a movie or TV show in a party together with my friends through Netflix. You will now be able to invite your friends to hang out with you on your imaginary couch, throw imaginary popcorn at each other, or my personal favorite-flirt with your best friend’s wife if she’s online. Standard party system rules apply, so you will be able to chat together to make up your own commentary for the movie if need be.  That means all of you Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans will get your lifelong dream of ripping apart movies.

Obviously there are way too many minor additions to mention in this single post, and with the NXE Update coming August 11th, you guys will find out soon enough.  I might jump back on to write about a few more items in the update, but I really want to know what you guys/gals are looking forward to the most? Let me know in the comments, I’ll try and read them through my goopy Cheeto infested eyes……