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General Category => Entertainment and Media => Topic started by: Cheesy Doritos on November 24, 2007, 05:17:49 am

Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Cheesy Doritos on November 24, 2007, 05:17:49 am
Hey there guys. I realize there've been a couple 360 topics within the past couple months, but they weren't very helpful to me so I decided on a new one!

I'm considering (i.e. probably am) getting a Xbox 360 and whatnots sometime around the summer, hopefully before. Please remember in your comments that price is an object; I'm not rich! Here is a list of things I'm considering:

Hardware:

-Xbox 360 pro bundle (comes with a wireless controller,a headset, 20 GB hard drive, and two games. These are Marvel Alliance (I'll sell it) and Forbox or some racing game (is it good?). Honestly I'd prefer a cheaper bundle, less than $350. I'd rather not have the games! Any thoughts?)
-Wireless adapter (I'm not dealing with Ethernet or link sys or cables or stuff.)
-Another wireless controller for multiplayer, etc.
-a Quick Charge Station that can charge 2 rechargeable batteries in 2-4 hours, and it also comes with an extra battery.

Games:

-Gears of War (I like it, and it's got fun co-op and multiplayer.)
-Bioshock (I love this game. I dream of playing it.)
-Mass Effect (It seems like a great game; I like customization and a big game.)
-The Orange Box (Half-Life is something new to me, and bundled with Portal and Team Fortress 2 it looks like a deal. I'm not sure if it's a necessity, though.)
-Assassin's Creed (I'm on the fence about buy vs. rent? What do you think? I don't really rent games, and my friend has this so borrow is an option probably. I'm not sure... Bioshock has great replay because of experimenting and such but does this?)
-Halo 3 (This seems like a no-brainer but apparently campaign is terrible? But multiplayer is fun? I dunno, I'm not great with Halo but the multiplayer apparently has a huge fanbase and followers and stuf so it looks like it could be a blast to have fun with. I'm on the fence with this one, leaning towards yes. But, again, the price.)

Okay so thats the plan. It'd run me around $700 probably, unless I take out Assassin's Creed and/or Halo 3. I'd be getting this around spring/summer so hopefully some of the prices will be lowered, etc. What do you think about it? Also $700 is too much for a laid back gamer like me anyway.

So... is this the right Xbox 360 console bundle whatever? I'd prefer a cheaper one, honestly, do you know if there's one that has no extra games or something? Any thoughts on the hardware/software? Stuff I should know? What about the whole breaking down/overheating/red ring deal? Is that serious? And also my TV is not HD or even that good, so is that a problem? Does it only play on HD, or something?

Also whats the difference between silver / gold Xbox live? What's the deal with that stuff? Can you play online matches, etc, with silver? I'd rather NOT pay $50 for an online membership.

So, thanks for answering my questions and stuff. This'll help me out a lot! Thanks guys! (Also if there's anything I forgot...?)
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Ash on November 24, 2007, 05:24:56 am
If money is an option I'd try to grab some of the games used. I just recently saw Gears of War in a pawn shop for $30, so it's a good indication the prices are dropping/will drop by the time you buy a 360.

And yes, the Gold membership is needed to play online. Bust out that wallet!

•Orange Box is a bargain because it's more like buying a bunch of cheap games instead of one expensive game. I've already clocked around 40 hours with TF2, and haven't even touched the other stuff yet.
•Mass Effect seems like a good game according to the topic we have about it.
•Bioshock was a great game... but something about it didn't make it memorable. I don't know what it is; I didn't hate the game, but it's been sitting on my shelf since I beat it the day I bought it.
•Assassin's Creed seemed like a sandbox game from what I played; lots of collectibles and exploring to supplement the main storyline. If that's you thing I'd at least rent it.

I'd say just get Mass Effect and Orange Box, they'll give you the most playtime for your money imo.
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: headphonics on November 24, 2007, 05:27:20 am
you should really get into renting games.  if you're not made of money, there's virtually no justification for buying a game like bioshock for the console.  gears of war and halo 3 are understandable, because while their single player campaigns are short, at least there's extensive multiplayer available.  but uh, bioshock is basically just 20 hours of single player shit and then you're done.  get it from gamefly or blockbuster or something and save yourself $50
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: GigasFist on November 24, 2007, 05:40:11 am
Orange Box is a terrific buy with 5 games (HL2 HL2: Episode 1/2 Portal, TF2) well worht the $60

Call of Duty 4 is another suggestion with a good single player game, and excellent Multiplayer.
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Cheesy Doritos on November 24, 2007, 06:14:56 am
Alright, thanks guys! Apparently from my friend, there are several I shouldn't get and even more I should. This is turning into a hassle and chances are i'll just go to my friend's house to play this stuff! Thank you anyway!

