Xbox 360?

[Duppin]

Anybody have one of these yet? Considering ordering one.

I know the game library is enh so far and that's not a big deal for me this early in a console's life. I'm more concerned about the overall quality of the console and people's experiences with it so far.

Already have a decent gaming PC, but it'd be nice to have a console again as well. Mostly play sports games on a console, or the occasional RPG.

[Slick Willey]

What types of game do you enjoy playing? That is perhaps the most important question to ask. If you enjoy shooters, sports titles, racing games, its great. If you like RPGs or Action/Adventures (e.g., God of War), PS3 might be better. That said, Microsoft knows that if it is to make any inroads into Japan, it really needs to have some quality RPGs -- something the Xbox lacked severely. I believe they have an exclusive arrangement with the guy responsible (created ???) Final Fantasy for at least 3 RPGs, so maybe they are making some improvements.

I have one, and honestly, I find myself playing my PC and some RPGs on my PS2 more than the 360. In fact, of the games I'm truly excited for, most are on the PC, but I am really looking forward to Bioware's Mass Effect on the 360 -- a Scifi RPG.

If you have a nice HDTV, 5.1 home theater system, the Xbox 360 can provide an awesome gaming experience. The Xbox live service is pretty solid, and I like how they seem to regularly have demos for downloading so you can check out games and see if you like them -- very convenient.

[Duppin]

Like I said in my post, mostly sports games and the occasional RPG (as far as what I like to play on consoles; PC is where I play my RPGs, sim games, etc).

Xbox owned PS2 for sports games, I know; just wondering if the Xbox360 continues that trend, and if anyone's had any real bad problems.

I don't have a big home theater system but I'll probably get one down the road some.

[makist]

Personally I really enjoy my 360 and my girlfriend loves the little Xbox Live Arcade games we can download for like $5 each. She gets more out of those than some of the games I spend $60 on.

The performance is pretty amazing if you ask me, and this is comparing the 360 to my PC, which is a Pentium D 3.0 Ghz dual-core, 2GB RAM, and 7800GTX. I have high hopes for the 360 and the xbox live service owns.

[Duppin]

Xbox Live Arcade games? Can you elaborate on that?

[Malakie Torsade]

If history repeats itself and you have a decent PC, I don't see the point of buying an Xbox 360. Last gen, 98% of the games worth a damn that were on Xbox were ported to PS2 and/or PC... and in some cases better (Fable, Morrowind, etc.)

If you want to budget your gaming, IMO you should get a PS3 and keep your PC relatively up-to-date. Doing that, you should be covered for the vast majority of good games. Of course, all bets are off if suddenly Xbox gets all the great exclusives, but I wouldn't count on that.

[Lenthan]

I told you in IRC, and I'm going to tell you again, Dup, don't you dare get a console. PC for life.

[RiskyChris]

It's like the entire gaming community is ps3 or 360, does no one out there support the revolution?

[prescient63]

I like the 360, admittedly I get almost every single console the day they drop. But if you have an HDTV it is a must have. Playing it on a 57in in HD w/ surround sound, wireless controllers and being able to park your ass on the couch is unbeatable. If you have a nice living room go for it. Plus upcoming games like chrome hounds, mass effect and especially dark sector has me very psyched for the potential game library.

Oh yeah, one last thing. With the cost of graphics cards these days you might as well just pick up a 360 and ps3 and just use your computer for web browsing and productivity shit. You will save money. Seriously, I love online rpgs but I would rather have something more twitch based at this point and I think consoles lend better to that idea than your computer. Especially when communication is already included in consoles there is no more futzing around getting people on teamspeak or whatever. Plus I'm getting older w/ more responsiblities so justifying dropping a couple grand on a computer every year is getting harder and harder.

Thats my 360 cents

[Exmonk]

Well if money isn't an issue for you a 360 is a good purchase for the future games it will have. Mass Effect/Jade Empire 2 for Bioware fans, Gears of War.

If money is an issue I'd wait till the PS3 comes out and once the competition gets flowing we should see some good (or at least big) titles comming out.

Personally I'm holding off until Mass Effect and Gears of War are both out before I pick up the console at hopefully a discounted price by then.

[Malakie Torsade]

Originally Posted by RiskyChris

It's like the entire gaming community is ps3 or 360, does no one out there support the revolution?

I love Nintendo, but from his description, it didn't seem like a Rev would be good for him. That's why I didn't even bring it up. I think any serious gamer should have one, especially if they have friends that come over often as Nintendo tends to produce a lot of great multi-player games that are easy to get into, even for non-gamers.

Originally Posted by prescient63

Oh yeah, one last thing. With the cost of graphics cards these days you might as well just pick up a 360 and ps3 and just use your computer for web browsing and productivity shit. You will save money.

You don't have to have the latest and greatest card. You can easily get inexpensive cards that will run the majority of games with no problem. You aren't going to max out the quality settings obviously, but more than enough to play.

I love online rpgs but I would rather have something more twitch based at this point and I think consoles lend better to that idea than your computer.

Are you suggesting consoles are better for twitch games, a la FPS's? Seriously? Whenever I play any game with an "aiming" element (Resident Evil 4, Killer 7, etc.,) I find myself repeatedly thinking "This is fun, but it sure would be better on a PC."

