So how's the xbox 360?

[Zoog]

My laptop is really outdated right now so i'm thinking of buying the XBOX360 (and hopefully a wii when it's in stores again ) for my gaming needs (dont want to buy a whole new gaming rig). So the question is... how good is it?

I had consoles before (Sega and Nintendo 8-bit, 16-bit, Playstation 1 & 2). Personally i think the games look pretty good on the xbox360. I want that thing for stuff like Oblivion, Dead or Alive, Pro Evolution Soccer, Top Spin, , PGR6, Blazing Angels... that kind of stuff. Good 2 or 4 player fun (sports, fighting etc) and some cool 1 player games with nice graphics....

The thing is i don't have alot of money so i want to make a well thought decision and i want to consult you guys first What do you guys think of the 360?

[MaddGIJoe]

I love my Xbox 360, I have had it since April 06 and its still rolling fine.


I believe it now also has a one year warranty also instead of the normal 90 days.

[TaLoN]

by leaps and bounds best entertainment device on the market(besides the pc, but we already have one of those)  

games wise, 360 is and will be more so where sony was with ps2, theres not much in the way of exclusive anymore for sony.  The more anaylists doom-say the product the more developers flee to 360 which means many many more games on the 360 this time around.  The current line up alone is worth the purchase.

Id love a Wii also but if given the choice between a Wii and 360, 360 wins hands down.

[BajaBravo]

Buy a 360. 'nuff said.

[MindlessOath]

i havent seen any games i would like on the xbox360 yet.  im leaning twords the wii.
i belive wii's will be instock at best buy on the 21st of jan.  they will get in at least 21 units at min, and upwards to 35 if that store is lucky.

[MONOLITH]

I love my 360.

And most of the games I was playing on my PC, are on the 360, only with better framerates and graphics.

Get the 360.

[Aramis]

360. Hands down.

Looks great even on an SD tv. On an HD, it looks amazing. Less issues, always have voice for online gaming, and you can even download movies, trailers, arcade games and voice chat with friends.

It's pretty much a no-brainer right now. There's a great library available.

[Zoog]

Thanks.

And how is the xboxLive part? Is it easy to play with others, are there like game-rooms where you can join servers? Or do you have to setup a connection with another "xbox id" / direct connection? How is the current online-multiplayer support in games, like is it possible to play soccer against others, or a racing game...stuff like that? I really like playing online but can you compare it with playing online with the pc? I can imagine that there is less communication (typing) because you don't have a keyboard...So does it feels "less online" compared to a PC game?

[TaLoN]

actually Live, is more online that most computer gaming.  Live freinds lists that say where they are, what their playing, if its joinable on the fly, send them a voice message or text,  start a voice chat session(in lobby or in game, always a button click aways) most games have the same online setup, host(create), quick match(limited dont advise) and the Custom match(where you define what gamemodes, how many people, etc in your search critera).  You can send a msg to your buddy and ask him to send you an invite and join him, or you can do the same for him(hosting or not) private and public hosting, ranked or unranked games.  Not to mention seamless patching(turn game on, it tells you theres a patch, want to download now?, downloaded, done, start game, no crashing)..

Live is what pc gaming should be, an all in one incompasing place that's as easy and seamless as pluging the network cable in the back of it.

Of course you have to pay 50 bucks a year for it, but when you total up how much the software that live runs would cost you, it would be well over 50 bucks.

Not to mention they are always adding to it to make it better, unlike anyone else.

Wii is a fun game system, 360 is exactly that 360 degrees of entertainment.

[Aramis]

Tonight I chatted with a friend via live, downloaded a couple HD movie trailers (Smokin' Aces and The 300), and browsed the "rental" movie section for an HD movie.

I didn't even play a game, and I still had fun just putzing around on the thing.

[Zoog]

Well, you definately convinced me. I probably get it when the PS3 is released over here and the prices (hopefully) drop of the 360. On the other hand they are very affordable 2nd hand, so i might do that so i can get it sooner.

[MindlessOath]

how much money do you pay for live?
how much money do you spend for the movie downloads?
do you spend money on other things on live?

how much is your cable/dsl?

hell my cell phone provider is good, but you have to pay for everything you want - so i dont use its online capabilities becuse of all the charges for every little thing to do.  is that like live?

i hear playstation is free to go online - but they have the store and you have to pay for alot of things that you want too - but at least the online and chatting is free.

[Aramis]

how much money do you pay for live?
how much money do you spend for the movie downloads?
do you spend money on other things on live?

how much is your cable/dsl?

hell my cell phone provider is good, but you have to pay for everything you want - so i dont use its online capabilities becuse of all the charges for every little thing to do.  is that like live?

i hear playstation is free to go online - but they have the store and you have to pay for alot of things that you want too - but at least the online and chatting is free.

It's called a commodity, and nearly any commodity comes at a price.
1. Live Silver is free. It allows you to chat, download demos, games, themes and movies, but doesn't allow you to play online.

2. Live Gold costs $49.95 a year. It encompasses the servers (that are hassle-free) and the extra bandwidth involved.

3. Movie downloads are equivalent to rentals. SD movies are about $3.50 apiece I think. HD are between $4 and $6. I haven't rented any yet as I still haven't found one I think is worth it. However, snowed in on a weekend, I just might grab one, and it's a nice option.

4. All xbox arcade games have a free demo that let you see if the game is worthwhile. The games cost between $5.00 and $10.00 from what I've seen thus far. I purchased a $5 game and feel I got my money's worth. I wanted another game that was $10 but passed feeling it was too steep.

5. TV downloads also cost money, but instead of being rentals, they're yours to keep. I haven't grabbed any of these yet, and it's doubtful I will. They're still cheaper on DVD.

All in all- yes, you have to pay for just about anything extra. But the base package of xbox Live Silver is really nice, and it's free. I don't feel cheated at all. It's up to each person to decide what's worthwhile and what's not.

One thing I will tell you- based upon other online games on the PS2, I don't anticipate much ease of use since it will be up to each developer to handle online, whereas Microsoft takes care of that for the devs.

[MONOLITH]

I don't anticipate much ease of use since it will be up to each developer to handle online, whereas Microsoft takes care of that for the devs.

  Uniformity across the platform is a good thing.




.

[MindlessOath]

$50 a year really isnt that much money either.  if it was a monthly expensive fee - i would pass on that asap.  and im not one to spend money on those games that cost 10$ so i could pass.  

are there home brew games and other things like that, that are free?

i also heard that the movie download services; were just total and utter crap, but that was when they first started - so mabe they have gotten better since (stories of not downloading the movie - or taking far to long to download it, and even problems with charging you, then the connection dissconects, and it wants to charge you again - etc) - so im not sure if things are ironed out yet, but i wouldnt download even an hd movie - heck i barely rent movies now adays.   i might buy some dvd's that i know are good, but thats about it.

[Aramis]

I had heard the same, and I can't confirm that they're better, but I no longer hear those things from people. My only negative about the downloads is that they ARE a rental- you have like 2 weeks to watch it, and 24 hours after you watch it it will no longer be available- not sure if it deletes itself or what.

So far there's no homebrew games, though there's supposed to be that software out there for folks to make one, and I can see good games getting on xbox live arcade. There is some user-generated themes and such but they do charge the standard rates.