Also mods... Lock if you want, otherwise this could be the 360 topic or something? I dunno.
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Madolah on November 24, 2007, 08:24:19 pm
The Pro bundle is a Holidat bundle meaning over after xmas, also from what i hear Marvel Ult. Alliance and Forza moto: 2 are on the same disc/ or at least same case.
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: headphonics on November 24, 2007, 11:37:47 pm
both games probably suck, anyway.  i guess it'd be okay if you could sell them, but so many people are doing it that you'd probably only get 30 cents or $5 store credit or however much those douchebags take you for.  you're not missing out on much, even if it is over after christmas. 2 DUMB GAMES//$10 YOUR CHOICE
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Grogrog on November 25, 2007, 03:34:44 am
I'm gonna do my best to help out here, so here it goes. First I'll start of with games.

Don't buy assassin's creed. Rent or borrow it, and beat it in a day or two. It has no replay value whatsoever (oh sure you can run around and collect flags, but is that fun? no.) Don't buy Halo unless you are really into the halo universe, and will get Xbox live GOLD (I will go into that later). You can beat the campaign of halo in a day, easy. It's only good for online multiplayer. Don't buy Bioshock. You can beat this game in a day as well if you really tried, and it has no replay value. Keep in mind, these all are nice games to own, but for a casual gamer who doesn't care about his game library, not worth buying, at all.

Xbox Live Silver is basically just online ranking, and I think basic community shit. Xbox Live Gold is online multiplayer. I honestly don't even believe 360 is worth it that much if you don't get live, that's where everything is. So definitely shell out the 50 bucks for a year, it's worth it, far more so than any one of the games you listed.

Also the games that comes with the bundle seems like garbage mostly, but the extras seem like it may be worth it. Also I'd make sure that all your controllers have rechargable batteries, it makes things so much easier.

I posted this earlier, and it didnt actual post, copied and pasted, but apparently didnt get all of it. If you need me to elaborate then just ask.


Games I would recommend:

Call of Duty 4
Mass Effect
Crackdown (used, it's really cheap)
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: theHunter on November 25, 2007, 04:22:59 am
Mass Effect is good, also Eternal Sonata for the RPGs... Gears is good but on the short side.

And yes get live, the 360 isn't really worth it without live because most (not all) of the games that stand out are best online. Its 10 for a month, 30 for 3, and 50 for a year.

If you wanna go wireless your gonna hafta buy the 100 addon... go wired if possible.
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Ihateyou on November 25, 2007, 09:04:09 am
Forza is a pretty good racing sim if you're a fan of games like Gran Tourismo, but it also had Need for Speed like customization.
NFS is only just getting some stuff Forza has had since the first game on the Xbox such as body work that actually changes how your car handles though.
Marvel: UA is a fairly bland game, but I've only played it on the Wii where someone had the brilliant idea of hooking the camera up to the nunchuk, making it a bitch to control.

If you get a 360, make sure it's a more recent model as I've had no end of problems with mine (3 deaths... The most recent being my GPU melting).
The hardware issues have mostly been fixed though I think.

No, you don't need a HDTV to use the 360, but I can't comment on the picture quality difference as I don't have any normal TV's that I use regularly for anything, let alone gaming.

Bioshock is decent, but not overly hard (I have most of the achievements, but my console imploded before I got the last few and I haven't played it since) and once you've played it through once, theres few rasons to go through it again.
Gears of War is a pretty good game, but not having LIVE Gold will make you hate the last boss as the A.I. character that should be helping you has a 253.77% chance of being killed within 5 seconds of the fight starting.
Halo 3 campaign is kinda blah, but online isn't that bad... It's also not the best looking 360 game out there.
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: SupremeWarrior on November 26, 2007, 03:07:51 pm
Add Dead Rising to your list and Saints Row...
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Lars on November 26, 2007, 06:01:38 pm
Saints Row is a pretty sweet game if you're into GTA. Better than Crackdown. But the story sucks!
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Roman on November 26, 2007, 10:23:29 pm
Saints Row is a pretty sweet game if you're into GTA. Better than Crackdown. But the story sucks!

