Xbox 360

[The Damned]

We have a PS3 thread, a PSP thread (again), a DS thread, and we're on the third Wii thread.

But no X-Box 360 thread? Our coverage of the current systems is incomplete!

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134598

When you download new stuff for your 360 games, you're not really downloading them; you're downloading a key. And it unlocks stuff you've already paid for. And it costs you more money to do so. Yes, the age of micro-transactions is here and people are happily paying out more for what they already own.

It sucks, but there's probably an end-user license agreement somewhere that mentions this, and no one ever bothered to check (who really reads those? I bet you could put just about anything in one, and no one would notice until weeks, or even months later).

On the other hand, with soaring development costs and lower profits, game developers may see this sort of action as the only way to recoup the millions they spent on the games. A company that maintains a healthy profit can survive for years during rough patches between releases.

[Bahamut]

Yeah, that aspect of the microtransactions are rape, not unlike what Nintendo is charging on the Virtual Console, although suckers like me will purchase on the VC anyway.

I need to snag me one when there's a price drop sometime :( .

[Penfold]

lol, finally a 360 thread. I'm pretty much just planning on getting a 360 when Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey are released (mainly for Blue Dragon :P). Gears of War is pretty awesome, but not enough alone for me to get one. I figure by then, there'll be at least a few more games that I'll wanna buy, like Lost Planet. Speaking of which, anyone happen to know when that's coming out?

[Zeklan]

The only good 360 games out are Call of Duty 2 & 3.

Confirm/Deny

[Bigfoot]

We have a PS3 thread, a PSP thread (again), a DS thread, and we're on the third Wii thread.

But no X-Box 360 thread? Our coverage of the current systems is incomplete!

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134598

When you download new stuff for your 360 games, you're not really downloading them; you're downloading a key. And it unlocks stuff you've already paid for. And it costs you more money to do so. Yes, the age of micro-transactions is here and people are happily paying out more for what they already own.

It sucks, but there's probably an end-user license agreement somewhere that mentions this, and no one ever bothered to check (who really reads those? I bet you could put just about anything in one, and no one would notice until weeks, or even months later).

On the other hand, with soaring development costs and lower profits, game developers may see this sort of action as the only way to recoup the millions they spent on the games. A company that maintains a healthy profit can survive for years during rough patches between releases.


I thought that was why they charge $60 for games.

http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/19/ps3-xbox360-costs-tech-cx_rr_game06_1219expensivegames.html



Also, more than 2million Burger King games sold, haha.
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=12187

[Penfold]

Also, more than 2million Burger King games sold, haha.
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=12187

lol

[Steben]

Yeah, that aspect of the microtransactions are rape, not unlike what Nintendo is charging on the Virtual Console, although suckers like me will purchase on the VC anyway.

I need to snag me one when there's a price drop sometime :( .
I like to think there's a distinct difference between paying to unlock features that are already present on the physical disk you've already bought, and paying to download digital content. You're not as likely to get complaints about paying $1 to download a song off of iTunes, but I'd think people wouldn't be too thrilled if there was an extra track on the CD they've already bought, but couldn't access without shelling out an extra dollar.

Also, more than 2million Burger King games sold, haha.
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=12187

lol

At first I thought this promotion was dumb, but then it occurred to me, that I probably would go buy a value meal at BK and pay the extra $4 for their game, if I only owned an XBox.

[The Womb]

I figure by then, there'll be at least a few more games that I'll wanna buy, like Lost Planet. Speaking of which, anyone happen to know when that's coming out?

I think it's January 12th or something like that, it was in one of the video's you can find at Xbox.com anyways.

Yeah I bought my Xbox360 at launch and I'm loving it. I'm already finding games like Dead Rising, Gears of War, and NHL 2007, to completely satisfy me, it's actually kinda funny because in the last month 3 friends of mine have bought an Xbox360, and at least another 3 are seriously considering it.

And I don't get how everything you download for a game, is just a key. What about the Halo Maps?
those where definetly made after the release, and there is supposedly more coming out in the next 6 months (Maybe I just misunderstood you, which definetly could be)

[tgfoo]

I'm already finding games like Dead Rising, Gears of War, and NHL 2007, to completely satisfy me

NHL 2007 and Gears of War definitely take up way more of my time then I'd like them to. BTW, is Dead or Alive 4 the only fighting game out for the system currently?

[The Womb]

NHL 2007 and Gears of War definitely take up way more of my time then I'd like them to. BTW, is Dead or Alive 4 the only fighting game out for the system currently?

The only good one that I can think of.

[linkspast]

I always wondered why why had no 360 thread...

[CE]

The only good 360 games out are Call of Duty 2 & 3.

Confirm/Deny

I honestly can't figure out if this is a joke or not. Major deny.

[Sir_NutS]

lots of good games in the horizon. Lost planet, mass effect, Halo 3, Fable 2, UT2k7, it'll be a good year to have a x360.

[sgx]

I'm totally getting a 360 next year. I'm pretty sure they'll drop the price soon after the holiday season. Either that or they'll pack in a larger hard drive or something like that. I know if I don't wait for the drop, as soon as I buy one the price WILL drop and I'll feel like a newb for waiting so long to get a 360.

Also, I read somewhere that they are beginning to manufacture the CPUs differently in a way that makes them less power consuming (less heat = less fan noise maybe?), and more stable. Sort of waiting for that revision of 360's.

I'm really looking forward to getting Gears of War, Viva Pinata, Lost Planet (January, right?), Forza 2, Too Human, Mass Effect, Guitar Hero 360 maybe, Lumines Live so I can play in 5.1 sound 8) , etc.

[sgx]

NHL 2007 and Gears of War definitely take up way more of my time then I'd like them to. BTW, is Dead or Alive 4 the only fighting game out for the system currently?

The only good one that I can think of.

Oooh. Virtua Fighter 5 now coming to 360 also: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/752/752074p1.html

I think the japanese are realizing they aren't going to make much money keeping things on the PS3 only. The western market is just too big. Here's hoping the rumors that MGS4 is coming to 360 also is true!

[CE]

NHL 2007 and Gears of War definitely take up way more of my time then I'd like them to. BTW, is Dead or Alive 4 the only fighting game out for the system currently?

The only good one that I can think of.

Oooh. Virtua Fighter 5 now coming to 360 also: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/752/752074p1.html

I think the japanese are realizing they aren't going to make much money keeping things on the PS3 only. The western market is just too big. Here's hoping the rumors that MGS4 is coming to 360 also is true!

Nope, totally and completely dismissed by both Kojima and Konami.

[Binjovi]

NHL 2007 and Gears of War definitely take up way more of my time then I'd like them to. BTW, is Dead or Alive 4 the only fighting game out for the system currently?

The only good one that I can think of.

Oooh. Virtua Fighter 5 now coming to 360 also: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/752/752074p1.html

I think the japanese are realizing they aren't going to make much money keeping things on the PS3 only. The western market is just too big. Here's hoping the rumors that MGS4 is coming to 360 also is true!

Nope, totally and completely dismissed by both Kojima and Konami.

And Shinji Mikami doesn't have a head. Anything can happen down the road, but I'm still not holding my breath for a 360 MGS4, as much as I'd love it to happen.

[Penfold]

I think the japanese are realizing they aren't going to make much money keeping things on the PS3 only. The western market is just too big. Here's hoping the rumors that MGS4 is coming to 360 also is true!

If that rumor were to be true, that'd be one less big reason for me to get a PS3 (probably my only major reason I'd foresee wanting a PS3 in the near future).

[Bahamut]

I hope that price drop is in early January...I have this 25% off total TRU purchase I want to use, and the coupon is stackable.

[Bigfoot]

I really wish I would have tried for that $100 Xbox 360 deal on Amazon. My friend bought one, and she's giving it to her brother for Christmas.

[UnforgivingEdges]

I hope that price drop is in early January...I have this 25% off total TRU purchase I want to use, and the coupon is stackable.

If you buy a 360 at Toys R Us this holiday season, you get a $100 TRU gift card.

[The Womb]

Like most people are saying already I'm really looking forward to the games coming out for the Xbox360
And I'm actually really happy to see people liking Lost Planet (Snow Pirates = Immediate Win), I thought it would be a bit of a sleeper hit, but I fell in love with the playable demo
Mass Effect looks really cool
Bioshock is made by the System Shock people
Heck Fusion Frenzy 2 is even coming out

[UnforgivingEdges]

Top 5 reasons to own a 360:

-Viva Pinata
-Gears of War
-Lost Planet
-Xbox Live Arcade
-Oblivion

[CE]

Top 5 reasons to own a 360:

-Gears of War
-Viva Piñata
-Lost Planet
-Xbox Live Arcade
-Command and Conquer 3

Fixed.

[sgx]

NHL 2007 and Gears of War definitely take up way more of my time then I'd like them to. BTW, is Dead or Alive 4 the only fighting game out for the system currently?

The only good one that I can think of.

Oooh. Virtua Fighter 5 now coming to 360 also: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/752/752074p1.html

I think the japanese are realizing they aren't going to make much money keeping things on the PS3 only. The western market is just too big. Here's hoping the rumors that MGS4 is coming to 360 also is true!

Nope, totally and completely dismissed by both Kojima and Konami.

Do you have a link?

They could still be saying that they aren't making a PS3 version because they could be under some agreement with Sony not to talk about it.

I read that Kojima was being forced by Konami execs to make the port. It will be hard to make a profit on this multi million dollar game when there won't be that many PS3's out there even a year from now. It's kinda like how Capcom forced a PS2 Resident Evil port.

I wouldn't be surprised if the MGS4 port came 6-12 months later.


Unrelated:

The things that I like about the xbox and the xbox360 are that a lot of the games are actually NEW IPs. Or at least only the second or third in a series. There is the most NEW STUFF on xbox and I'm digging that.

[Penfold]

Top 5 reasons to own a 360:

-Gears of War
-Blue Dragon
-Lost Planet
-Xbox Live Arcade
-Lost Odyssey

Fixed.

Fixed again.

EDIT:

They could still be saying that they aren't making a 360 version because they could be under some agreement with Sony not to talk about it.

Fix'd too.

[UnforgivingEdges]

The things that I like about the xbox and the xbox360 are that a lot of the games are actually NEW IPs. Or at least only the second or third in a series. There is the most NEW STUFF on xbox and I'm digging that.

Seconded. That's what the 360 has over its competitors right now, and one of the reasons it's so attractive to me.

[CE]

NHL 2007 and Gears of War definitely take up way more of my time then I'd like them to. BTW, is Dead or Alive 4 the only fighting game out for the system currently?

The only good one that I can think of.

Oooh. Virtua Fighter 5 now coming to 360 also: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/752/752074p1.html

I think the japanese are realizing they aren't going to make much money keeping things on the PS3 only. The western market is just too big. Here's hoping the rumors that MGS4 is coming to 360 also is true!

Nope, totally and completely dismissed by both Kojima and Konami.

Do you have a link?

They could still be saying that they aren't making a PS3 version because they could be under some agreement with Sony not to talk about it.

I read that Kojima was being forced by Konami execs to make the port. It will be hard to make a profit on this multi million dollar game when there won't be that many PS3's out there even a year from now. It's kinda like how Capcom forced a PS2 Resident Evil port.

I wouldn't be surprised if the MGS4 port came 6-12 months later.

Yeah, just like 1, 2 and 3 had re-editions (and 1 had a GC version and 2 had a Xbox version), it's likely that 4 will have a revision edition too.

And it's also possible that it will come out on the 360. Nevertheless, I can't give you a link, I don't remember where I found it, but it's been on several of the main media outlets.

So, the fact that it will be a PS3-only game is pretty much set in stone. Of course, sly, sly Kojima hasn't said anything about the reeditions, so it's still pretty open.

Still, you have to take one major factor into consideration: MGS tends to be a graphically powerful game. Maybe it will utilize the PS3's powerful capabilites to create gameplay mechanics based on that powerful graphical prowess. Which means a 360 version would, undoubtedly, be toned down.

[Bahamut]

I hope that price drop is in early January...I have this 25% off total TRU purchase I want to use, and the coupon is stackable.

If you buy a 360 at Toys R Us this holiday season, you get a $100 TRU gift card.

Does this require a coupon?

Edit: Nevermind, I found the deal at CAG. Holy shit, I'm going to pick that up tomorrow or Saturday then.

Edit #2: And thanks :oops:

[I-n-j-i-n]

I think the microtransactions as a problem is blown out of proportions. Equating it with "rape"? What? Though I can see how it could be such with Gran Turismo for the PS3 which was originally slated to have very few cars and with the rest being unlockable later. Also, the idea of 360 microtransactions is not always that of unlocking content within the game. It's basically like a small add-on or mod, PC style.

