Celebrity Xbox Avatars
Don't like the way you look? Transform into a famous game hero, movie star or politician instead
By now, you’ve been assimilated into the “New Xbox Experience.” By now, your 360 console has strong armed you into customizing a small and rubbery online avatar. By now, you’ve discovered how the limited options for facial features, hairstyles and especially clothes can make this doppelganger process a disappointment and frustration.
So here’s an idea. Instead of building a half-assed copy of yourself, why not build a half-assed copy of your favorite celebrity? Why bore everyone with Bearded Sunglasses Dude #57 or Green Shirt Wearing Gal #124 when you can terrify everyone with a Frankenstein version of Mario, Lara Croft, Chuck Norris or Sarah Palin?
Below are 20 famous / fictional folks for you to choose between. I got surprisingly close on some; I fell laughably short on others. If you’ve had more success, or want to share your own bizarre creations, please post a picture in our forums.
Okay, so he looks more ready to serve you burgers and fries than save any princesses, but the gloves, hat and mustache go a long way. If Microsoft owned Nintendo, this is what I imagine Mario might look like.
Yeah yeah, the shorts aren't short enough. Since you can't change any of the avatar clothing's color, though, it was either these or a pair of hot pink stripper shorts. Hmm, maybe I should rethink this...
Credit for this one goes to PlayStation Editor Mikel Reparaz. The eye scar was the inspiration, obviously, but he also found a clever workaround for the shirtless tattoo. You do have to squint a bit.
The tracksuit pants. The disappearing hairline. The murderin' gloves. The general New Jersey vibe. If I haven't recreated Niko Bellic here, I've at least succeeded at a younger Tony Soprano.
The New Xbox avatars are lacking in many, many, many categories, but pointy ears ain't one of them. I wouldn't be surprised if the selection of silly elf lobes was greater than that for men's shoes. Combined with the choices of blue top and pale skin, Spock was practically begging to be born (evidence: SomethingAwful has one too.)
Technically, this suit is "tan" and not black. Hopefully, the wraparound sunglasses, vacant expression and spoon-bending furrow of concentration on Neo's forehead will distract you from that fact.
Geek bait here. The avatar tools don't include hairstyles for half the people in our office, but they do include intergalactic cinnamon buns, circa 1977. The rest was easy - I could have given her a beard and a monocle and you wouldn't have cared.
Movie Voldemort actually has icy blue eyes... I borrowed from the book version so I could use the sinister red eyes. Hopefully, Microsoft will expand the avatar options to include fun stuff like wizard cloaks and wands in the future.
Blade Runner's kind of a random choice, but I had to find a use for this strange makeup mask. You could have gotten the Hamburglar instead, so be grateful.
Ah yes! Every feature about celebrity avatars MUST include a newer and more pathetic version of Michael Jackson. With an surreal and experimental face like his, how can you resist? Of course, to get that hat, I had to make him a woman, but who says I wouldn't have done that anyway?
The hair's not quite right, but I think I nailed the bored air of disdain and superiority. Also note the spot-on clothes and jewelry. Now if only my Xbox had a green night vision filter and lazy eye constructer.
Is this really Mr. T? Or just another "stereotypical black guy" from our
Top 7 Lazy Character Cliches? Couldn't he be both?
Now included after popular (and majority) demand!
The key to Caribou Barbie is the fake politician smile, the pageant queen makeup and the sexy librarian hairdo. Oh, and the Tina Fey glasses, naturally. Add a few wrinkles to remind people she's over 40 and you're done!
He's only President for another two months, but with this avatar, he can govern over your 360 console forever. The business suit options are limited to all black (tan) or all white, so I gave George Jr. a casual Crawford Ranch style instead.
Here again, I was annoyed by the lack of men's clothing. "Why can't I put my avatar in a regular business suit?!" I shouted angrily to the GamesRadar offices. "I don't think Microsoft expected anyone to want to look like John McCain," my boss answered wisely.
The parted hair, formal tie and Wrist Strong bracelet say "responsible conservative." The knowing grin, devious eyebrows and beady black eyes say something else entirely.
God, this is creepy. I'm sorry. And yes, Link's a woman. A woman in an Xbox 360 t-shirt. I really am sorry.
Um, well, he is blonde. And, uh, wearing a blue shirt. You gotta admit the eyes are pretty good. As for the rest... well, he is blonde.
The abomination above is what happens when you ask your girlfriend to help you with a Celebrity Xbox Avatar feature and then walk away for ten minutes. Once she saw the option for "no eyebrows," I don't think she could resist.
If I could give him a dirty plunger and a sagging pants line, I would. Oh well - maybe in the New New Xbox Experience, my dreams will finally be realized.
2) Avatars are neat, but need some work. They're not necessary in the sense that you've still got the option of using your old gamerpics to represent your gamertag to the rest of Xbox Live, but everyone can create a Nintendo Mii-like avatar. Because there are only a handful of clothing options and customizability selections, your Mii will only kinda look like you. They're neat, though, and can be used in future games so you can control a virtual you instead of, say, Venus Williams or Marcus Fenix—the second being extremely unlikely.
4) Everything is much more usable because it's organized better. By putting in a game and going to its info screen, you can look at its achievements, all its possible downloads and access game details like whether or not it supports 1080p and co-op. In fact, you can do this for all the games in the marketplace, giving you an easy way to browse around and learn whether or not Fable 2 supports online multiplayer (it does).
5) Blades are still there if you want them. Although you're "stuck" with the new interface in the actual Dashboard, you can hit the Xbox guide button on your controller and hop around the console that way. There really isn't a reason to dislike the new interface, but if you're one of those weirdos that hates things because they're new (why are you on THIS website again?), you've got an option.
6) Netflix movie and TV streaming look great. As 
10) The future looks good for NXE. Instead of sticking to the Spring/Fall update cycle, NXE allows Microsoft to roll out incremental updates for your Xbox whenever they're ready. This means more timely feature bumps (stuff like Netflix, for example), and special one-off changes that can skin your interface based on whatever hot game is due out soon. And hell, who wouldn't want to be able to download a Gears of War suit for your avatar?
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