My Night With 360

[mintrieri]

With people paying upwards of $3,000 on EBay for a premium bundle, I had to think hard if I wanted to make some cash or pop the box open. About a thousand other people had the same idea though, so I decided it was time to dive in.

After adding the 360 to my wireless network, I streamed music, photos and video with the wife, did some visualizer nonsense, taught my daughter to play Hexic and then got into some Call of Duty single player and deathmatch. Then, I downloaded Geometry Wars from Arcade, which I found to be an awesome old school shooter.

My 36" 480p Standard RCA with component-ins looked gorgeous. The wireless controller never looses contact with the 360 and is extremely comfortable. The menus are intuitive and after some time I was able to stream music to different photo slide-shows. Not all my movie media would stream, but I should be able to convert or MS will come up with something I'm sure.

My only criticism is that while downloading videos or games, you are unable to leave the download screen. I would like a more refined queue system in the future but this will certainly work from day 1.

Call of Duty 2 is a milestone in console gaming. The presentation is flawless and the graphics ARE fantastic and light-years beyond what my Xbox could pull off. At one point I even found myself thinking that this must of been how it looked in Germany during WWII. The game is insane. I love throwing gas grenades and running through the clouds right up to the enemy. Best deathmatch moment: Throwing a grenade at a guy, him killing me, then my grenade gets him, and then the whole thing replays from his perspective. Sweet killed my own killer action.

And I should add that the surround sound in Call of Duty 2 is unbelievable. The voice-over work really puts you into the middle of things. It's such a difference when you put a 360 into your own home with your own equipment and comfy couch in contrast to a kiosk (with a questionable LCD display and no surround sound).

I went to bed happy and fulfilled at 2am! Here's a lite version of my Gamercard:

[Pink]

(on the gamercard) Does the gamer rep start you off at 3 stars?

[mintrieri]

(on the gamercard) Does the gamer rep start you off at 3 stars?

Yeah, I read somewhere that when you transfer an Xbox accound to 360, the stars appear. I think three stars is just normal, but you can go up or down from there depending on how many praises or complaints you get. I'm playing in the 'Recreation' area myself (instead of Pro, Underground or Family) and so I expect to only give negative feedback in extreme cases.

[GatecrasheR]

Sweet man, sounds like you had an all-around pretty good time tinkering with it. Thanks for in hands-on info. Mabey after you get a week or so under your belt and another game you could update us...

[CompGeek]

Darn, I was thinking you were the first to figure out how to "make love" to it

[Perfect Sin]

Don't we have a 360 hardware/game review section now? Shouldn't this be in there? Or does the "hands-on" factor leave it out...

[yang_wan1]

except you started with the best game available for the system. COD2 is nice, graphics are good, sound is exellent, it handles very good, and the game is intense. It is the game that the devs promised. However, none of the other games are what was promised and if you had one of the other games, say PGR3, I bet you would have not have been so happy. Go try one of the other games and tell me what you think.

[acecombatfan]

Thats is cool
i would end up with 5 stars!

[Amadeus]

[...] if you had one of the other games, say PGR3, I bet you would have not have been so happy.

I really wish I could say the word I felt like saying right now. . .

Every single review i've seen (from pro reviewers AND lucky friends) for PGR3 has been overwhelmingly positive, so how could that possibly be?

Hell, they even said Perfect Dark 0 is a fantastic game, and that game's supposed to suck, remember?

[CompGeek]

[...] if you had one of the other games, say PGR3, I bet you would have not have been so happy.

I really wish I could say the word I felt like saying right now. . .

Every single review i've seen (from pro reviewers AND lucky friends) for PGR3 has been overwhelmingly positive, so how could that possibly be?

Hell, they even said Perfect Dark 0 is a fantastic game, and that game's supposed to suck, remember?

The graphics do suck if xbox 360 is capable of what people say it is.

[Perfect Sin]

IGN's review isn't saying its a "fantastic game" 8.4 from them, and Kameo was an 8.4 from them also, PGR3 got an 8.8.