BTW, I think the idea isn't that good unless it's something like the Steam games where such addons are entire new game chapters (Half Life Episodes anyone?), or entirely new mods and full game expansions (Steam nowadays caters to other games and their expansions as well)


Also, Blue Dragon is coming by the end of the year I believe, and the reviews have been very positive for it. I won't be getting the 360 until the price of the Premium goes down by around $100 (probably will happen in Fall 2007), but Blue Dragon looks very tempting.

The music in Blue Dragon sounds wonderful as well. Finally the return of Uematsu in his full glory so to speak.

[Bahamut]

Well, I meant rape in terms of the stuff that's already in the game, especially if all the transaction do is unlock it for you (like a cheat code). The concept of the XBL transactions is just fine with me - heck, I'm getting an XBox 360 by Saturday, I better be fine with it!

[Penfold]

Also, Blue Dragon is coming by the end of the year I believe, and the reviews have been very positive for it. I won't be getting the 360 until the price of the Premium goes down by around $100 (probably will happen in Fall 2007), but Blue Dragon looks very tempting.

The music in Blue Dragon sounds wonderful as well. Finally the return of Uematsu in his full glory so to speak.

Yeah, I agree. I've only seen stuff for Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey but it's giving me high hopes for future Mistwalker products.

EDIT: page 3 already. Is it too soon to call this thread more than an attempt?

[Bahamut]

Oh, now that I'm getting sucked in to buying an XBox 360, current owners list off on the good stuff for me to buy (of course there's Gears of War and Geometry Wars).

I also was wondering, was Microsoft's lack of an official price drop and use of retailers being aggressive in selling the XBox 360 (including giving incentives) responsible for this sales drive for the holidays? I find it amazing that demand spiked up for the system this holiday that much. Microsoft shows up again why it's such a smart company.

[Penfold]

I also was wondering, was Microsoft's lack of an official price drop and use of retailers being aggressive in selling the XBox 360 (including giving incentives) responsible for this sales drive for the holidays? I find it amazing that demand spiked up for the system this holiday that much. Microsoft shows up again why it's such a smart company.

I agree. I think also the fact that it's so damn tough to get a PS3 and Wii in stores for the holidays have probably helped to push up 360 sales (parents wanting to buy one of the new game systems for their kids for Christmas, and finding that the 360 is the only one immediately available). I saw a couple cases of that happening when I've visited EB/Gamestops these past couple weeks. I also don't think the agressive marketing is unrelated to this. Anyway, I wonder if they'll end up turning a profit this quarter since software sales should be way up too.

[The Womb]

Oh, now that I'm getting sucked in to buying an XBox 360, current owners list off on the good stuff for me to buy (of course there's Gears of War and Geometry Wars).


I really liked Dead Rising (Who can't resist fighting a bunch of Zombies in a mall)
If your into sports games, NHL 2007 with the Skill stick is absolutly amazing
A game that's a bit older now that I really enjoyed was Condemned, really cool, got a bit freaky sometimes which was fun
Haven't played Viva Pinata but supposedly thats some good fun
I still enjoy PDZ :oops:

[Bahamut]

I also was wondering, was Microsoft's lack of an official price drop and use of retailers being aggressive in selling the XBox 360 (including giving incentives) responsible for this sales drive for the holidays? I find it amazing that demand spiked up for the system this holiday that much. Microsoft shows up again why it's such a smart company.

I agree. I think also the fact that it's so damn tough to get a PS3 and Wii in stores for the holidays have probably helped to push up 360 sales (parents wanting to buy one of the new game systems for their kids for Christmas, and finding that the 360 is the only one immediately available). I saw a couple cases of that happening when I've visited EB/Gamestops these past couple weeks. I also don't think the agressive marketing is unrelated to this. Anyway, I wonder if they'll end up turning a profit this quarter since software sales should be way up too.

Well, we've seen some relative firsts this holiday season in approaches to sales of a relatively new console - $100 XBox 360 Cores (amazon.com), $200 XBox 360 premiums (Microcenter), $100 gift card on purchase of an XBox 360 (Toys 'R Us). I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft was behind those drives in some way, shape, or form.

[Penfold]

Well, we've seen some relative firsts this holiday season in approaches to sales of a relatively new console - $100 XBox 360 Cores (amazon.com), $200 XBox 360 premiums (Microcenter), $100 gift card on purchase of an XBox 360 (Toys 'R Us). I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft was behind those drives in some way, shape, or form.

I wouldn't be too surprised either. I remember seeing the $100 360 Cores, that was pretty crazy. Btw, I've never heard of Microcenter...is that a strictly East Coast chain, or is Seattle just behind the times (or secret option 3: online store)?

[I-n-j-i-n]

I also think the thing that drives the numbers up is that there are simply a ton of very decent games for the system. Even speaking of ports, the best versions have always been for the 360 for a full year now, and some exclusives (or semi-exclusives. PC/360 basically) such as Dead Rising, DOA games and Gears of War helped. And of course, the Halo 3 anticipation.

[Fire in the Hole]

Well, we've seen some relative firsts this holiday season in approaches to sales of a relatively new console - $100 XBox 360 Cores (amazon.com), $200 XBox 360 premiums (Microcenter), $100 gift card on purchase of an XBox 360 (Toys 'R Us). I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft was behind those drives in some way, shape, or form.

I wouldn't be too surprised either. I remember seeing the $100 360 Cores, that was pretty crazy. Btw, I've never heard of Microcenter...is that a strictly East Coast chain, or is Seattle just behind the times (or secret option 3: online store)?

I think it's more of an Eastern thing (we have one near here in Virginia).

[UnforgivingEdges]

I hope that price drop is in early January...I have this 25% off total TRU purchase I want to use, and the coupon is stackable.

If you buy a 360 at Toys R Us this holiday season, you get a $100 TRU gift card.

Does this require a coupon?

Edit: Nevermind, I found the deal at CAG. Holy shit, I'm going to pick that up tomorrow or Saturday then.

Edit #2: And thanks :oops:

Yeah, hot deal. You could just buy the tard pack (Core version) and get a free HD. Not bad, unless you absolutely must have the component cables and/or wireless controller.

Oh, now that I'm getting sucked in to buying an XBox 360, current owners list off on the good stuff for me to buy (of course there's Gears of War and Geometry Wars).

Viva Pinata is a Rare (as in Rareware) game that is a sort of pet simulator (kind of like Nintendogs, I guess) in which you take care of colorful little creatures that are living breathing pinatas. I hear the game is delightful (though I haven't played it yet).

And if you're looking for more good deals, Viva Pinata is $29.99 today only (12-21) at Best Buy.

Oblivion has already won numerous GOTY awards, though I'm sure most people know about it. Essentially, it's a huge-ass first person RPG that rivals MMOs in size and scope (though it is an offline only game).

Lost Planet is coming in a January, and it's a 3rd person shooter from Capcom that has some really clever game design. It also looks graphically phenomenal.

Fight Night Round 3 is another very pretty game, and it's very accessible even if you don't like boxing or sports games.

If you want something traditional, FFXI is out for the 360 (though they've stopped producing it; still, the game has viability left as there will be one more expansion for it sometime soon). That's also a good deal; it comes with the game and all 3 expansions for $30 and a month free.

On XBLA, there's almost no limit to the fun you could have. Lumines Live, with online head to head play, Geometry Wars, etc.

There's also a new game out on XBLA called Assault Heroes that's getting great reviews. It basically plays exactly like Geometry Wars, but it's a 2 player co-op game that has levels and missions. The art design is a lot like the Halo games in that it's has a futuristic military theme, only it's played from a top-down isometric perspective.

[SilverStar]

Maybe what should happen, is just a broader Wii60 thread is made? It seems to me that, in a lot of cases, existing 360 owners actually want a Wii, because it offers such a wildly different play option, and at the same time a very large number of Wii owners are also looking at, eventually, getting a 360.


But, more on-topic, the whole thing about the microtransactions that only unlock content already included on the disc? That's just such a shitjob. Seriously, it's one thing to make people have to pay for whole new content, that actually sits on a remote server and has to be downloaded, it's something completely different to make them have to pay for a keyfile that just unlocks it.

And people? Oblivion on the 360 is seriously not worth it. Don't EVER call it a reason to own the 360(or, soon, even the PS3). Get the PC version. Just the sheer number of mods(tens of thousands), many of which go so far beyond any mods Bethesda has released, makes it a much better investment, even if you have to get a new video card.

Anyway, yeah. MS has a winner on their hands this time. When even the Asian market is starting to warm up to it, that shows just how far it's come in a single short year.

[I-n-j-i-n]

Oblivion is good no matter how you slice it though. I ended up buying two versions of Morrowind too.

Then there's Cry On, Lost Odyssey, Fable 2 (hopefully much improved from Fable) and Mass Effect. Not a bad line of RPGs coming up.

PS- Now that I have a Wii, the 360 is definitely up. The PS3 isn't even on my mind because of the crazy price. Still waiting for some official word on the possible MGS4 port. Though a lot of Sony fanatics are saying it won't ever make it. But there's hints it could.

[UnforgivingEdges]

Maybe what should happen, is just a broader Wii60 thread is made? It seems to me that, in a lot of cases, existing 360 owners actually want a Wii, because it offers such a wildly different play option, and at the same time a very large number of Wii owners are also looking at, eventually, getting a 360.

Here's a stat for you: I don't. Now get your fanboy shit out of this thread. The rest of your post was fine.

[CE]

Oblivion is good no matter how you slice it though. I ended up buying two versions of Morrowind too.

Well it is... I mean, it sure is a good game on it's own, but not a great game, like it's PC counterpart is. Oblivion vanilla wares thin after maybe 50 hours of gameplay tops. That about as much as Zelda. For such an open ended game, it should be more, like Morrowing, but Oblivion ruins everything by adding a randomness factor limited to your level and stuff, it's just meh.

Actually, there's a PC mod that fixes this, making Oblivion just as, if not better, then Morrowind, it's the Oscuro's Overhaul Oblivion, or O3.

So, while Oblivion is a good game, it's not a reason to get a 360 like Halo 3 or Dead Rising is. It is, however, a reason to get a great PC.

[tgfoo]

Man, reading this thread (and listening to sgx), I guess I'm missing out on a lot by not having my 360 hooked for Live. Guess I'll have to get on that.

[SilverStar]

Maybe what should happen, is just a broader Wii60 thread is made? It seems to me that, in a lot of cases, existing 360 owners actually want a Wii, because it offers such a wildly different play option, and at the same time a very large number of Wii owners are also looking at, eventually, getting a 360.

Here's a stat for you: I don't. Now get your fanboy shit out of this thread. The rest of your post was fine.

Here's a stat for you: Fanboys ignore everything that was said, if it contains anything other than praise for their system of choice. Re-read what I said. "It seems to me that, in a lot of cases..."

So, welcome to school. Reading comprehension helps, doesn't it?

[UnforgivingEdges]

Maybe what should happen, is just a broader Wii60 thread is made? It seems to me that, in a lot of cases, existing 360 owners actually want a Wii, because it offers such a wildly different play option, and at the same time a very large number of Wii owners are also looking at, eventually, getting a 360.

Here's a stat for you: I don't. Now get your fanboy shit out of this thread. The rest of your post was fine.

Here's a stat for you: Fanboys ignore everything that was said, if it contains anything other than praise for their system of choice. Re-read what I said. "It seems to me that, in a lot of cases..."

So, welcome to school. Reading comprehension helps, doesn't it?

You're completely dodging what I said. There's no need for a "broader Wii60 thread". That is an incredibly dumb idea. Maybe we should combine the PSP and DS thread? That would be great. Two machines that have no relation other than that they play video games for people to talk about. After all, most PSP owners are eventually going to buy a DS and express their desire for one.

[SilverStar]

Maybe what should happen, is just a broader Wii60 thread is made? It seems to me that, in a lot of cases, existing 360 owners actually want a Wii, because it offers such a wildly different play option, and at the same time a very large number of Wii owners are also looking at, eventually, getting a 360.

Here's a stat for you: I don't. Now get your fanboy shit out of this thread. The rest of your post was fine.

Here's a stat for you: Fanboys ignore everything that was said, if it contains anything other than praise for their system of choice. Re-read what I said. "It seems to me that, in a lot of cases..."

So, welcome to school. Reading comprehension helps, doesn't it?

You're completely dodging what I said. There's no need for a "broader Wii60 thread". That is an incredibly dumb idea. Maybe we should combine the PSP and DS thread? That would be great. Two machines that have no relation other than that they play video games for people to talk about. After all, most PSP owners are eventually going to buy a DS and express their desire for one.

No, dude. You said to get the fanboy out of the thread, because I suggested we actually make it about something that is being, quite virally, marketed as the superior choice. The Wii60 combination. You said nothing else, so there wasn't anything for me to dodge.

