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Showing reviews 1-5 of 797
 Great! December 2, 2006
50 out of 54 found this review helpful
Alright, first off, I'm just going to say that I don't actually own this system, my older cousin does, but I've spent many many hours at his house playing it. This, out of all three systems out now (360, PS3, Wii) is the best one. First, you really get what you pay for, second, why buy a PS3 when the Blu-Ray format isn't doing so great, and third, the Wii has graphics comparible to the Gamecube's. Here are the pros and cons of the Xbox 360:
Pros:
- Great graphics, not quite as good as PS3's, but very close.
- Excellent wireless controller, really well felt.
- Great design, very lightweight.
- Xbox Live!!!
Cons:
- In order to connect to a wireless home network, you need to buy an extra device for $100, and old Xbox wireless adapter isn't very compatible.
- Can't play all original Xbox games, only somes with downloads coming to play most of them.
- 2005 model overheats.
As I mentioned, the 2005 models overheat. My cousin has gone through 3 2005 systems (he is a hardcore gamer), and now he has a 2006 model and it works perfectly. Even the newer versions overheat, so here's what to do:
- Do not buy the InterCooler, it is basically a waste of money to purchase something that plugs into the overheating device, and then have both of them overheat more severely.
- Place the system horizontally, NOT VERTICALLY, so the airflow completely goes through the sides.
- If you can avoid using the 20 GB hard drive and use memory units, it is a good thing. Unattach the HD and use a memory unit instead.
- ONLY place your system in a well ventilated, (NOT A CLOSED CABINET), area. Avoid putting game cases and accessories around it.
The games for this system are amazing, and there really is something for every age level. The system will not read the games if they are scratched up, so avoid putting the games on the floor or in a cabinet, rather, put them in the original case. DO NOT TOUCH THE BOTTOM OF THE GAME CD WITH YOUR HANDS!!! Doing so will greatly increase the risk of the game not working.
Also, if you can, purchase the extended warrenty. It's not neccessary, but just in case your system blows, you'll have something to depend on.
-Simon
After a Year, Still a Great System December 19, 2006
Lisa Shea
109 out of 125 found this review helpful
We've had our XBox 360 for a year now, and have played it quite regularly. Here is our review of how it performs compared with our Wii and PS3.
First, if you're going for an XBox 360, make sure you're getting a unit with a hard drive, and get a wireless controller. The hard drive lets you download updates for your games, add your own music to soundtracks, save as many save files as you want, and do a number of XBox Live functions. They even now offer tv shows and movies to download. Believe me - you're only getting 20 gig, and it'll fill up quickly! You want to have that hard drive.
Most importantly, you can NOT play any old XBox (original) games if you don't have the hard drive. That is because the old games have to be 'converted' by software on the hard drive to be able to play in your new system. Not that not all games play on the 360 - but the most popular ones do.
Comparing this to the Wii, it's a different market area. The 360 has much better graphics than the Wii does. That's on purpose - the Wii doesn't support high definition. The Wii's motion-sensing controllers are actually a *ton* of fun for sports and party games, so if you like to play a lot of golf or "party fun" types of things, you might swing towards the Wii. If you're more a hard core gamer and love games like FarCry or Prey, it's the 360 that you'll want.
The harder comparison is between the XBox 360 and the PS3. Both support high definition graphics. Both have incredible RPGs on them (Fable, Final Fantasy). Both have incredible combat style games on them (Gears of War, Resistance). Both have hard drives for easy game saves, both have wireless controllers which I love. Both play previous-gen games.
One way to look at this is that you should get the system that supports the franchises you love. If you are completely addicted to Final Fantasy, go with the PS3. That way you can play all the old FF games and enjoy the new ones. If you are a Halo Head, and play Halo 24 hours a day, then the XBox 360 is your sure bet.
But what if you fall in the middle? I can tell you the 360 is really loud - but the PS3 gets really hot. Both seem prone to failure if poorly cared for - but both have worked perfectly fine for us so far. What else would swing your vote?
With the huge head start XBox has on the Live feature, I would have to give a nod to the XBox if you are interested in online multiplay. Sure, both the 360 and the PS3 support it - but XBox has had it for years, and many people have built up quite a network. There are tons of people online at all hours of the day or night. It's been tried, tested, and is stable.