I don't know man.  I'm into GTA but Saint's Row kinda bothered me because it REALLY WISHED it was GTA and even though it's technically like GTA it completely failed to capture the... feeling, I guess, that GTA gives you.  That's not really the best way to put it but basically I couldn't play Saint's Row because it wasn't GTA but it thought it was. 

I haven't played Crackdown but from what I can tell it's similar to GTA in that it's a sandbox game but there are aspects of it that differentiate it enough from GTA so that it is its own game.  I guess.  I don't know.

edit: GTA GTA GTA GTA this post now has a 13 uses of the acronym GTA
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Grindie on November 27, 2007, 02:20:52 am
Saints Row kicks the shit outta GTA. Okay, it isn't as funny (it just isn't funny at all) but the controls are way better and you can actually AIM AT PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO KILL YOU!
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: theHunter on November 27, 2007, 05:30:19 am
Yeah, Saints Row is better than GTA, also get Ace Combat 6.
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Roman on November 27, 2007, 08:43:05 am
Saints Row kicks the shit outta GTA. Okay, it isn't as funny (it just isn't funny at all) but the controls are way better and you can actually AIM AT PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO KILL YOU!

I don't know man, this'll probably make me sound like a douche but GTA has heart whereas Saint's Row is just a bland clone with BETTER AIMING.  Like, that's the only real advantage it has over GTA that I can think of.  If you ask me I'd rather play a game that has personality and is still really good than a game that has no personality whatsoever BUT LOOK AT ALL THE PLACES I CAN POINT MY GUN
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Lars on November 27, 2007, 02:16:36 pm
saints row has better driving controls as well imo, and better sidemissions

but it is a bland clone when considering anything style-related (including story and soundtrack)

imo, gta nailed the style and saints row nailed the gameplay
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: SupremeWarrior on November 27, 2007, 03:30:43 pm
It is funny in Saint Row, have you ever beaten up the guy in the soda costume with your gang it's very hilarious...It might be a GTA clone but an enhanced one, there is character customization which wasn't in GTA till san andreas, theres car tuning and what else could be more fun than controlling your own gang theres limitations of course, better controls and the missions are a bit better, well to me they are. Theres also a few other things you can do which you can't do in GTA like rob places for money and etc.
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Patricl{ on November 27, 2007, 09:45:09 pm
Saints Row? people still play this crap? seriously get Crackdown which is a far more enjoyable experience then bloody Saints Row.
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: GameCriticboy on November 27, 2007, 10:33:40 pm
I got my Xbox 360 for $200(Refurbished).

Then again I had to buy the hard drive for it which cost around $60.
So $260 ain't half bad a deal if you're looking for something in your price range.

As far as games go I'd get them used and buy a $20 Xbox gold membership card for Xbox live.
Online gameplay is where all the fun is.....
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Ghost_Aspergers on November 27, 2007, 10:37:56 pm
I just got my second 360 in before ever getting a PS3 or Wii so....

(though to be fair, if my 360 didn't red light on me, I'd have a Wii by now)
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Roman on November 27, 2007, 11:35:05 pm
I just got my second 360 in before ever getting a PS3 or Wii so....

(though to be fair, if my 360 didn't red light on me, I'd have a Wii by now)


wait you didn't actually pay for a new one did you
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Ghost_Aspergers on November 28, 2007, 12:22:47 am
I didn't pay for the first one.... so I had no warranty/ receipt to do the trade in. What I did though was trade the red lighted 360 in to Gamestop for two hundred in credit (this was offered to me instead of repairing it as an under-the-table deal) and I ended up getting the Elite package off of Ebay.
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: The Dude on November 28, 2007, 01:27:34 am
Crackdown is my favourite among the Xbox360 games. Halo 3 gets second place.
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: MaGicBush on November 29, 2007, 04:11:04 am
Quote
Wireless adapter (I'm not dealing with Ethernet or link sys or cables or stuff.)