And PSP/DS? It's pretty much entirely one or the other. Relatively few people have or want both. Wii60? Since MS suggested it, it's been catching on. An increasing number of gamers want both, for both the choice of games and the difference in playstyles. Just like PC gaming is different from Console gaming.

Hell, go take a look at other message boards. Once you get past your own apparent flaming fanboyism, you'll see that there's as much good faith coming from the Wii camp toward the 360, as there is good faith coming from the 360 camp for the Wii(minus the shots at how "kiddy" Nintendo is). And both camps point and laugh at Sony's short-bus riding spawn.

So, just because -you- don't want a Wii, doesn't mean that, oh, say.. 4 million other 360 owners wouldn't enjoy one. Just from current numbers.

When I was waiting in line for my Wii on launch day, more than half the people in line already had a 360. That alone speaks volumes about the appeal.

Now, if you will kindly stop being an anal ostrich, you'd see that I'm also praising the 360, and I'm someone who was quite firmly a Nintendo fanboy. ;)

[The Instrument of GAWD]

SHUT UP!

lol, stop reminding me I can't get a 360. A Wii would be nice but it's still too new, and PS3 isn't even on my rader... cause I don't care.

BTW, the whole fanboy thing; if you drop you're blind faith towards just one console, you'll be alot more content with each consoles on the market. You might have less money because of that, but you won't be missing out as much as you would if you stuck with one console.

[Bahamut]

I would normally buy Oblivion for PC, but I decided to get myself a Macbook to avoid PC gaming to concentrate more on my studies, so I may just buy it for the XBox 360 sometime.

So far, I'm considering getting Top Spin 2, Gears of War, Oblivion, and some of those XBL arcade games, although not all at once. Maybe Dead Rising too at some point. I'm having a hard time swallowing this $60 game pricepoint, it's reminding me a lot of N64 game prices although I guess inflation does make it a sensible price.

I also need to get me an extra controller :( . This is going to be quite pricey, but at least the premium comes with component cables for use with my HDTV at home.

[CE]

Oh sure, bahamut, if you have no other choice then buy Oblivion for the 360. It's still a good game, plus you can get some official mods, if you pay for them. Also, is the 360 getting bioshock?

[Bahamut]

Yeah, it's getting Bioshock - saw a display for it in EB.

[The Damned]

fag
ur a fag
no u!
faggy fanboy
no ur fagy fanboy
Jesus... now I have to change this thread's title to "SilverStar and Phthisis bitch at each other", and get it moved to UnMod.

I don't recall any of the other system threads going so downhill so quickly...

[FuriousFure]

Oh sure, bahamut, if you have no other choice then buy Oblivion for the 360. It's still a good game, plus you can get some official mods, if you pay for them. Also, is the 360 getting bioshock?

thats the thing, PC's oblivion is <superior> to the 360s but not everyone has $2000 to blow on a pc gaming rig. and then if they did they would just buy pc games and miss out on the 360's exclusives.

And yes, it is. and im gonna buy it.


also: top 3 on my 360 list
1. Gears of War
2. Burnout
3. Xbox live (in general)

[Bahamut]

fag
ur a fag
no u!
faggy fanboy
no ur fagy fanboy
Jesus... now I have to change this thread's title to "SilverStar and Phthisis bitch at each other", and get it moved to UnMod.

I don't recall any of the other system threads going so downhill so quickly...

Evilhead vs. Nintendo fanboys?

[CE]

Yeah, it's getting Bioshock - saw a display for it in EB.

Goddammit, the reasons for me to get it keep piling the fuck up.

Now it's a matter of weighing choices:

-Do I want to starve myself and do random jobs like I did with the Wii? If so, would I be willing to spend it on a 360 instead of a PC upgrade?

D:

[Fire in the Hole]

fag
ur a fag
no u!
faggy fanboy
no ur fagy fanboy
Jesus... now I have to change this thread's title to "SilverStar and Phthisis bitch at each other", and get it moved to UnMod.

I don't recall any of the other system threads going so downhill so quickly...

You call that downhill?

[UnforgivingEdges]

Maybe what should happen, is just a broader Wii60 thread is made? It seems to me that, in a lot of cases, existing 360 owners actually want a Wii, because it offers such a wildly different play option, and at the same time a very large number of Wii owners are also looking at, eventually, getting a 360.

Here's a stat for you: I don't. Now get your fanboy shit out of this thread. The rest of your post was fine.

Here's a stat for you: Fanboys ignore everything that was said, if it contains anything other than praise for their system of choice. Re-read what I said. "It seems to me that, in a lot of cases..."

So, welcome to school. Reading comprehension helps, doesn't it?

You're completely dodging what I said. There's no need for a "broader Wii60 thread". That is an incredibly dumb idea. Maybe we should combine the PSP and DS thread? That would be great. Two machines that have no relation other than that they play video games for people to talk about. After all, most PSP owners are eventually going to buy a DS and express their desire for one.

No, dude. You said to get the fanboy out of the thread, because I suggested we actually make it about something that is being, quite virally, marketed as the superior choice. The Wii60 combination. You said nothing else, so there wasn't anything for me to dodge.

And PSP/DS? It's pretty much entirely one or the other. Relatively few people have or want both. Wii60? Since MS suggested it, it's been catching on. An increasing number of gamers want both, for both the choice of games and the difference in playstyles. Just like PC gaming is different from Console gaming.

Hell, go take a look at other message boards. Once you get past your own apparent flaming fanboyism, you'll see that there's as much good faith coming from the Wii camp toward the 360, as there is good faith coming from the 360 camp for the Wii(minus the shots at how "kiddy" Nintendo is). And both camps point and laugh at Sony's short-bus riding spawn.

So, just because -you- don't want a Wii, doesn't mean that, oh, say.. 4 million other 360 owners wouldn't enjoy one. Just from current numbers.

When I was waiting in line for my Wii on launch day, more than half the people in line already had a 360. That alone speaks volumes about the appeal.

Now, if you will kindly stop being an anal ostrich, you'd see that I'm also praising the 360, and I'm someone who was quite firmly a Nintendo fanboy. ;)

Please just shutup. I can't stand anymore of your corporate cock-wrangling.

[SilverStar]

fag
ur a fag
no u!
faggy fanboy
no ur fagy fanboy
Jesus... now I have to change this thread's title to "SilverStar and Phthisis bitch at each other", and get it moved to UnMod.

I don't recall any of the other system threads going so downhill so quickly...

You call that downhill?

*looks at the following comment*

No, I'd say THAT is downhill.

[Bahamut]

stfu you two, I want to hear about XBox 360 games, not petty bickering.

Also, Katsurugi suggested Table Tennis (the Rockstar game) - is that game any good? Upon more searching, it seems Amped 3 might be a good purchase too. Fight Night Round 3 sure looks gorgeous too of course.

[I-n-j-i-n]

Yeah, so maybe not all 360 owners care about the Wii and maybe some Wii gamers would not care for other consoles. So what? This is not worth arguing about.



As for Table Tennis, I hear it's pretty good as a sports game and though I only played the demo, what was there was just really solid and probably the best ping-pong style game made yet.

And the Fight Night series, for being an EA game, has had a great history of having a great, involving gameplay on top of the graphics.

[UnforgivingEdges]

stfu you two, I want to hear about XBox 360 games, not petty bickering.

Also, Katsurugi suggested Table Tennis (the Rockstar game) - is that game any good? Upon more searching, it seems Amped 3 might be a good purchase too. Fight Night Round 3 sure looks gorgeous too of course.

I played Fight Night for the first time tonight.

OH MY GOD. Unbelievable. Graphically, it's some of the best visuals I've ever seen; characters cut and bruise visibly, and the slow motion replays of punches show face-rippling glory.

Gameplay wise, it is absolutely incredible. It's easy enough to pick up and mess around with, but it's deep as hell. I'm kind of reminded of the old WCW/NWO and WWF games on the N64 in that there was always a way to escape or counter a move. It's the same in Fight Night. You can walk around the ring, duck, block, dodge, and you have light jabs and slow heavy punches.

This game is all about situational strategy. It's a great example of focusing on your opponent's tendencies and reacting accordingly.

So for example, playing my friend tonight, he bloodied up the ride side of my character's face pretty badly in the first round, and it was weak to attack. So he was focusing in on that side in the following rounds. I, in turn, used a high right-side block to counter is punches, and it opened him up to some huge shots from me, allowing me to win a couple rounds in a row.

It's a wonderful game of give and take, and it's very very intelligently designed. I had no interest in it before tonight; now I am picking this up ASAP.

[parasoul]

Fight Night is pretty fun for a few hours, then all you do is haymakers and it's extremely boring.

Table Tennis is the worst game I've played for 360. I'm serious when I say all 3 Burger King games are more fun. Some people seem to love it for some reason though.

[Viol8tor]

Been playing tons of Rainbow six : Las Vegas with my buddies on the weekend. Co-op is always fun, Rainbow six and Gears of War made me dust off my xbox360.

Now looking forward to Lost Planet, best in game smoke effects evar!. :P

[Zutnunzor]

Quick question. How is PSU on the 360?

[I-n-j-i-n]

Fight Night is pretty fun for a few hours, then all you do is haymakers and it's extremely boring.

Career modes on the Fight Night games have been very addicting as far as I remember. And it has Xbox Live play to boot.

Table Tennis is the worst game I've played for 360. I'm serious when I say all 3 Burger King games are more fun. Some people seem to love it for some reason though.

It's a very simplistic game in a similar way any other tennis games and 3D Pong games are. And yeah, the BK games are insane value for what they have. Not too fair a comparison actually.

[UnforgivingEdges]

Quick question. How is PSU on the 360?

A little prettier than the other versions. But if you wanna play online, you have to pony up $10 a month to Sega, regardless if you're paying for Xbox Live or not. That, my friends, is what is called a SHIT DEAL.

[Sir_NutS]

I get to play Ninety-Nine Nights yesterday. Pretty meh game if you ask me, though the massive amount of enemies at the same time was outstanding at times.

[Bahamut]

XBox 360 now has a 1 year warranty (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/news/2006/1222-xbox360warrantyextended.htm)

Looks like I lucked out!

[Ninja-san]

Im debating about getting a 360. The ps3's price is just out of my wallet league but at the same time theres more ps3 games that interest be than the Xbox's. My main reason for buying one of them is whenever resident evil 5 comes out

[Bahamut]

Well, right now Microcenter has an XBox 360 for $200 after $100 mail in rebate deal. Toys 'R Us has a $100 gift card with purchase of a 360 deal that ends on Christmas.

[Ninja-san]

Well, right now Microcenter has an XBox 360 for $200 after $100 mail in rebate deal.

Are microcenters located nationwide? I dont really recall seeing one by me but the offer is greatly tempting

[Bahamut]

Well, right now Microcenter has an XBox 360 for $200 after $100 mail in rebate deal.

Are microcenters located nationwide? I dont really recall seeing one by me but the offer is greatly tempting

I'm not sure - I haven't seen any in NY :( .

Edit: Oh yeah, there is one in NY, but in crappy Long Island. Here's (http://www.microcenter.com/at_the_stores/index.html) all the store locations, and looks like none in MD. Ironically, one of them is at the site of M5.

[Ninja-san]

Well, right now Microcenter has an XBox 360 for $200 after $100 mail in rebate deal.

Are microcenters located nationwide? I dont really recall seeing one by me but the offer is greatly tempting

I'm not sure - I haven't seen any in NY :( .

Edit: Oh yeah, there is one in NY, but in crappy Long Island. Here's (http://www.microcenter.com/at_the_stores/index.html) all the store locations, and looks like none in MD. Ironically, one of them is at the site of M5.
Thanks for the link.

[Bigfoot]

XBox 360 now has a 1 year warranty (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/news/2006/1222-xbox360warrantyextended.htm)

Looks like I lucked out!


Also, if you payed $140 to repair your Xbox 360, you're entitled to a refund. They'll send you a check in about 10 weeks.

http://prnewswire.com/news/index_mail.shtml?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/12-22-2006/0004496011&EDATE=

[Bahamut]

No contacting them for the checks necessary either. I like Microsoft, they know how to at least treat their consumers right.

[CIaude]

Bitches, it's all about the Dead Rising.

[Darth Lime]

If by some miraculous means I get a Xbox 360, I would get Dead Rising, Oblivion, Fable 2 (when it comes out), Tony Hawks Project 8, Viva Pinata... there was more but I have seem to have forgotton titles.