On the other hand, if you're looking for an all-in-one media center, the PS3 with its 60 gig hard drive has the advantage. It makes it super easy for you to organize your photos, music, and much more right in the system. You don't have to siphon things from your PC or come up against quickly running out of space. I still question why the 360 only has 20 gigs of data - and they fill almost half of it up right away with system files. With Microsoft now offering to let you download high definition movies - at about 5 gig each - that's going to fill up your entire hard drive after only one or two movies. They really need to offer larger hard drives quickly.
But until then, if you're an online player, a Halo fan, or just can't get your hands on a PS3 and are tired of playing low-def games, I highly recommend the XBox 360. There are a ton of games on this system that we love, and we actively use it. Even with the Wii and PS3 in the house, there are many games that are great on the XBox 360 and we choose to play them.
Let me know if you have any specific questions on this system!
My two cents... (Edited/Added) November 14, 2006
JR Media Freak (Wisconsin)
238 out of 280 found this review helpful
I have had PlayStation and PlayStation 2. I really hated when Microsoft came out with the Xbox, and I wished for their failure. They never did go away, and I guess I was always curious about what I might be missing. I eventually got bored and tired of PlayStation 2, and I was looking for something new and different. I had played many of the big time releases...some were good, some were great (God of War) and others left me scratching my head at why I bothered. Not to mention, I hated Sony's delays and changes with the design and costs ever since the first mention of the PS3 in development...
This led me to the eventual decision...jump off the Sony bandwagon for the Microsoft Xbox 360. I was skeptical at first, but I sold my PS2 and bought an Xbox 360 before the PS3 came out. I watched and waited before buying the 360. I played demo systems at the stores, and I really liked Call of Duty 2. I bought a 360 and Call of Duty 2. Once I got one home and hooked it up, I eventually joined Xbox Live. I was immediately impressed. Xbox Live is a huge reason why Microsoft has had success. I can connect with friends and gamers of similar interests at any time regardless of what game I am playing or movie I am watching. I can watch a DVD while I am talking via the controller and headset to friends while they play games or watch movies. You can download demo games, new game patches or content, TV shows, Movies, Music videos, gamer pictures and much more. The games that are worth looking at getting are Gears of War, Prey, Call of Duty 4, Guitar Hero III and Tomb Raider Anniversary.
Also, I love the Xbox 360 controller. Sony's controller is in much need of a makeover. It has been virtually the same since it came out on the PSone. It's uncomfortable using the analog sticks so close together. I like the Xbox 360's offset sticks...far more comfortable!
*NOTE* I have not had any hardware failures! My Xbox 360 runs very well. I have not lost a disc inside the machine, and the system has not melted, crashed, heated up, fried, bricked, lit up with rings of death, or anything of that nature. However, I have upgraded my 360 with a high speed fan system, custom case, LED fan, 120 GB hard drive and an HD-DVD player...so I have spent more money on my 360 system than the cost of a PS3. (NOTE ADDED...now since HD-DVD is completely dead...I am thinking of getting a PS3 for Blu-Ray discs and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, as that game looks sweet!)
Microsoft was really thinking when they planned the 360. It may not win over or kill the Wii or the PS3, but it still is one hell of a machine with great online play, controllers and games! I am not that impressed with the Wii...it seems to be quite the gimmick and popularity craze. However, the PS3 impresses me. The games for 2008 look to be better for the PS3, and by the end of the year I will probably have one too!
Excellent All-Around Online Gaming & Entertainment Machine July 11, 2006
Toph (USA)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
I was a loyal fan of the original Xbox. I loved Halo, Xbox Live - everything. I got the Xbox 360 on launch day in November. I have not had any problems with it aside from the occasional freeze-up. (Keeping it cool and well-ventilated - try keeping it on its side, but don't move it while playing! - can help prevent that. Also, newer 360s actually run slightly cooler and more smoothly.) I have not been bothered by the noise, either. (And, similarly, newer 360s have slightly quieter disk drives.)
One of the greatest things about the 360 is the underlying OS. On the original Xbox, you couldn't do much on the dashboard - you could pretty much just change settings and play any music that you had ripped to the hard drive. But ripping was slow, and I never bothered aside from one or two CDs.