[Angry Amadeus]

I thoroughly enjoy my 360. Preordered some for my friends around Christmas time last year, and ended up keeping one for myself. If you're not big into online games at the moment, as I am not, then it makes a much better investment than plunking money into a new card to boost your pc.

I have to say; Oblivion is great. I have the 360 version, and picked up the pc version for my laptop. Unfortunately, my laptop is having issues and for some reason Alienware (Dell) is fucking me up the yang trying to get it fixed. About ready to buy a new one, ffs.

Yet, I'm still undecided as to why you would ask a question like this in the first place. Of course you should get the newest and sweetest console to hit the market without blinking an eye. Go under. It's the only way you'll pry open your third eye. Rabble rabble. etc. Huh?

Oh, I thought everyone around here was high, doesn't work during the daytime, and orders brides from Slovakia just to pawn them off on friends who need diseases. Wait.

I'm waiting for the Revolution, but enjoying my 360 in the meantime. And of course, PS3 will fit nicely next to my twelve copies of American Psycho (Director's Cut) and my Wizard of Oz pipe.

Negro, get thou an 360 and attain true powerth.

[prescient63]

Originally Posted by Malakie Torsade

Are you suggesting consoles are better for twitch games, a la FPS's? Seriously? Whenever I play any game with an "aiming" element (Resident Evil 4, Killer 7, etc.,) I find myself repeatedly thinking "This is fun, but it sure would be better on a PC."

No, I guess I just described it wrong. I want a combination of fighting game and rpg or adventure game that I can play online with a bunch of people. I cant think of a good example at the moment, hell I don't even know if there is one. I might of just made this up. Although I'm sure there is something similar out there. I would like it if i could play everquest but in the adventure 3/4 view and attack mobs, and I could get upgrades and when i get new weapons maybe i get new combos. In addition, when I level I get new combos, more hps, more mana, more AC and more random stats. So now maybe I have a 10 hit combo for massive dmg, and I can actually do that because I am good at mashing buttons in the correct order. I have the Sword of Fuckin Shit Up so now I am doing more damage and previously unbeatable mobs are now beatable. This mob is able to be defeated due to three factors:
1. I am now higher level with better combos at my disposal.
2. I now have a better weapon which has opened up new or different combos and has more attk power.
3. I am great at executing large combos.

But Ted who sucks at his 10 hit combos or 30 hit or whatever is having a harder time advancing. I think that is what i want because MMORPGs take zero skill. Sure if you play to your absolute maximum you can be 10-15% more effective than the next idiot. And if your entire group does this you are very effective, but under my scenario the truly great players and groups are going to be an order of magnitued more effective than your random idiot.

There is aso the possibility for group combos, ala heroic oportunities, but they would be much more complex and harder to pull off, and if you fail well you are screwed, misfire and your group takes damage. This would not really encourage grouping but if your guild or group knew each other very well it would make these much easier to pull off.

While I'm at it I might as well throw in counters, ala virtua fighter. It would even make healing more fun and differentiate good healers from crappy ones. You could have auras or something to mitigate dmg, the bigger the combo's the more effective the auras or the bigger the heal. AE Mez or something that mez's more creatures or longer with bigger combos or something. I think i just pulled this out of my ass but that is what i want.

Everyone complains about the lack of skill in mmorpgs and how they want them to be skill based, as do I. So this is my solution. I think this has turned into my dream game post. Regardless, I believe a console is a better platform for this type of game.

Plus this way you know who the ass hats are very quickly.

[Slick Willey]

Originally Posted by Duppin

Xbox owned PS2 for sports games, I know; just wondering if the Xbox360 continues that trend, and if anyone's had any real bad problems.

I don't think that trend will continue. Correct me if I'm wrong, but by saying "Xbox owned PS2", I assume you mean sheer graphic performance-wise, since pretty much all the big sports titles are on all platforms. I sure as hell don't want to bring out all the PS3 fanboys by starting a debate on which will be more powerful of the 2 systems, but I think most would agree that you won't see the difference between the Xbox/PS2 in the 360/PS3.

As far as "problems" -- are you talking about technical problems? My friend bought a system the day they went on sale (as did I), and he recently had to return his, although I haven't had problems with mine. I don't know about the systems being sold today, but I would hope that whatever problems plagued the first round of systems has been cleared up. An extended warranty might be a smart buy . . . .

Of course, all bets are off if suddenly Xbox gets all the great exclusives, but I wouldn't count on that.

From everything I have read, you can pretty much expect a LOT less exclusive titles for either PS3 or 360. Most developers seem to be planning on developing their titles for both platforms. Yes, both systems will continue to have exclusives, but it sounds like there will be a lot less. It seems that many developers were hesitant to develop for the Xbox initially, just because they were unsure of its longevity and position in the market. Now that Microsoft has come out and basically said "We're here to stay", it just makes more economic sense to develop cross-platform titles, particularly for North American developers. Even traditional PS-exclusive developers, like Square-Enix, are now developing for the 360. There will continue to be some exclusives (Killzone v. Halo), but much less than the prior generation.

[makist]

Originally Posted by Duppin

Xbox Live Arcade games? Can you elaborate on that?

They are simple games made by small teams or individuals usually. A lot of them are online too and pretty addictive. Some of them are just classic rereleased. One game is the classic Gauntlet, combined with online multiplayer its pretty bad ass. Right now my girlfriend is playing Bejewled 2, Feeding Frenzy, Zuma, and some Marble game. Each one cost me like $5.