The main reason I would choose 360 of Wii and PS3 is because 360 has been out for a year now and most (if not all) of the bugs and glitches have been fixed. They have a solid foundation of games and most of them are solid titles. The Wii and PS3 are still full of bugs and glitches (according to my knowledge, someone please challenge that) and not a lot of good launch titles, although the Wii had LoZ: Twilight Princess so I don't know. The Wii's strap breaks so I am going to wait untill thats fixed and the PS3's is insane so I am going to wait for a price drop.

Thats that for that rant. Feel free to criticize my inferior intellect and to make corrections. kthxbye :lol:

[Bigfoot]

Yeah, you definitely forgot Gears of War.

[Sir_NutS]

And the fact that microsoft has the best online structure around.

[Fire in the Hole]

The Wii's strap breaks so I am going to wait untill thats fixed and the PS3's is insane so I am going to wait for a price drop.

The Wiimote straps are only allergic to retards so you may not need to be concerned about that. Any other glitches and bugs are relatively rare.

Also Wii post FTW!

[Doulifée]

The Wii's strap breaks so I am going to wait untill thats fixed and the PS3's is insane so I am going to wait for a price drop.

The Wiimote straps are only allergic to retards so you may not need to be concerned about that. Any other glitches and bugs are relatively rare.

Also Wii post FTW!

i don't see how you can break your strap seriously? what are people doing for that? throwing their wiimote mindlessly?. and yeah the software inside the console while update has minor glitch but nothing annoying.

[Razumen]

I probably won't get a 360 until it either hits $350CAD, or Ninja Gaiden 2 is released for it.

I'd really like to get one now, but $500CAD is too much at the moment, I'd rather use that money to upgrade my P4 to a C2D.

[Bahamut]

See, that's why I'm leaving soon to pick mine up for essentially $200 :P . The extra Wii finally came in, so soon it's shower time.

[Bigfoot]

How is NFS:Underground? That's the game that comes free with the Xbox 360's at Best Buy. I think it's NFS:Underground anyway.

[UnforgivingEdges]

How is NFS:Underground? That's the game that comes free with the Xbox 360's at Best Buy. I think it's NFS:Underground anyway.

Circuit City also has a deal where you get an Xbox 360 premium system, an extra wireless controller, and Gears of War for $500.

[Julio Jose]

RUMOR ALERT= (Will find link when I get out of shower) MGS4 may be ported to 360 because of the PS3's flopped launch.

[sgx]

RUMOR ALERT= (Will find link when I get out of shower) MGS4 may be ported to 360 because of the PS3's flopped launch.

Yeah, this has been in EGM and a lot of other places. On such an expensive game, it will be really hard to make back the money on the one system with the smallest amount of consoles out there. LOTS of westerners have and will have 360s...they can't afford to ignore the roundeyes!

It will be HUGE if it comes true. PS3 won't have much big stuff that is exclusive. FFXIII, Devil May Cry 4..can't think of much else. DMC4 has a good chance of coming to the 360 also I think - RE5 is coming to both isn't it? Capcom likes to port anyways.

I'm sure I'll miss whatever the ICO/Shadow of the Colossus guys are doing for PS3, but really it doesn't look like I'll be missing a lot when I refuse to spend $600 on a PS3.

[Bigfoot]

RUMOR ALERT= (Will find link when I get out of shower) MGS4 may be ported to 360 because of the PS3's flopped launch.

Yeah, this has been in EGM and a lot of other places. On such an expensive game, it will be really hard to make back the money on the one system with the smallest amount of consoles out there. LOTS of westerners have and will have 360s...they can't afford to ignore the roundeyes!

It will be HUGE if it comes true. PS3 won't have much big stuff that is exclusive. FFXIII, Devil May Cry 4..can't think of much else. DMC4 has a good chance of coming to the 360 also I think - RE5 is coming to both isn't it? Capcom likes to port anyways.

I'm sure I'll miss whatever the ICO/Shadow of the Colossus guys are doing for PS3, but really it doesn't look like I'll be missing a lot when I refuse to spend $600 on a PS3.

Don't forget Virtua Fighter 5 as well. :P

[watkinzez]

I seem to remember the Substance port on Xbox didn't sell an amazing amount, hence why Snake Eater never made the jump. Course, it didn't release simultaneously.

[Wipomatic]

Bitches, it's all about the Dead Rising.

[EdgeCrusher]

I bought substance for 10 bucks new at Toys R Us.

[Bahamut]

Wow, the XBox 360 premium sold out the minute I got to Toys 'R Us today...so I'm going to probably get there early tomorrow morning (before their 7 am opening) to snag one then. This is crazy though how much is selling at TRU though.

[I-n-j-i-n]

Don't forget the advent of XNA and the possibility of indy/individualized game development. Considering how cheap it is apparently, and how they're aiming to spread it around Xbox Live, it could potentially be a big breakthrough for those who can't even afford the high development prices. Ironically, this is EXACTLY what Nintendo preached for years and now Microsoft is actually doing it.

No contacting them for the checks necessary either. I like Microsoft, they know how to at least treat their consumers right.

In years past, their track record wasn't that good. Not bad but not great. But I think they're paying attention to how important the customer support is nowadays. Especially seeing how the PS3 and PSP is rubbing a lot of people the wrong way with the slow or nonexistent customer support and willingness to listen to the actual gamers.

[The Womb]

Also, Katsurugi suggested Table Tennis (the Rockstar game) - is that game any good?

I know this was like 4 pages ago (Hey I just got my tonsils out gimmie a break)
But I absolutly loved ping pong and was really tempted to buy it, If you can find a friend who is good at it, there can be some really tense matches, and the single player isn't a walk in the park either.

[Bigfoot]

Just watched the HD Review of Gears of War on Gametrailers.com



Must... get... 360...

[UnforgivingEdges]

Just watched the HD Review of Gears of War on Gametrailers.com



Must... get... 360...

Wait until you play it. It's a great game.

[giga]

Just watched the HD Review of Gears of War on Gametrailers.com



Must... get... 360...

Wait until you play it. It's a great game.
agreed

[Bigfoot]

Hopefully I'll just get cash since I didn't really ask for anything for Christmas.


And wth is with the thread breaks?

[Bahamut]

I just got my XBox 360 premium....after an hour of hell at the Times Square Toys 'R Us. My father is watching A Beautiful Mind right now, and I have studying to do, so I will give Gears of War impressions sometime.

[The Womb]

Seeing as how theres a couple 360 owners on this thread, did anyone else have trouble getting Halo 2 to work on their Xbox 360, so far I'm the only one I've found that actually had to go out and buy the map packs cause the maps where not downloading properly

[Bahamut]

Ok, so I just spent ~2 1/2 hours with my new XBox 360. Ironically, I spent the first half an hour playing Geometry Wars and some of the other XBox Live Arcade cames that came with the Unplugged. Afterwards though, I hit up Gears of War, and after 2 hours of play, I am thoroughly amazed by the game. I haven't been amazed by a game in a while, not even Twilight Princess (as good as Zelda is of course).

If you're an XBox 360 owner, pick this up.

[The Womb]

Ok, so I just spent ~2 1/2 hours with my new XBox 360. Ironically, I spent the first half an hour playing Geometry Wars and some of the other XBox Live Arcade cames that came with the Unplugged. Afterwards though, I hit up Gears of War, and after 2 hours of play, I am thoroughly amazed by the game. I haven't been amazed by a game in a while, not even Twilight Princess (as good as Zelda is of course).

If you're an XBox 360 owner, pick this up.

Haven't read a bad review yet.
Loved the campaign, beat it by myself, once and I've basically beat it 3 times with friends on co-op.
I still only have 19 COG tags though
The live was a bit disappointing, don't get me wrong the game play for the live is amazing (Although I think they should have scraped the satellite of Dawn for the multiplayer) but I don't see why producers copy a bit from Halo, once the games done you just go back to the title screen, no way to join a party to play ranked games, and in ranked games you can't even see you rank, with a mod free game I don't see why you wouldn't put your rank on there

[Bahamut]

Ok, so I just spent ~2 1/2 hours with my new XBox 360. Ironically, I spent the first half an hour playing Geometry Wars and some of the other XBox Live Arcade cames that came with the Unplugged. Afterwards though, I hit up Gears of War, and after 2 hours of play, I am thoroughly amazed by the game. I haven't been amazed by a game in a while, not even Twilight Princess (as good as Zelda is of course).

If you're an XBox 360 owner, pick this up.

Haven't read a bad review yet.
Loved the campaign, beat it by myself, once and I've basically beat it 3 times with friends on co-op.
I still only have 19 COG tags though
The live was a bit disappointing, don't get me wrong the game play for the live is amazing (Although I think they should have scraped the satellite of Dawn for the multiplayer) but I don't see why producers copy a bit from Halo, once the games done you just go back to the title screen, no way to join a party to play ranked games, and in ranked games you can't even see you rank, with a mod free game I don't see why you wouldn't put your rank on there

I think all XBox Live games are somewhat similar, aren't they? I probbly won't play this game on Live, but it's good to know that Epic is capable of something other than fast paced FPS.

[sgx]

My friends gave me Gears of War.....I don't have a 360 yet...my plan was to get one when the new cpu is included (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6148098.html?page=5) next year. Thinking of taking advantage of that toys r us deal....but I have a bunch of xbox1 games I got off of goozex.com to play first. I know if I get the 360 I'll just forget about them...hmmmm what should I do?

[Bahamut]

I'd just get the XBox 1 games - no rush right? Besides, in March there'll probably be an official price drop.

[Bigfoot]

My friends gave me Gears of War.....I don't have a 360 yet...my plan was to get one when the new cpu is included (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6148098.html?page=5) next year. Thinking of taking advantage of that toys r us deal....but I have a bunch of xbox1 games I got off of goozex.com to play first. I know if I get the 360 I'll just forget about them...hmmmm what should I do?

I'd really love to know when next year, and how we'll be able to tell it's the newest model Xbox 360.

[sgx]

Yeah. I doubt MS will let anyone know specifically when they start. Though I bet if they make some sort of new packaged (like maybe if they start packing in a larger HD which I think might happen) deal, those might be the new cpus. Last mention of the new cpu in the news was 6 months ago though.

[Bigfoot]

Hmm, I'd try and contact them about it, but I'd probably get no where.

[I-n-j-i-n]

Gametrailers has a habit of making me want a game. It even made DOAX2 look like a pretty fun game. And Viva Pinata actually looks a lot more fun than it sounds. I hope Rareware keeps making original, new games instead of trying to live up to its former hype.

[SilverStar]

Gametrailers has a habit of making me want a game. It even made DOAX2 look like a pretty fun game. And Viva Pinata actually looks a lot more fun than it sounds. I hope Rareware keeps making original, new games instead of trying to live up to its former hype.

I hope the 3rd Banjo-Kazooie game is as good as the last 2.

[Bahamut]

I am in need of more XBox 360 games too :( . This probably means an after Christmas stop to Toys 'R Us to go use my $100 gift card on an XBox 360 wireless controller and some game (or a premeetup stop by the Times Square store).

And my brother plowed through Gears of War last night and today to beat it already. Fairly short but still awesome.

[Captain Huge!]

I borrowed my buddies 360 and all I gotta say is wow. Gears is one of the most beautiful games I've ever played, and Oblivion is really fun too. Only thing I'm pissed about is that I'm a vampire, but I don't like it anymore and wanna be cured. I'm doing the quest but I need 5 empty greater? soul gems, but I don't know where to find em, could someone help me out with that please?

[FuriousFure]

poor vampy. being a vampire sucks



but one highly anticipated/controversial game is Ninja Gaiden 2. not sigma but 2. which one? ps3 or 360. or in the way its going. both?

[Bigfoot]

Gears of War and other games for $40 @ Target tomorrow.

http://www.audioeric.com/2006/12/24/gears-of-war-for-39/

[Bahamut]

Gears of War and other games for $40 @ Target tomorrow.

http://www.audioeric.com/2006/12/24/gears-of-war-for-39/

There's other incredible deals at Circuit City this week too - check CAG (http://www.cheapassgamer.com) for details.

[CE]

I borrowed my buddies 360 and all I gotta say is wow. Gears is one of the most beautiful games I've ever played, and Oblivion is really fun too. Only thing I'm pissed about is that I'm a vampire, but I don't like it anymore and wanna be cured. I'm doing the quest but I need 5 empty greater? soul gems, but I don't know where to find em, could someone help me out with that please?

Steal shit.

A good place to look for is the Mages Guilds. But yeah, if you're a goody-two-shoes, you're stuck. Well, at least it's like that in the PC version.

Also, what this official price drop in march? How much are we talking about?

[Bigfoot]

Dammit, new CPUs in the 360 are delayed until mid 2007 :[

Oh well, I guess this will give me more time to save up some cash.

http://www.digitimes.com/bits_chips/a20061225PD211.html

[I-n-j-i-n]

One of the best selling titles of 2006:

The Burger King series. (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6163589.html)

And finally, proving that unusal marketing and a creepy mascot can be very effective, Burger King revealed that more than 2 million units of its BK-themed Xbox 360 games have been sold in just four weeks.