With the 360, even without any disc in at all, you have...
- All your music streamed from your PC (with very cool visualizations, too)
- Downloaded game & movie trailers
- Game demos, some for games that aren't even out yet
- Xbox Live Arcade games - quick, fun, few or no loading times; arcade classics and new games
Also, all notifications and messaging are system-wide. So whether you're listening to music, watching a DVD, or playing a game, you can keep in touch with your friends with messages and one-on-one private chat channels.
You can use any music from your PC, on the 360's hard drive, or on a plugged-in MP3 player like the iPod to listen to while you play. And with the 360, gaming sessions aren't restricted by what's in the disc drive. Here's what an average session for me might look like. (Keep in mind, all of this is without even moving from your comfy chair.)
1) Turn on the 360; play a bit of whatever's in the drive
2) Load a personal playlist that you have stored on your computer or 360
3) Go to the Dashboard; start downloading a new game demo
4) While it's downloading, play a few Arcade games. My custom playlist continues to play.
5) I'm alerted that the download is done; I go to play it.
6) Done for the day, I turn off the 360.
One thing that deserves a little more attention is Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA). No, you don't get huge epics like Oblivion (a great game, by the way) that take dozens or hundreds of hours to complete. But with games like Geometry Wars (a personal favorite) that are largely high-score based, there's always a higher score to get. I've played GeoWars for hour and hours - as much time as some full retail games, but it costs only about $5 instead of $50 or more. The Arcade is a great place for gaming giants and small independent developers alike to put unique games that appeal to a wide audience.
Of course, depending on your setup, your experience will be different. Obviously you need a TV; you need speakers. You need some sort of storage device for game saves; I recommend the hard drive. Next most important, in my opinion, is that you have broadband internet. (And that makes the hard drive all the more important: for downloads.)
Despite what Amazon.com's comparison chart indicates, the basic Xbox Live service (Xbox Live Silver) is free. That lets you download videos, demos, and arcade games, as well as have a friends list and keep in touch. You DO have to pay if you want to play and compete online (Xbox Live Gold), but that's only one facet of the Xbox Live experience. (Also, there are occasionally times - maybe a weekend - when it's free to play online.)
As for having an HDTV: I don't, and the games still look great. Sure, they look better on an HDTV, but it's definitely not necessary; not by a long shot.
Miscellaneous:
The Xbox Guide is what makes the pervasive OS and interface work so well. You know the big green Xbox logo in the middle of the controller? Press it at any time, and the Guide comes up, letting you select music to play, check on your friends, sent and receive messages, switch profiles, etc. at any time.
The controller is great. Nice and light, but not featherweight. Wired is good, wireless is better, though I highly recommend the Play & Charge kit. (When your controller's batteries are running low, plug it in and it'll charge while you keep playing.)
I'm not sure whether the media remote control is still shipping with the 360, but I have it and I love it. Is it worth buying separately? If you're going to be using this to play music and DVDs and such, yes. It's not necessary, but when I'm playing my music in a game it's nice to be able to pause/stop/skip/etc. without pausing the game and opening the Guide.
---
Cons of the 360? There are some. Some people are bothered by the drive noise or occasional crashes, but I know several people with a 360 and it's rarely an issue. Also, if you do have an real issue, Xbox support is supposedly very responsive and will ship you a new console ASAP. I've occasionally had questions about my Live account or whether this or that wireless solution will work, and if you go to the support page on Xbox.com you can get in an online chat with a support representative within minutes. (There's also, of course, email and phone support, but I haven't had a need to use it.)
Aside from that, the early game lineup had a lot of semi-rushed ports, some of which showed little or no improvement over the last generation. But we're now getting into the second generation of games, and they look & play great. Keep this in mind: when the PS3 and Wii launch, developers will have already had a year to get used to making the most of the 360's hardware.
Sony says the PS3 has the most raw power, and in many ways it does. It has the Blu-Ray drive was high capacity and all that. But Sony is betting a lot on Blu-Ray, and that may be a mistake. It's new, expensive, largely untested, and hard to justify when DVD works so well; it's competing with HD-DVD, like Betamax vs. VHS all over again. (Guess who lost *that*? Sony's Betamax.)