A fantastic game would be a strong storyline and exceptional AI, but PD0 doesn't do that to the best in single player. Now if we talked about Multiplayer than i'd be singing a different tune.

You say how PD0 should be the killer app for the 360 but COD2 was the only 360 game to get a 9.0...

[Pink]

IGN's review isn't saying its a "fantastic game" 8.4 from them, and Kameo was an 8.4 from them also, PGR3 got an 8.8.

A fantastic game would be a strong storyline and exceptional AI, but PD0 doesn't do that to the best in single player. Now if we talked about Multiplayer than i'd be singing a different tune.

You say how PD0 should be the killer app for the 360 but COD2 was the only 360 game to get a 9.0...

IGN has different opinions then everyone else on this world. Just because they say the game is a 8.8 it doesn't mean that they game doesn't have all those features to another person.

[udontneed2know]

Everybody says that about IGN but then when they give a strong review to a 360 game I'm sure that will go right out of the window Pink. " Oh look IGN gave Mass Effect a 9.5 ". Always like that. People talk crap about 1ups reviews until they give PGR3 a 10. People talk crap about Gamespot reviews until they give a really strong one to a game they semi-liked.

Always like that with reviews these days. Hate em if you dont agree.

[Aleman]

PD0 is an Xbox Live killer app if you ask me. Almost all the reviews say the multiplayer, co-op, and graphics are outstanding, it's just that the storyline, character development, and some of the level design is lacking. That sounds an awful lot like the original Halo (anyone up for playing the Library? Didn't think so).

So in other words, PD0 is fine for what it needs to be. Don't buy it (or any FPS these days, really) if you're looking primarily for a single player experience.

[Steroyd]

So in other words, PD0 is fine for what it needs to be. Don't buy it (or any FPS these days, really) if you're looking primarily for a single player experience.

this is a classic example of what i don't want to see next gen.

No wonder MS is boasting about trying to get 50% of people to subscribe to XBL, most of the games are truley great in online.

When MS hypes up a game, it comes with a catch, XBL is where it's best, i feel sorry for the poor saps who are trying to get their Xbox 360's online at the moment, the problems are probably solved already though.

I hope i don't continue to see this trend on either platforms, or next gen will piss me off bad style.

[Nstriker20]

IGN's review isn't saying its a "fantastic game" 8.4 from them, and Kameo was an 8.4 from them also, PGR3 got an 8.8.

A fantastic game would be a strong storyline and exceptional AI, but PD0 doesn't do that to the best in single player. Now if we talked about Multiplayer than i'd be singing a different tune.

You say how PD0 should be the killer app for the 360 but COD2 was the only 360 game to get a 9.0...

Depends on what site you look at. AT gamestop.com COD2 was a 8.8 and Perfect Dark Zero was a 9.0.

In the end it's up to the consumer to judge if that game was good or not.

Remember the rating systems of this games are opinions of individual people like you.

So it's up to you to decide what a game gets from a rating of 0-10.

[Chaptem]

My 36" 480p Standard RCA with component-ins looked gorgeous.

So you hooked it up through component?? and did you use the cables included in the premium pack?

[Aleman]

So in other words, PD0 is fine for what it needs to be. Don't buy it (or any FPS these days, really) if you're looking primarily for a single player experience.

this is a classic example of what i don't want to see next gen.

No wonder MS is boasting about trying to get 50% of people to subscribe to XBL, most of the games are truley great in online.

When MS hypes up a game, it comes with a catch, XBL is where it's best, i feel sorry for the poor saps who are trying to get their Xbox 360's online at the moment, the problems are probably solved already though.

I hope i don't continue to see this trend on either platforms, or next gen will piss me off bad style.

Dude... the 360 is all about online multiplayer gaming. That's obviously not your style, so why do you keep posting in this section? Honestly...

[Steroyd]

So in other words, PD0 is fine for what it needs to be. Don't buy it (or any FPS these days, really) if you're looking primarily for a single player experience.

this is a classic example of what i don't want to see next gen.

No wonder MS is boasting about trying to get 50% of people to subscribe to XBL, most of the games are truley great in online.