[The Womb]

One of the best selling titles of 2006:

The Burger King series. (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6163589.html)

And finally, proving that unusal marketing and a creepy mascot can be very effective, Burger King revealed that more than 2 million units of its BK-themed Xbox 360 games have been sold in just four weeks.

Actually as a little fun side gift, a got Sneak King and Bumper w/e and they're actually really addictive I played the bumper game for like 2 hours yesterday with a friend, even though it was the second game he'd played on his xbox360 that he got for christmas

[Bahamut]

So there's a rumor that Devil May Cry 4 might come on the XBox 360 too after a time exclusivity period - that's good news for us 360 owners!

[parasoul]

One of the best selling titles of 2006:

The Burger King series. (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6163589.html)

And finally, proving that unusal marketing and a creepy mascot can be very effective, Burger King revealed that more than 2 million units of its BK-themed Xbox 360 games have been sold in just four weeks.

Actually as a little fun side gift, a got Sneak King and Bumper w/e and they're actually really addictive I played the bumper game for like 2 hours yesterday with a friend, even though it was the second game he'd played on his xbox360 that he got for christmas

Sneak King was a funny game. Some of his delivery techniques are hilarious. The bumper game sucks single player but is really fun if you play against a friend.

Also, if you people like GTA clones I recommend Saints Row for 360. It is better than GTA:SA in some respects.

[UnforgivingEdges]

I got my 360 for Xmas. Also bought Viva Pinata (fun little game; imagine if they took gardening from Harvest Moon and fleshed it out into its own title), Final Fantasy XI (wanted to get back into it), Gears of War (no brainer), and got Geometry Wars and Lumines Live from the XBLA.

My Xmas = awesome

I didn't realize that Gears was only 45 bucks at Best Buy until I went and got it tonight. Total, wonderful surprise.

Next stop, Lost Planet.

[Zeklan]

I got myself a 360 yesterday with CoD3, Chrome Hounds, and Ghost Recon: AWF.

Does anyone know if the wireless connection thing works like nintendo's?
Ya know, just plug into a USB port and it sends a signal?

[Bahamut]

No idea, but unfortunately it doesn't come with wireless support :( .

[Back_Lit]

Ok, I've been debating about getting a 360 or a Wii for a while and finally decided to get a 360 now and wait on the Wii till the games I want are out.

The games that made me decide to get a 360 are Dead Rising, Lost Planet, and Gears of War so far.

What are other reasons to buy a 360?

[watkinzez]

Did the old thread die? Ah well.
The 360 to me honestly looks like the best of the three at the mo', and I can't wait to get one. Microsoft not only have embraced technology but have also made a genuine effort to get new IPs on the system. So far it's working.

In terms of recommendations, I'd add Viva Pinata to the list. That one looks like great fun.

[atmuh]

KABLAM (http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5229)
-----------

[Bahamut]

So, looks like Ikaruga is coming out for the 360 on the XBLA - http://www.gametab.com/news/815964/

[sephfire]

I also recommend Tomb Raider: Legends if you haven't tried it for some other system yet. It's quite good. Here's a few I recommend:

Gears of War
Tomb Raider: Legends
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Viva Pinata
Prey
Dead Rising


These others aren't "must-haves," but I enjoyed them anyway. Rent 'em sometime.

Chromehounds
Hitman: Blood Money
Saint's Row
Kameo
DOA 4
Ninety-Nine Nights

[Sir_NutS]

also Mass effect, bioshock and UT2007 are big guns coming out soon, not to mention OMG HALO. Seriously there's a big load of amazing x360 titles coming out this year which make me want to buy one more and more everyday.

[The Womb]

I also recommend Tomb Raider: Legends if you haven't tried it for some other system yet. It's quite good. Here's a few I recommend:
Gears of War
Tomb Raider: Legends
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Viva Pinata
Prey
Dead Rising


I'm gonna have to disagree with the prey
I Rented the game and beat it in 2 days, single player is extremely linear with the same puzzles over and over
not to mention the multiplayer was boring, and the graphics whern't really stunning

Games I would add to the rent list would include

Ping Pong
Perfect Dark Zero
NHL 07 (For me this is a must buy but meh I'm Canadian)
Splinter Cell Double Agent
Rainbow Six Vegas (Okay I haven't played this one but I have like 3 friends who say it's amazing)
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
Lord of the Rings Battle for Middle-earth 2
Enchanted Arms (Really good RPG, And the Videos are just amazing, not to mention it's quite long me and a friend put like 30 hours in and only got half way)
Condemned (Quite creepy actually, made by the people that made
Fear)
Speaking of Fear if you hadn't played the comp version it's pretty good for Xbox360

Anyways there's definetly some I forgot but those are some really fun rentals

[Soma]

I'm really looking forward to crackdown (besides the obvious OMG halo3 reason). I've been playing the demo alot. and it seems like a decent action game. I'm sure it's no GTA but it's not really meant to be. It reminds me of spiderman2.. but with driving and guns.

[sgx]

I'm buying a 360 the second there is a price drop and/or they change the hardware package (bigger HD, smaller cooler CPU, HDMI, whatever).

I just know if I buy now it will happen a week later.

Plus I've been using goozex.com and getting a shitload of last gen games I missed for like no money, so I am quite busy.

But I'm looking forward to playing:
Gears
Lost Planet
Bioshock
Mass Effect (just got Jade Empire and that game is pretty bitchin)
Viva Pinata
Forza 2
Too Human maybe if it shapes up
Lumines Live
Halo 3 of course

[Ero Elohim]

Message from the future: Crackdown is fun as hell.













...-wink-

[Bahamut]

So I just got another XBox 360 Premium for $263 (not as good as my first deal $300 with $100 gift card, but oh well), but this is going to a friend.

Also looks like there's heavy rumormongering amongst retail that there'll be a new XBox 360 with a 120 GB hard drive and an HDMI port for $479. Looks like we may have a Premium price drop.

[Soma]

Man, I'm REALLY looking forward to crackdown for some reason, Tuesday can't come fast enough. I'm actually looking forward to replaying it a bunch for achievements becase some of them sound pretty gnarly. I don't go for gamerscore usually, mines about 1.750 i think.

[sgx]

So I just got another XBox 360 Premium for $263 (not as good as my first deal $300 with $100 gift card, but oh well), but this is going to a friend.

Also looks like there's heavy rumormongering amongst retail that there'll be a new XBox 360 with a 120 GB hard drive and an HDMI port for $479. Looks like we may have a Premium price drop.

How are you getting them that cheap?

[Groovemaster303]

I'm waiting for GRAW2 sure it's going to be more of the same but i really enjoyed the first one.

I don't think i'll get crackdown just yet, heck i can't even be bothered to download the demo.

[Azure Prower]

Only problem i have with my xbox 360 is the very noticeable slow downs in many of it's games.

Even compared it to the old xbox by playing Halo 1 on the 360 and the results of the 360 were disappointing.

[Bahamut]

How are you getting them that cheap?

Well yesterday and today there's a special deal at Meijer (a chain store in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky) 20% off all general merchandise, for use with only one item although they don't seem to care too much. Also, there's a 15% off which is stackable if you use the Meijer credit card, and I got an extra 10% off stacked because it was my first purchase with the credit card, which gave me 38.8% off for $263 with tax. My own XBox 360 I took advantage of a Christmas Toys 'R Us sale for the 360 premium where you get a $100 gift card with the purchase of one, and I had a special stackable 25% off total purchase at Toys 'R Us coupon courtesy of an American Express annual holiday promotion.

[Bahamut]

Bump

So I just got back from another trip to Meijer for more 360 Premiums (sorry sgx, no more Premiums there - would've sold ya one to you for $300 if I found one), but I did nab Dead Rising for $43. So I've abused this sale so much - saved ~$155 on the XBox 360, $10 on Trauma Center: Second Opinion (Wii), $10 on Gears of War (for a friend), and $20 on Dead Rising...totaling ~$195 saved.

I <3 Meijer!

[sgx]

Rad. No Meijer near me :(.

[Back_Lit]

Bahamut I love you to death right now, because of you I got myself a shiny new 360 premium for $258 :)

I am going to play the shit out of this thing...once I break my terrible EVE addiction...

[Bahamut]

Yeah see it pays off to visit http://www.cheapassgamer.com (http://www.cheapassgamer.com/) often. As soon as I heard of the deal I rushed over to there to check for PS3s but they sold out of them :( . Still got some games for pretty good prices so it wasn't all a loss. I still don't believe they let you stack this deal on top of game consoles/handhelds though, that's just amazing.

[sephfire]

Okay, add Crackdown to the list of Must-Haves. It is sandbox gaming bliss.

[I-n-j-i-n]

I'm surprised to see Crackdown get a lot of rave reviews. It really did seem to me like it'd be the leadup to Halo 3 like everyone predicted.

[The Womb]

I'm surprised to see Crackdown get a lot of rave reviews. It really did seem to me like it'd be the leadup to Halo 3 like everyone predicted.

Although I have to say the whole Halo 3 Beta thing is marketing genius, I know of at least one guy who is buying the game simply for the Beta, and if it's a good game it's just bonus.

[Soma]

Although I have to say the whole Halo 3 Beta thing is marketing genius, I know of at least one guy who is buying the game simply for the Beta, and if it's a good game it's just bonus.
I agree completely, at first i wasn't too keen on the idea of just buying the game for the beta but then i started researching the game more. It's a really cool game, I'm enjoying it alot. I'm on the last boss now and i have everything 4 stars except my driving which is at 3. My game's been a little glitched up though. My anouncer guy seems to be broken. I unlocked all the supply points, i even have the achievement but all the time he says stuff like "go to an agency supply point.. liberation blah blah" and he'll say things like "amazing view agent! few people get to such altitudes!" and i'll be down on the street. Also whenever i go to the 3rd island (the asian one) it says things like "better not go here yet, this is the most dangerous city" or something. it basically treats me like i've done nothing in the game.

[sephfire]

Yeah, the voice seems a tad broken, but it makes him more entertaining. It's like having the Colonel from MGS on the line, except he's a bit high.

Nothing like running down the city street and hearing him say: "I can see my house from here!"

[Bahamut]

Damnit...I need my 360 here from my brother. Got Dead Rising and Crackdown here waiting to play.

[Bobwillis]

Watch out while you're playing gears of war online.You might connect with a sex predator and get targeted.

http://www.komotv.com/news/5983826.html

I found the video to be quite humorous, especially the section where the MMO players are asking for porn etc.

[Bahamut]

Cheap Tiger Woods PGA Tour '07 for $20 @ Amazon.com! http://www.cheapassgamer.com/go.php?http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000GPXS7Q/ref=nosim/cheapassgam08-20

[FuriousFure]

heh, heh. i'm a sneaky bastard.

so i sent in my xbox 360 to get refurbished. even tho there wasn't any evidence of malfunctioning but it was a first generation system (bought it on dec 24 of 2005)

anyways, i'll get back to the point. i sent it in. before it all loud and crazy. but now it comes back and runs silent as a mouse fart (comparitively)

i figure i got one of those new chips that run faster and quieter. score!

[Back_Lit]

i figure i got one of those new chips that run faster and quieter. score!

The 65nanometer ones? Unlikely, and besides they don't run any faster, they are merely are smaller, run cooler, and require slightly less power.

[EdgeCrusher]

I got one of the very first ones, and it's not noisy at all.

[Bahamut]

So it looks like not only are we getting Ikaruga on the XBox Live Arcade, but the original arcade TMNT games: http://www.gametab.com/news/826679/

[FuriousFure]

The 65nanometer ones? Unlikely, and besides they don't run any faster, they are merely are smaller, run cooler, and require slightly less power.

you guys just can't let me have my fun...

fine, all those other 360's i've seen at my friends house are just the Loud ones. and all the rest were quiet. when i say loud i don't mean turbo jet engine loud, i mean you can hear the fans going across the room (without the tv on)

why is it so unlikely? there putting the into circulation as we speak. so i don't see why its so out there to think that somethings different when it sounds way different.

[sgx]

The 65nanometer ones? Unlikely, and besides they don't run any faster, they are merely are smaller, run cooler, and require slightly less power.

Yeah those aren't out yet. However, MS started putting quieter DVD drives in them a month or so ago. You probably got one of those.

[hamburglar]

Watch out while you're playing gears of war online.You might connect with a sex predator and get targeted.

http://www.komotv.com/news/5983826.html

I found the video to be quite humorous, especially the section where the MMO players are asking for porn etc.