The 360 is a very powerful machine without the PS3's outrageous price, and it's far more capable that the Wii. It has a tested & proven online service. It lets you fulfill every entertainment need in one sitting. It has a number of great games available now and plenty of blockbusters (Gears of War, Forza 2, Mass Effect, Halo 3) in the pipeline. Highly recommended.
Best console for now... December 25, 2006
M. Zhu
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
I've had my 360 for over half a year. I am an avid PC gamer and graphics guru and must say the 360 is very impressive and sometimes more enjoyable to use than my PC, especially when I have friends over.
This console has the best graphics thus far though this has more to do with the developers than with the hardware. Gears of War and Rainbow 6 Vegas look better than the best looking PS3 game, Resistance: Fall of Man by far. This is using the component cables on an HDTV. Even original Xbox games such as Halo 2 look great up-converted.
The console also serves as a media center. Microsoft has made an effort to make the 360 work seemlessly with Media Player 10 and Windows Media Edition. You can stream music and videos off of your networked PC.
Xbox live is amazing. Games like Gears are a blast to play online. You will need a gold account to play the games online but there should be a free 30 day trial membership that comes with the system as soon as you sign up a gamertag on Xbox live. They offer free demos for almost every game online. Demos and other media, such game videos and trailers are available to Xbox silver members. Silver is free to all and gold costs $[...] for a 13 month subscrption. Both memberships will automatically update your games if there is one available. Don't mod! This could get your console bricked.
I can not list all the pros but I can say I have had some pleasant surprises from Microsoft.
While I firmly believe the 360 is the best console on the market so far, it is by no means perfect. Here are some gripes I have:
-The peripherals are high quality but still too expensive. Sometimes there are better deals online.
-The wireless network adapter is FAR too expensive. I recommend buying a gaming bridge from D-Link or Linksys online.
-The price will be dropping but nobody knows when. Microsoft has yet to announce a date for a price drop.
-The console has frozen on me twice. Once because it overheated and once because it just crashed. It still works perfectly now. Keep this console is a well ventilated place.
-The 360 will not upconvert regular DVDs unless you are using the VGA adapter.
-There is no digital output such as HDMI or DVI yet though Microsoft could (and should) make one with little hassle.
-The wireless controllers are my favorite controllers so far for any console but they require 2 AA batteries. I suggest buying rechargeable NiMH AA batteries instead of the quick charge kit Microsoft sells.
-It gets loud but I find it less annoying than my PS2 (for reference).
-The hard drive is needed for original Xbox games because it uses an emulater. This only gives 13 gigs of free space.
-It is not backwards compatible with all of the original Xbox games. There is a list of backwards compatible games on the Xbox website. They are supposed to periodically release updates so that more original Xbox games are compatible.
-Do NOT buy any separate cooler that draws power directly from the 360 in any way. This voids the warantee and causes system failures.
-Microsoft is releasing a new revision of the 360 early 2007. The new 360 will feature a 65 nm manufacturing process as opposed to the current 90 nm for both the GPU and CPU. What does this mean? For those not so tech savvy, a cooler running console that uses less power.
Finally, here are my reasons to buy this over the PS3, for now. The library is much larger due to the early launch and is filled with great games though Gears is the only "killer app." Most of the games which are coming to both the 360 and PS3 are ported from the 360 and are much better on the 360 in every aspect. This will change since the PS3 just came out and developers can work with it more thoroughly. There will be less exclusives for the PS3 this time around as developers are starting to trust Microsoft and it's large installed consumer base. The PS3 just came out and will undoubtedly have problems just as the 360 did at launch and it is probably wiser to wait until there is a truly great game to buy the PS3 (Heavenly Sword). It's $[...] less and gives you and OPTION to buy a HD-DVD add-on eventually. I would recommend waiting anyways because there will be stand-alone players that will play both Blu-ray and HD-DVD disks. While the disks contain less space than the blu-ray disks, this does not translate into better games. Resistance is not on the same level as Gears. In fact, even R6 Vegas looks and plays better. Both R6 and Gears use less than half the disk space of Resistance. Disk space will matter for some games eventually such as RPGs but that's what multiple DVDs are for. I am not comparing either system to the Wii since the Wii does not offer HD. If you truly want to be informed in the pros and cons of each system there's always wiki.
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