When MS hypes up a game, it comes with a catch, XBL is where it's best, i feel sorry for the poor saps who are trying to get their Xbox 360's online at the moment, the problems are probably solved already though.

I hope i don't continue to see this trend on either platforms, or next gen will piss me off bad style.

Dude... the 360 is all about online multiplayer gaming. That's obviously not your style, so why do you keep posting in this section? Honestly...

hey if MS really wanted to be number one in the console market they have to ditch that attitude.

okay i like online gaming there i said it, but i'm kinda limited at the moment, so a subscription would kill me.
i'm a tad pissed how games rely on a online multi-player aspect to be great when most of the people who actually buy the game won't go online.

tailored for the hardcore, and that's the attitude MS must stop if they want to even equal Sony.

I post here because i care.

MS want to be number one, i'm pointing out the faults, the internets already doing the "i told ya so" dance for me.

i'm not confined to one console, and i think it's all a big con to get your money, despite the games it's just interesting at the lengths people go to defend their console no matter how much of a rip-off it is, and how many *bleep* ups they do, it's unbelievable.

No matter how great the games are on the console can you justify paying the high price?

I never got a PS2 until GTA:VC came out, and i got a bundle with a PS2 memory card and an extra Controller with GTA:VC packaged as well all for £150 (it was christmas .

No way was i getting a PS2 at an amazing £200+ even though it had a DVD drive the PS2 was a con at £250 without a memory card or a game, and no extra controller.
Xbox was sort of worth the £200 price tag because of built-in hard drive, but the catch was that stupid DVD remote update thing you had to buy before you could play DVD's.

Don't usually buy consoles at launch don't intend to start either, if they're in the shops, they're in the shops (my motto) non of that pre-oredering crapness.

nowadays Console's are worth the hefty price tag now, but i still don't think that in America the Xbox 360 should be at $400 spells RIP-OFF to me, seeing what the PS3 can do it's like a computer which justifies the $300+ price tag, but sorta rip-off if you had to have a hard drive to use the feautres (i.e web browsing).

[wrathofall]

Just a side note: Has anyone played CoD 2 on the PC AND the 360? I have and it's a direct port over. The graphics are only slightly crisper than my PC (and I don't have a high end PC by any means). Next gen should not be same gen PC. Don't get me wrong, I have high hopes for the 360. But, M$ was in such a rush to get the 360 to market, that they had to rely on port over's just to have more games at launch time. PATHETIC!!! CoD 2 is a great game. Period. Whether it's on a PC or on a console. But, it is definitely NOT next gen.

[exodus7]

But, it is definitely NOT next gen.

I thought "next gen" is any game released on a new console, not some expression of comparing a game to something that doesn't exist....

[Aleman]

So in other words, PD0 is fine for what it needs to be. Don't buy it (or any FPS these days, really) if you're looking primarily for a single player experience.

this is a classic example of what i don't want to see next gen.

No wonder MS is boasting about trying to get 50% of people to subscribe to XBL, most of the games are truley great in online.

When MS hypes up a game, it comes with a catch, XBL is where it's best, i feel sorry for the poor saps who are trying to get their Xbox 360's online at the moment, the problems are probably solved already though.

I hope i don't continue to see this trend on either platforms, or next gen will piss me off bad style.

Dude... the 360 is all about online multiplayer gaming. That's obviously not your style, so why do you keep posting in this section? Honestly...

hey if MS really wanted to be number one in the console market they have to ditch that attitude.

okay i like online gaming there i said it, but i'm kinda limited at the moment, so a subscription would kill me.
i'm a tad pissed how games rely on a online multi-player aspect to be great when most of the people who actually buy the game won't go online.

tailored for the hardcore, and that's the attitude MS must stop if they want to even equal Sony.

I post here because i care.

MS want to be number one, i'm pointing out the faults, the internets already doing the "i told ya so" dance for me.

i'm not confined to one console, and i think it's all a big con to get your money, despite the games it's just interesting at the lengths people go to defend their console no matter how much of a rip-off it is, and how many *bleep* ups they do, it's unbelievable.

No matter how great the games are on the console can you justify paying the high price?