That was a good laugh. I'm guessing now that the kid's mom knows how to use the parental control settings, the kid can't play gears or halo.

[Penfold]

Well, it's settled. I'll be getting a 360 in August. (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/770/770662p1.html)

[kidThunder]

Yeah, that aspect of the microtransactions are rape, not unlike what Nintendo is charging on the Virtual Console, although suckers like me will purchase on the VC anyway.

I need to snag me one when there's a price drop sometime :( .
meh...the Wii VC is pretty good...though i feel bad since i don't have the wii, i have to stick with emulators for now, which i kinda dislike

[Bahamut]

meh...the Wii VC is pretty good...though i feel bad since i don't have the wii, i have to stick with emulators for now, which i kinda dislike

$8 is too much for an SNES game. Maybe once they add stuff to the older games it'd be worth it, but at this point it's too much.

[Penfold]

$8 is too much for an SNES game. Maybe once they add stuff to the older games it'd be worth it, but at this point it's too much.

For me, it's not. I gladly paid $8 for Super Mario World, and I don't regret it or feel like I got cheated in some way. I'll gladly pay $8 again for Super Metroid or any other SNES game I really enjoyed. It's all relative (not like you don't know that already though :razz:). I'll stop there since this isn't quite the right thread for me to be talking VC anyway lol.

[I-n-j-i-n]

8$ or so really is pretty high considering that Nintendo or any other company reselling the games do not work for the game development. The BIG reason why games even cost money is not just their intellectual property, but development of them itself.

I think it's fair to say that something like $4 or $5 per old game is reasonable. I think it'd be ridiculous if the games cost like a few cents since they may as well be free at that point.

But also, that 8$ price-tag came from the way Xbox Live Arcade has been selling their games, though they used to sell some games around at $15. Now they gravitated down to the economically sound level according to their experience. It's how the virtually distributed game sales have anchored down due to the way both Microsoft and Nintendo has come to grips with the pricing.

But standalone, if there's absolutely no development costs to cover for it, $10 or so for a game doesn't make sense as far as the reasoning for why it's priced that way. Other than the market influence on it coming to that point.

I expect Sony's PS3 online market place to base their prices on the way their competitors do it now that they're the latest arrival to the virtual console scene.

[sgx]

Well, it's settled. I'll be getting a 360 in August. (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/770/770662p1.html)

Ugh...people are excited for Blue Dragon? I can't stomach that MEGA JAPANESE ^_^ art style any longer. And what always goes along with art like that is AWFUL voice.

[Penfold]

Ugh...people are excited for Blue Dragon? I can't stomach that MEGA JAPANESE ^_^ art style any longer. And what always goes along with art like that is AWFUL voice.

lol, good for you man. I've enjoyed Toriyama character designs for games since I played Chrono Trigger, and is why this game even caught my eye in the first place. I also prefer Japanese-style RPGs over, say, Oblivion (didn't like it) so this is right up my alley. That and Lost Oddyssey. Gears of War alone isn't enough for me to wanna buy a 360 (which is pretty much the only game on market I want offhand for the 360, since I heard Lost Planet was only average).

[I-n-j-i-n]

Yeah, Toriyama's artstyle is pretty consistent and it's not really like any other anime style out there.

People only equate it with Dragonball and its fanatical fanbase, but Toriyama has done great things before. My personal favorite being the Dragon Quest anime.

And the voice acting? I think it's done very well. I don't understand that criticism people have of the game. And I hear the final version may have switchable Japanese/English dubbing.

Then there is the corresponding anime version of Blue Dragon coming out soon:

http://kotaku.com/gaming/top/first-blue-dragon-anime-image-239541.php

I think it's a pretty exciting news since all we've seen for about a decade were Toriyama artwork in Dragon Quest stuff and not the actual anime genre.

[FuriousFure]

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1744652


funny or the truth?





both?

[sgx]

Mmmm Vocal autotuning.

[I-n-j-i-n]

Today is a literal explosion of gaming news especially for the 360.

The Game Developers Conference may as well be the new E3 at this point:

http://xbox360.ign.com/

OMGWTF Sakaguchi MMO:

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/770/770945p1.html

[Penfold]

Today is a literal explosion of gaming news especially for the 360.

The Game Developers Conference may as well be the new E3 at this point:

http://xbox360.ign.com/

OMGWTF Sakaguchi MMO:

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/770/770945p1.html

lol yeah, I think one of the articles on IGN today was kinda in that regard.

About the Sakaguchi mmo, I was just looking at that article and pretty much had the same reaction lol. That's gonna be a huge moneymaker for Mistwalker and Microsoft IMO.

[Soma]

SO EB games calls me this morning and leaves me a message about my Halo 3 Legendary Edition revervation. Turns out the only thing legendary is the price point. First of all you had to lay down $25 for the reserve ( a fourth of the previous price) but they call today to inform me that it's now $129.99. I'm, debating not getting it, i don't really mind the pricepoint except that it's just hard to swallow for some art books/storyboards and a small helmet. I guess we're just lucky that they let us keep the reservation instead of demanding more money. but seriously WTF Bungie? Or microsoft whatever.

[I-n-j-i-n]

$100+ for any game is too much. Maybe except for Phantasy Star 4 in its day..

Which is funny since I'm really anticipating getting the $5 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade game for Xbox Live Arcade once I get a 360.

[Bobwillis]

Ahhhh, more fighting over who gets the pizza.

[FuriousFure]

i gotta say, with forza 2 and halo 3 and eternal sonata and blue dragon and the darkness and mass effect and castlevania(xbla) and guitar hero II and virtua tennis 3 and bioshock and portal with halflife coming, i'm glad i have an xbox 360.

[Bahamut]

Yeah this year is killer for the 360, I'm impressed. Also Symphony of the Night for $10! Definitely purchasing that on XBLA.

[Soma]

Yeah You're right about 360 this year, they've really gotten themselves in a positition to kick some ass. There's at least a game a month that looks like a purchase. Mass Effect, Bioshock, shadowrun, VF5, GTA4, Halo3, forza2, project gotham 4, Blue dragon and then that half life box stuff. Looks like a fun year. I'm probably only getting VF5, Mass effect, halo3, GTA4 and Blue dragon. Not much of a racing/shooting fan.

[chfuji]

I'm curious as to the rumor that's saying that with the release of the black HDMI-ready Xbox 360 with a larger hard drive (Zephyr) the Core Pack will be phased out and replaced with the current Premium pack. The Zephyr would take on the $400 price point, while the Premium would take on the $300 price point. My source for this was the most recent CAGcast. If anyone can confirm this, I'd really like to know. I've been planning on getting a 360 for the past few months now, and if a better deal (namely a cheaper premium pack; I don't need HDMI) is right around the corner I'd like to know whether to stay my hand once I get the funds, or go ahead as planned.

BTW
I'm probably only getting VF5, Mass effect, halo3, GTA4 and Blue dragon. Not much of a racing/shooting fan.

I love the fact that "Halo 3" merits a purchase from a non-shooting fan (myself included there).

[Bahamut]

Heavy rumors suggest a $300 premium, so I'd hold off on buying the 360 until Microsoft makes its announcement. It's predicted that it will come out in early May, so maybe an E3 announcement?

[Airwalker]

It would also be nice if they introduced a 360 with a built-in HD-DVD player. But that probably won't come about until the next incarnate.

[FuriousFure]

I don't like the built-in idea. Yeah it would make it a little cleaner to look at but then any argument PS3 vs 360 price difference is moot.

It's better for Microsoft overall. One, it doesn't look like they are "forcing" people to buy a not needed function, and it allows them to keep making the same build of 360s. (The only difference is that they sell one with the HDD attached)

But, I must say, if they do release a HDMI Version with a larger HDD and if they could throw in the HD-DVD laser reader, that be alright but it would cost about the same as a PS3 and Microsoft would look just like Sony, which as of now, is a bad thing.

[Bahamut]

Yup here's the new XBox 360: http://www.gametab.com/news/848763/

[Soma]

I would LOVE to have a black xbox360. I can't see myself buying a new one though. The 120 gigs would be awesome, but i could live without it. Doesn't seem like theres enough difference in it to warrant buying it again. If it were smaller or something i would consider it. If my 360 craps out i'll probably pick one up, it's been freezing in Viva Pinata alot lately.

[bouncerboy15]

If I had the money, I'd buy the black Xbox 360.

[MisterBiggler]

Damn, I just bought my 360 a week ago thinking this thing was never going to exist. But I guess it's okay; I have no plans on buying anything that will be able to utilize the added HDMI port. Bigger HDD is nice, but seems excessive. That black is sexy though.

[I-n-j-i-n]

I'm sooooooooo glad I didn't splurge my money on a 360. It was getting tempting too.

Now I can just jump straight in on the new black version. And I was wanting the HDMI too. Great news.

[Bahamut]

I'm still content with my $200 XBox 360 Premium...and the black one sounds like such garbage for most people. They should at least drop the price on the current Premium, but at $480 for the black one, I don't see that happening.

[I-n-j-i-n]

I hear the black version may become the new premium for summer or possibly for the upcoming holiday season though. I wonder if that rumor will be true since that'd be a $70 price drop after only a few months of limited release.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

This thing looks killer, but I'm still gonna hold out for a price drop(if any), plus, I'm kind of wondering whether this is bogus or not, so best to wait 'til E3 to see about this.. With the news that Ace Combat and Devil May Cry are going to the 360, along with Virtua Fighter, I think I might just be hooked on the idea of buying a 360, though.

[FuriousFure]

This thing looks killer, but I'm still gonna hold out for a price drop(if any), plus, I'm kind of wondering whether this is bogus or not, so best to wait 'til E3 to see about this.. With the news that Ace Combat and Devil May Cry are going to the 360, along with Virtua Fighter, I think I might just be hooked on the idea of buying a 360, though.


E3? hah! remember, thy're scaling back so you might hear some reports but nothing too amazing coming out of that place.

As of now, the only big exclusives are MGS4, littlebigplanet, and grand tursimo. and with alot of other companies spreading the love, those guys will probably wonder if exclusiveness is worth the lower profit. Like rats deserting a sinking ship.

Not to say PS3 is going down, but as in the light of being able to move enough copies of a game to justify being exclusive to one system, Sony is losing that image. So yea for multiplatform games and yeah for exclusives on the 360.

[Airwalker]

This thing looks killer, but I'm still gonna hold out for a price drop(if any), plus, I'm kind of wondering whether this is bogus or not, so best to wait 'til E3 to see about this.. With the news that Ace Combat and Devil May Cry are going to the 360, along with Virtua Fighter, I think I might just be hooked on the idea of buying a 360, though.

My roommate was thinking about trading in his 360 for a PS3. But the fact Devil May Cry, one of his favorite series, is now going to 360 as well, he's not switching. And I've known this guy for a long time. He was the biggest Sony fanboy I knew.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

Well, I've never been too big of a fanboy I don't think(although I did go through a Final Fantasy stint at one point or another), but it always did piss me off when a game series would move to an entirely new platform. I'm still stuck in the last generation as far as gaming goes, and I've been trying to convince myself to grab a 360 or something if anything mind-numbingly awesome comes out, and so far, I like what I see, but it's not enough. I'd like to really get into DOA4, but I'm not even sure it's worth it, and I haven't played enough Virtua Fighter to really get into it either, but I really wanna go for VF5, and even though it's not entirely what I'm after, I've always wanted to try out Ace Combat and Armored Core.

Guys, help me out here... :(

[I-n-j-i-n]

Well, I've never been too big of a fanboy I don't think(although I did go through a Final Fantasy stint at one point or another), but it always did piss me off when a game series would move to an entirely new platform. I'm still stuck in the last generation as far as gaming goes, and I've been trying to convince myself to grab a 360 or something if anything mind-numbingly awesome comes out, and so far, I like what I see, but it's not enough. I'd like to really get into DOA4, but I'm not even sure it's worth it, and I haven't played enough Virtua Fighter to really get into it either, but I really wanna go for VF5, and even though it's not entirely what I'm after, I've always wanted to try out Ace Combat and Armored Core.

Guys, help me out here... :(

DOA games so far has been pretty fun but in that button-masher sort of way. I have said this before, but I'm not really a fighting game fan but VF4 got me hooked and I think I'm close to spending a hundred hours on it. VF5 just looks great and it'll likely get updates in time for the 360 launch. Viva Pinata is one game I'm aiming to get once I buy the system with all the colorful animal-raising gameplay.

Then there's the probable Ninja Gaiden 2, Bioshock, Mass Effect and other action/FPS types of games with more depth than the usual games of their types.

As for traditional Japanese RPGs, there's Blue Dragon made by Hironobu Sakaguchi (FF developer of old, duh) and Eternal Sonata. And maybe a not-so-traditional JRPG in Lost Odyssey.