I would advise against that, but it's my opinion. I have a 12 month old son and a wireless router(have a Wii, 360, xbox 1, and 2 PC's that go into the router). But the 360 is the only wired connection. The wireless adapter is freaking ridiculous($100USD, wtf?) in price, I bought the router and two wireless adapter cards for the PC's and only cost me roughly $100. I wanted my 360 wireless as my son tries to eat the wire and pull the 360 off the entertainment center, but yea.. now I just ran the wire along the top of the wall downstairs to save my $100.

Also you can't get a 360 without Oblivion man! One of the first games I bought with mine a few years ago, and I still go back and play it from time to time(way over 200 hours clocked in altogether).
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Raimiette on November 29, 2007, 09:22:38 pm
I would advise against that, but it's my opinion. I have a 12 month old son and a wireless router(have a Wii, 360, xbox 1, and 2 PC's that go into the router). But the 360 is the only wired connection. The wireless adapter is freaking ridiculous($100USD, wtf?) in price, I bought the router and two wireless adapter cards for the PC's and only cost me roughly $100. I wanted my 360 wireless as my son tries to eat the wire and pull the 360 off the entertainment center, but yea.. now I just ran the wire along the top of the wall downstairs to save my $100.

Relating to this, how come the 360 is the only one of the next gen consoles that isn't pre-compatible for wireless?  Both my Wii and PS3 run off my wireless router without any addons so how come the 360 can't do it without the wireless adapter?

This is probably a retarded question but I really have no idea.

Also, I agree, just use the ethernet cable, the adapter price is silly.
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Dapper Swindler on November 29, 2007, 09:53:08 pm
I've also made the fateful decision to get the Xbox 360 as my next gen console (sorry Wii).   So this thread is useful for me as well.

I never had an Xbox, so now I can pick up those classic Xbox titles that are dirt cheap now like KOTOR and Ninja Gaiden (gotta be careful they are backwards compatible, some on my list are not:  Oddworld).

I have Ultimate Alliance already for PS2.  It's an awesome game, I don't know why people assume it is a throwaway game.  But it freezes on my shitty old PS2, so I don't mind getting it again.

I can't wait to get 360 games from two years ago for a fraction of the cost:  Elder Scrows IV: Oblivion, Dead rising, Condemned Criminal Origins, Kameo.
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Ghost_Aspergers on November 29, 2007, 10:56:58 pm
Not all games are supported.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm

And I think you need the hard drive to play them.
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Grogrog on November 30, 2007, 12:20:22 am
Relating to this, how come the 360 is the only one of the next gen consoles that isn't pre-compatible for wireless?  Both my Wii and PS3 run off my wireless router without any addons so how come the 360 can't do it without the wireless adapter?

This is probably a retarded question but I really have no idea.

Also, I agree, just use the ethernet cable, the adapter price is silly.

It doesn't have a built in wireless adaptor. No way of decting wireless. Stupid that it isn't built in, and apparently the wireless adaptor is a piece of shit (from what I heard) and the major problem is it's expensive.

The only way it would be possible if they released a new version of the 360 with it built in, and they'd probably charge extra for it.
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: MaGicBush on November 30, 2007, 02:24:02 am
Relating to this, how come the 360 is the only one of the next gen consoles that isn't pre-compatible for wireless?  Both my Wii and PS3 run off my wireless router without any addons so how come the 360 can't do it without the wireless adapter?

This is probably a retarded question but I really have no idea.

Also, I agree, just use the ethernet cable, the adapter price is silly.

I have no clue either, and it's pretty retarded. And yea, only certain Xbox1 games are compatible in the 360(only the major title games like Halo 2, Grand Theft Auto, etc). But you don't need the hard drive from xbox(is that what you were saying?). The HDD 360 comes with is compatible with those(though you may need a xbox live update I am not sure).
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: Standard Toaster on November 30, 2007, 03:01:57 am
apparently the wireless adaptor is a piece of shit (from what I heard)
Actually its been incredibly reliable from my experience!
Title: I'm Considering Getting a 360...
Post by: theHunter on November 30, 2007, 03:17:31 am
It all depends on how far away you are from your router.  It actually provides a very good connection BUT it sometimes cops out and drops connection if its too far away from the router.