I never got a PS2 until GTA:VC came out, and i got a bundle with a PS2 memory card and an extra Controller with GTA:VC packaged as well all for £150 (it was christmas .

No way was i getting a PS2 at an amazing £200+ even though it had a DVD drive the PS2 was a con at £250 without a memory card or a game, and no extra controller.
Xbox was sort of worth the £200 price tag because of built-in hard drive, but the catch was that stupid DVD remote update thing you had to buy before you could play DVD's.

Don't usually buy consoles at launch don't intend to start either, if they're in the shops, they're in the shops (my motto) non of that pre-oredering crapness.

nowadays Console's are worth the hefty price tag now, but i still don't think that in America the Xbox 360 should be at $400 spells RIP-OFF to me, seeing what the PS3 can do it's like a computer which justifies the $300+ price tag, but sorta rip-off if you had to have a hard drive to use the feautres (i.e web browsing).

It's at $400 b/c lots of people are willing to buy it at $400. For the people that can't afford $400, there's the Core model. Not too hard to understand.

It's obvious that MS has a big focus on online. I mean, seriously, you can receive Xbox Live game invites while you're watching DVD's. Who cares if that doesn't appeal to everyone? If it appeals to you, buy it, simple as that. I personally don't care how they do financially, all I care about is having a good time. That's why I'm buying a PS3 too, cause I like the games and I plan on getting into some single player gaming with it (esp. Heavenly Sword)

[Coola]

Hmm.. I'm not sure whether the single player experiences are terribily bad or it's just that the multiplayer experiences are just that good. But in anycase, sounds like you had a blast with the system. Can't wait to get mine and play some pgr3, hardcore style.

[Steroyd]

It's at $400 b/c lots of people are willing to buy it at $400. For the people that can't afford $400, there's the Core model. Not too hard to understand.

It's obvious that MS has a big focus on online. I mean, seriously, you can receive Xbox Live game invites while you're watching DVD's. Who cares if that doesn't appeal to everyone? If it appeals to you, buy it, simple as that. I personally don't care how they do financially, all I care about is having a good time. That's why I'm buying a PS3 too, cause I like the games and I plan on getting into some single player gaming with it (esp. Heavenly Sword)

are you saying for everything that the Xbox 360 can do it's worth $400?

a games machine should cost your average $300 or less which is what Nintendo's console is, a games machine.

MS set a goal to do better than Sony and turn the Xbox division ino profit, sucking the people who want to play games dry, MS said they want to have a wide appeal well they're not doing that.

I say these things based on what MS have said.

Seems to me gamers are paying a high price on something just to play games.
The core system is also a rip off as well, i'm starting this little rant.

For the people that can't afford $400, there's the Core model. Not too hard to understand.

HA i laugh at that remark this is the run down of UK prices.

If people ever get the core (which people will undoubtably get because the Xbox 360 is soooo popular ) you've got nothing to save games with, resulting in buying a £25 memory unit for someone who has "choice" like J Allard suggests not much of it there, and that kid has to buy a game, and if he wants to get another pad he'd have to get one for £33 a charger for £15, so basically that's a £48 price tag on your first controller, and an additional £10 per battery.

J Allard claims it's for choice but even the core pack you don't have much choice in it, because like the PS2 you have to buy a seperate peripheral before you can even think about playing your games.

publically it sounds economical the core version but it also spells rip-off, £280 doesn't sound too bad in UK so i can't complain much about that, but it's the stuff you have to do to get the features MS have been glamourising.

£48 for an Extra wireless controller geez!!
I wonder how much a Xbox 360 game is worth.

even the core package your going to end up paying as much as the premium package in the end, where exactly have you saved money?

[Aleman]

Yea, $400 is definitely worth it for a console that will last 4-5 years. $400 can't even buy you the highest end PC video card, and that probably needs to be upgraded within three years. That's not even considering the CPU and other components. Also don't forget about inflation. $400 today isn't $400 in 2001.

And yea, you have to buy memory cards for the $300 core system, but how is that any different than having to buy memory cards for a $300 PS2 back when it launched? Get a grip.