Also, I hear that Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was just released on Xbox Live Arcade. There's surely going to be more modified conversions of older games like it in the future.

[Cerrax]

Injin mentioned Ninja Gaiden 2. Am I the only one who is disappointed in the graphics? They look just like the first one. I mean maybe the environments are bigger or something, but for being a sequel to one of the shiniest games ever, it seems kinda lacking in that department.

EDIT--Never mind. NG Sigma is just a remake of XBox NG. Sorry. :P

[FuriousFure]

oh fo' sho. if that was Ninja Gaiden 2, I would be dissapointed.

Just like how Burnout Revenge dissapointed me as a next-gen title, it was because it was just a suped up version of xbox. and as that, its a sweet game.

I can't wait for these games to be build from the ground up on these next gen systems. Fable 2, Burnout 5, Halo 3, Ninja Gaiden 2. all of these are going to blow away there predecessors.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

DOA games so far has been pretty fun but in that button-masher sort of way. I have said this before, but I'm not really a fighting game fan but VF4 got me hooked and I think I'm close to spending a hundred hours on it. VF5 just looks great and it'll likely get updates in time for the 360 launch. Viva Pinata is one game I'm aiming to get once I buy the system with all the colorful animal-raising gameplay.

Then there's the probable Ninja Gaiden 2, Bioshock, Mass Effect and other action/FPS types of games with more depth than the usual games of their types.

As for traditional Japanese RPGs, there's Blue Dragon made by Hironobu Sakaguchi (FF developer of old, duh) and Eternal Sonata. And maybe a not-so-traditional JRPG in Lost Odyssey.

Also, I hear that Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was just released on Xbox Live Arcade. There's surely going to be more modified conversions of older games like it in the future.

I think this post just sold me.

[Soma]

I think this post just sold me.

Theres a bunch of reasons to have one (even more if you don't have a ps3).
1. halo3
2. forza2/project gotham 4 (both this year)
3. mass effect
4. blue dragon
5. bioshock
6. lost odyssey
7. eternal sonata
8. crackdown (already released though)
9. VF5 (maybe with extras the ps3 version doesnt have. online play? fuck i hope so )
10. Grand theft auto 4 (not xbox exclusive but again if you don't have a ps3 why not?)

I'm not an xbox fanboy though i sure do sound like one. I rarely do play mine these days but there's alot of great shit coming out this year. Also Castlevania SOTN looks like shit, maybe it's just my HDTV but i remember it looking better.

[Sir_NutS]

For this generation I'm sold to MS, and I'm kinda still loving nintendo there, but for me MS will be the big winner this time. Not as a big winner as nintendo and sony were in their time but this generation will be theirs. Their lineup for this year is ahead of anything nintendo and sony will have. That on top of the other great games they already have.

[Soma]

For this generation I'm sold to MS, and I'm kinda still loving nintendo there, but for me MS will be the big winner this time. Not as a big winner as nintendo and sony were in their time but this generation will be theirs. Their lineup for this year is ahead of anything nintendo and sony will have. That on top of the other great games they already have.
QFE
I haven't played my Wii since i beat Zelda. Probably getting SPM in april. I don't have a ps3 YET. I'll probably get one around christmas. Both platforms have a lot of games coming out but neither system has this many AAA titles coming this year. I'm seriously considering that Black 360 again. If the new hard drive is going to be 200 bucks alone then MS is fucking crazy, crazy like billionaires because i know it will sell like hotcakes.

[I-n-j-i-n]

Injin mentioned Ninja Gaiden 2. Am I the only one who is disappointed in the graphics? They look just like the first one. I mean maybe the environments are bigger or something, but for being a sequel to one of the shiniest games ever, it seems kinda lacking in that department.

EDIT--Never mind. NG Sigma is just a remake of XBox NG. Sorry. :P

Don't forget that the PS3 apparently lacks the luster that the 360 games have due to the bottleneck memory in the Cell architecture. So some games might not look as good as they might have been expected.

[Bahamut]

Don't forget that the PS3 apparently lacks the luster that the 360 games have due to the bottleneck memory in the Cell architecture. So some games might not look as good as they might have been expected.

Not to mention the sheer texture ability thanks to the 512 MB of RAM.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

rented DOA4 last night. I love this game.

I mean, I'm getting my ass handed to me at pretty much every turn, but I love the pickup and play factor involved. With a little bit of practice and some getting used to the counter system, I'm sure I'll be awesome soon.

That's what I've always seen as a drawback to the VF series. I friggin' loved VF4, but that's 'cause I'm patient and steady. It lacks the same pickup feel that DOA has in my opinion, but I also feel that there's ALOT more depth to it. That being said, I can't wait 'til VF5 comes out for the 360.

Unless Sega pulls a 180 and adds online play for VF5 on the 360, then DOA4 will probably be my online fighter.

[Soma]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/shaotaku/xboxredring.jpg
So my xbox is broken. Fantastic.

[Mouser X]

Have you tried smacking it? I saw a youtube video where some guy had the same thing happen. He turned it off, unhooked it, and gave it 3 good wacks against the side. He hooked it back up, and it showed no errors (all green, booted up, etc). If it's already broken, it couldn't hurt to try, could it? Mouser X out.

[Soma]

Have you tried smacking it? I saw a youtube video where some guy had the same thing happen. He turned it off, unhooked it, and gave it 3 good wacks against the side. He hooked it back up, and it showed no errors (all green, booted up, etc). If it's already broken, it couldn't hurt to try, could it? Mouser X out.

sonuva bitch. Seems to work now. But for how long? I wonder how many people send it back to MS and they just gang on it? or it just fixes itself during shipping? I'm sure it'll break down again.

EDIT: red ring is back. shit.

[Mouser X]

Well dang. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Good luck with it whatever you do. Mouser X out.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

So I finished DOA4 yesterday with all the characters including Helena. This has to be one of the better video game moments I've witnessed in a long while.

[Azure Prower]

When i first brought an xbox 360 home, the power brick was defective and would shut off the xbox 360 after 10 minutes of play time. It would stay red for a couple of hours and repeat the same thing again.

After spending hours with some girl from india, I finally was about to take it back to eb games and the now my new x box 360 works fine. :p

Still disappointed at its preformance and slow downs. I run Halo on both x box and 360. X box preformed better as the 360 had some sad slow downs running that game as well as many other games meant only for the 360.

[area51999]

360 is good!

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

Small question, gang. Supposing that I buy a 360 Premium that includes both an Xbox Live Silver service along with a headset, would I still be required to buy a Gold kit/card, or would I be able to just subscribe to Gold straight from Silver right out of the box?

[wormguy]

I played DOA4 at a friend's house and got pretty hooked. It's true that I'm a fighting game whore, but still, that's a sweet game.

I was already considering buying a 360 for Mass Effect and Bioshock...

[Bahamut]

Small question, gang. Supposing that I buy a 360 Premium that includes both an Xbox Live Silver service along with a headset, would I still be required to buy a Gold kit/card, or would I be able to just subscribe to Gold straight from Silver right out of the box?

I don't remember, but I think buying the card is cheaper anyway, as you get 12+1 months for $40.

[Bahamut]

Bump - XBox 360 Elite has been announced and it's as all the rumors said - $480 for a black 360 with a 120 GB hard drive and HDMI. What a load of shit.

[SetzerGabbiani]

Helllooooooooo Ebay =D

[Penfold]

Bump - XBox 360 Elite has been announced and it's as all the rumors said - $480 for a black 360 with a 120 GB hard drive and HDMI. What a load of shit.

So $80 over the premium system, for HDMI and a 120 gb hd. Doesn't sound like a bad deal. Nice that it's not a limited run either.

[FuriousFure]

So $80 over the premium system, for HDMI and a 120 gb hd. Doesn't sound like a bad deal. Nice that it's not a limited run either.

It doesn't sound that bad when put like that. 80 bucks is barely over the cost of a game. or more simply put its around what Guitar Hero II costs with guitar.

maybe if I want I could sell mine to my bro and get this one myself. I plan on getting a HDMI HDTV very soon.

[Bahamut]

So $80 over the premium system, for HDMI and a 120 gb hd. Doesn't sound like a bad deal. Nice that it's not a limited run either.

$80 for a hard drive upgrade? That can't cost more than $20 more, if not $10. Also I'm sure most people couldn't give a shit about the HDMI port, as only 2% or so have 1080p atm. It's a major ripoff as far as I'm concerned, and it makes me all the happier that I got my 360 premium for essentially $200.

[Penfold]

$80 for a hard drive upgrade? That can't cost more than $20 more, if not $10. Also I'm sure most people couldn't give a shit about the HDMI port, as only 2% or so have 1080p atm. It's a major ripoff as far as I'm concerned, and it makes me all the happier that I got my 360 premium for essentially $200.

I could be wrong (you'd know more about this, given you actually own a 360), but was under the impression they used their own little proprietary hard drive. If that's right, getting 6 times the hard drive space alone for $80 isn't that bad, in fact it's pretty damn good (given they sell their 20gb drive for about $90 retail now, and the 120gb will be hitting stores certainly at over $100). Anyway, by the time I get my 360 I'll have a tv which supports 1080p so I'd prefer getting the most out of it with the HDMI. Just cuz you can't/don't want to use it doesn't mean it's not a selling point for others (and I'm not sure where your 2% came from, but I couldn't care less since I don't buy because of trends). At any rate, I wouldn't say it's a major ripoff, but I'd say you got a good deal on your premium.

[Bahamut]

I could be wrong (you'd know more about this, given you actually own a 360), but was under the impression they used their own little proprietary hard drive. If that's right, getting 6 times the hard drive space alone for $80 isn't that bad, in fact it's pretty damn good (given they sell their 20gb drive for about $90 retail now, and the 120gb will be hitting stores certainly at over $100). Anyway, by the time I get my 360 I'll have a tv which supports 1080p so I'd prefer getting the most out of it with the HDMI. Just cuz you can't/don't want to use it doesn't mean it's not a selling point for others (and I'm not sure where your 2% came from, but I couldn't care less since I don't buy because of trends). At any rate, I wouldn't say it's a major ripoff, but I'd say you got a good deal on your premium.

The HDMI port won't really get much usage for games purposes though - it's mainly for Microsoft's budding video download service, which is #1 right now for online video downloads. The 2% comes from a recent comment by an interview of a Sony executive.

As for the hard drive space, anyone who has shopped around for hard drives know that is a horrible deal, and that's from a consumer perspective - I'm sure they get a much better deal comparably due to them mass manufacturing them as well. Hell, I just bought my brother a 160 GB Western Digital external for $70 or $80 or so, and that's an external. I've seen deals flying around like for a 500 GB hard drive for $120 recently too.

[Penfold]

The HDMI port won't really get much usage for games purposes though - it's mainly for Microsoft's budding video download service, which is #1 right now for online video downloads. The 2% comes from a recent comment by an interview of a Sony executive.

As for the hard drive space, anyone who has shopped around for hard drives know that is a horrible deal, and that's from a consumer perspective - I'm sure they get a much better deal comparably due to them mass manufacturing them as well. Hell, I just bought my brother a 160 GB Western Digital external for $70 or $80 or so, and that's an external. I've seen deals flying around like for a 500 GB hard drive for $120 recently too.

That's a very good point, which I hadn't considered before. I guess the HDMI will also come into play more with the hd-dvd drive, assuming that format lasts (does it look like there's a format poised to win yet btw?).

On the topic of hard drive, there have been crazy deals lately, for sure. With CompUSA closing shop, went to one in Portland last weekend while visiting a friend...750gb for 120, and given it's Oregon there's no sales tax (best deal I've seen at least). Chose not to purchase though, just because I don't have the need for more storage space at the moment. Anyway, just wanted to clarify, can you use just a regular hard drive with the 360 or do they force you to use their proprietary hardware?

[Bahamut]

That's a very good point, which I hadn't considered before. I guess the HDMI will also come into play more with the hd-dvd drive, assuming that format lasts (does it look like there's a format poised to win yet btw?).

On the topic of hard drive, there have been crazy deals lately, for sure. With CompUSA closing shop, went to one in Portland last weekend while visiting a friend...750gb for 120, and given it's Oregon there's no sales tax (best deal I've seen at least). Chose not to purchase though, just because I don't have the need for more storage space at the moment. Anyway, just wanted to clarify, can you use just a regular hard drive with the 360 or do they force you to use their proprietary hardware?

Upon looking it up a little more, it seems the 360 uses a 2.5" hard drive, which is somewhat more expensive (it's the same size as a standard laptop hard drive)...so it isn't as bad of a deal.

