Xbox 360

[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!

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.

[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

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.