[I-n-j-i-n]

As for the format wars, apparently the HD-DVDs are selling better anywhere not named Japan. Which means the Bluray is winning mostly in Japan. It's eerily similar to how PS3 is selling way better in Japan while the 360 is outselling it in the rest of the world.

[Soma]

so the final cost of my broken xbox is $160.00 (20 shipping). It wasn't under warranty unfortunately. I weighed the pros and cons of getting that new one or just saying the hell with 360 but 160 isn't that bad providing the one that i get back actually works.

[Mouser X]

My brother's X360 stopped reading discs. So he bought a new one at Wal-Mart, packed up his old one in the box, and took it back saying something like "Hey, this isn't working" or "I changed my mind." He got the first one around Christmas, so it's still under some warranty somewhere, maybe. But this way was faster, and possibly cheaper. Just thought I'd bring up the whole "Wally renting" thing... Mouser X out.

[Jestryn]

Ok, so far nearly everyone has been having problems with their xbox 360's. Well thats not the crappy part of it all. It gets worse from there. Not only do you lose your original xbox when you send it in to Microsoft to be fixed, (because we all know so far that they send you another xbox that was returned for repairs by someone else) this creates issues when the profile/gamertag you use is still practically attached to the original xbox you 'had'. The Serial Number for the xbox no longer matches that of the original, even if you keep the original hard drive... This creates an issue for certain games, namely Crackdown. Because I have downloaded the 'Four Play Pack', the game freaks out when I do system-link games. Now I know this all seems pretty confusing so far so let me explain simply.

The gamertag I use (Jestryn) is attached to my original xbox360. It does not recognize the xbox I am using now, even with my original Hard Drive. When I play my xbox offline, it does not recognize anything (Xbox Arcade Downloads, Themes, Gamer Pics, extra game content (so far the Crackdown download 'Four Play Pack') so when I play the game offline on System Link, It does not recognize my downloaded data. So its like playing any game online on the PC with a friend using different versions of the game. You will never see each-other! Anyway, I just wanted to rant about this to someone who will actually read this, cause so far Microsoft has been, well... GARBAGE! :evil: :grin:

Anyway, Im hoping Im not the the only one who pays this close attention to detail and I'm again hoping someone else has already started complaining to Microsoft. Maybe this is the first game they have seen this problem, non-the less, it is still a problem.

Jestryn

[Soma]

My brother's X360 stopped reading discs. So he bought a new one at Wal-Mart, packed up his old one in the box, and took it back saying something like "Hey, this isn't working" or "I changed my mind." He got the first one around Christmas, so it's still under some warranty somewhere, maybe. But this way was faster, and possibly cheaper. Just thought I'd bring up the whole "Wally renting" thing... Mouser X out.

Yea i considered that. But i thought they might open it, or look at the serial number or manufacture date, though it is just Wal-mart.

[Bahamut]

So I finally got to play my Crackdown last night...shit is crack in a game - played some online co-op, and played until 3 am last night, and played more today. I haven't played a console game that good in a while, so kudos for Microsoft for promoting the game heavily with the Halo 3 beta, and their new studio for putting out a pretty quality game.

Edit: Also my Guitar Hero 2 is about to come in...anyone else get/play the 360 one yet? (lots of stores broke the street date too) I'll probably have some impressions tonight, since today is my homework day :(

[I-n-j-i-n]

Really strange but interesting game announcement... about a Naruto game:

http://www.filmspot.com/users/SSJ_GOTENKS/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=m-100-24948374

I have no idea why such a high profile and great developer is doing with an anime license all of a sudden, but if they can pull it off, it could actually be great.

EDIT:

scans of the announcement:
http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs414&d=07141&f=naruto1.jpg
http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs414&d=07141&f=naruto2.jpg

[Bahamut]

Isn't that the same studio that did the shitty Red Steel?

[I-n-j-i-n]

Red Steel was handled by Ubisoft Paris.

Ubisoft Montreal is like the EAD of Nintendo so to speak. They made all the biggest games including the Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell and other Tom Clancy games.

Which is why this news is actually pretty strange. Their top development team is making a Naruto game..

[watkinzez]

The PoP team is working on Assassin's Creed though.. perhaps there's been some internal reshuffling for simultaneous development.

[FuriousFure]

hey, a mini keyboard under your controller? crazy. but its time for some Spring cleaning! anyone looking forward to any of these improvements?

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/778/778961p1.html

[Citris]

hey, a mini keyboard under your controller? crazy. but its time for some Spring cleaning! anyone looking forward to any of these improvements?

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/778/778961p1.html

Their controller is turning into another Sega Genesis.

[Penfold]

So it's looking like I'll get getting my 360 either late July or early August. Quick question about ow XBLA transactions are set up; I assume it's somewhat similar to the Wii's shop channel, where each game costs X number of point, which translated into Y dollar. Is that right or is it simply by dollar amount? Also, is there standardized pricing, or does it vary game to game?

[Bahamut]

They go by a point system, but it's a weird point system - $20 gets you a strange amount, I forget what though.

[Sega.]

Its a points system. Most games are 400 or 800, themes and picture packs are 100-150. Im not sure of the US pricing, but I get 2000 points for about £15-17.

[UnforgivingEdges]

You can buy points in 500 point denominations. 500 points = $6.25

Most XBLA games are 400 ($5) points. Some are 800 ($10). A rare few are 1200. Most themes and picture packs are worthless. But usually in the 80-200 point range depending. Don't buy them. It encourages microrape.

Downloadable content varies from game to game. Guitar Hero 2 features downloadable song packs of 3 songs for 500 points. Other games like Lost Planet Map Pack #3 will cost 400 points and include 3 new maps. Oblivion: Shivering Isles costs 2400 points, but it's a full fledged expansion.

My recommendations for XBLA games:

-Worms
-Catan
-Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD (it will be out in July)


While I'm posting in the topic, everyone must do the following:

-Download the Shadowrun demo

-Download the Project Sylpheed demo (it's like a Japanese Wing Commander inspired by anime; it's also the 2nd game Square Enix is publishing for the 360. Comes out July 10 for the budget price of $39.99)

-Download the Overlord demo


I'll update this thread more regularly since it seems the 360 isn't getting much love. For further hyped coverage by yours truly, I suggest reading this (http://remod.cakearmy.org/viewtopic.php?t=2210).

[Hum4n After All]

I'm going to be getting a 360 next week and I was wondering if somebody can fill me in with this whole points business.
What can I do with points?

[UnforgivingEdges]

I'm going to be getting a 360 next week and I was wondering if somebody can fill me in with this whole points business.
What can I do with points?

Points are the currency the Xbox Live Marketplace uses. It's essentially just a different way to count your money. You can obtain points one of two ways:

-Buying a pre-paid points card at a store for a certain value

-Buy points through your Xbox 360 via a credit card

I use a credit card myself because it's just easier to purchase points at any time when I feel the need rather than waiting until a store is open or whatever (case in point: new XBLA releases are always put up for download at 1 or 2 a.m. my time, so I can just buy the points and buy the game immediately).

You use them to buy games, downloadable content for games you already own, or other things (like dashboard themes, which are wallpaper for your 360 OS, picture packs for your gamercard, etc.)

Mostly I just buy games on the Xbox Live Arcade.

[Hum4n After All]

Thank you.
What about changing your name?
Doesn't that cost points as well?

[UnforgivingEdges]

Thank you.
What about changing your name?
Doesn't that cost points as well?

Your gamertag, yes. They charge you if you want to change it because it links all your downloaded content to itself, meaning it's a huge pain in the ass for Microsoft to change your gamertag because they need to reallocate all your licenses.

[Hum4n After All]

How many points to change?

[Sega.]

800 points. But for the good of the people, try to start with a tag you like, as you get friend lists so confused if you change.

[Hum4n After All]

Alright thanks.
Thats all I needed to know.
I ain't changing my GT anytime soon.
I already have one in mind and love it.

[Unstable Hamster]

Alright, I just recently got an Xbox 360 Elite, with gears of war and Dead or alive 4. If you guys want to play me or add me in your friends list, my gamertag is unstablehamster (Fit perfectly, I was happy.)
Quick question, has anyone gotten the inconceivable award in GOW yet? I actually managed to get it in 24 hours.
Oh, and any games you guys recommend?

[DJ Skratch 'n' Sniff]

The 360 would be cooler if it wasn't so expensive (adapter for this, charger for that, small HDD, 50 bucks for Live, all the downloadables, no built-in HD player, etc etc.)

Incidentally, I've only had my premium 360 for 4 months and I'm already starting to get the 3 red light error. WTF?!!! I iz very angry.

[UnforgivingEdges]

Oh, and any games you guys recommend?

Plenty.

While Gears may be the most cinematic 3rd person shooter on the system, it's not the best IMO. Earth Defense Force 2017 is one of the most fun games on the 360 (if not THE most fun). It takes its cues from B-rate sci-fi movies, so it's cheesy, but it's also awesome. Hundreds of enemies (literally!) swarm you in almost every level. You fight hives of ants, jumping spiders, huge robots, flying saucers, and more. Everything in the game is destructible, and while the graphics aren't very impressive, it's an extremely fun game, especially on co-op mode.

Click for screeens (http://www.gamesarefun.com/gamesdb/media.php?id=1751)


Condemned: Criminal Origins

Okay, so it's a launch title, but it's the scariest game I've ever played. It's so freakin' awesome. The game supports up to 7.1 surround, which is great because the audio is easily the best part of the game and it's scary as shit. The game is primarily a first-person melee combat game, but there are guns, too. You can get it for really cheap now, too. Like $20 at some places. A great buy.

There are other games, too, depending on which genres you like. If you're a racing fan, definitely check out DiRT, which comes out this Wednesday. if you like RPGs, you've got Oblivion already while Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey (Sakaguchi's RPGs) come out later this year. tri-Ace is also putting out Eternal Sonata, which looks fan-freakin-tabulous. If you like sports games, every sports game comes to the 360. If you like strategy games, Culdcept Saga comes out later this year, and so does Overlord (June 26). Overlord is a European game that plays almost exactly like Pikmin, but it's really funny. Think Dungeon Keeper mixed with Fable.

I'd also recommend looks at Rainbow Six Vegas, Shadowrun, and Lost Planet.

The beauty is that you can try out almost any game before you buy it because XBL allows for free demos. Try what sounds interesting and go from there. Then of course there's the Xbox Live Arcade, which is the best thing about the 360. I could recommend at least 7 or 8 games you should buy (Catan, Worms, Prince of Persia Classic etc.)

Incidentally, I've only had my premium 360 for 4 months and I'm already starting to get the 3 red light error. WTF?!!! I iz very angry.

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with the 360 is the reliability. The system is just not built very well and is prone to failure from various factors. As I understand it, much of the failure comes from the motherboard warping due to heat, which in turn dislodges the GPU from the board. There are numerous do-it-yourself fix-it methods that will cost you about $7 is screws and washers. Fixing it yourself, however, is touch and go depending on what exactly failed on your system, and it also voids your warranty.

If your system is less than a year old since you bought it, it will be replaced for free from Microsoft. I would recommmend that you play with your system in a well ventilated area, meaning DO NOT ENCLOSE IT in an entertainment center as the fan on the system won't be able to disperse the heat properly. I have mine on top of my TV stand, with nothing around it except open air. No problems so far, and I've had it for 6 months.

[KWarp]

Hey guys, now that the 360 has been out a while and a few games catch my interest, I thinking about picking one up. I'll be blunt: I see the console's processing power as a shallow gimmick (online is what appeals to me mostly). I understand processing power creates higher-quality graphics and physics which is nice, but "more of the same but only better" isn't quite what I'm after. I guess what I'm asking is if anyone's played a 360 game that uses processing power in an innovative way, something that delivers a fresh new gaming experience.

[UnforgivingEdges]

Hey guys, now that the 360 has been out a while and a few games catch my interest, I thinking about picking one up. I'll be blunt: I see the console's processing power as a shallow gimmick (online is what appeals to me mostly). I understand processing power creates higher-quality graphics and physics which is nice, but "more of the same but only better" isn't quite what I'm after. I guess what I'm asking is if anyone's played a 360 game that uses processing power in an innovative way, something that delivers a fresh new gaming experience.

So basically all you want is a more powerful Wii?

Honestly, I don't think you'll say what you said above if you get a chance to play a 360 game in HD. Remember when the shift from 2D gamign to 3D gaming first happened, and everyone's jaw hit the floor because of the graphical upgrade? That's what I felt when I plugged my Xbox into my new LCD HD set the other day.

Aside from that, I think one of the best examples of what you're looking for might be found in EDF 2017. There are hundreds (literally hundreds) of enemies on screen at almost all time. The framerate chugs, but that's not the system's fault, it's the way the game was optimized (or not optimized as it turns out). Still, the game is probably the most fun game on the 360 so far.