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Macpilot · Aug 9, 2006, 02:59 AM

So I decided that I was not going to wait any longer for the PS3, and also decided that the inclusion of Blu Ray was no longer important to me since I don't plan on replacing all my DVDs with Blu Ray versions. Plus the consensus is that the Live system is awesome.

Bought a 360 today and have been buying games on eBay. Researched some game review sites and came up with this group of games to get started:

Burnout Revenge
Rumble Roses (yes, just for the eye candy!)
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
Blazing Angels
The Outfit

Any more that I should get?

Getting a Westinghouse 40" HDTV LCD in a few days to hook up the Xbox to.

So I am looking for any advice on usage of the 360. I was a little shocked by the limited warranty. Talk about limited! 3 months!

The best buy guy warned me that lots of these units have overheating problems. What has your experience been?

Any tips of which way to position the unit? I would think vertically would be better for heat issues, but how does the disc drive perform this way?

Should I get some kind of extended warranty? Bought it with my AMEX so that doubles the 3 months, but 6 months is still weak.

What about streaming stuff from your Mac? I know the answer is probably it does not work, but just thought I would ask.

Thanks guys!

screamingFit · Aug 9, 2006, 04:12 AM

Dead Rising looks like a lot of fun. Mmmmm...zombies...

air · Aug 9, 2006, 08:30 AM

yeah. mine overheats in about an hour. It stand vertical, but is in a cabinet enclosure. Even with the cabinet doors open, it overheats. I reccommend buying one of those attachment fan things, however I dont have any experience with owning one.

Also, ever since I bought my xbox 360, i use it 1000x less than I used my original xbox. Weird.

wowway1 · Aug 9, 2006, 08:41 AM

I've had mine since launch with no overheating issues. The power brick even sits behind the entertainment stand next to a very large powered subwoofer.

Saints Row is looking incredibly fun. Make sure you get the latest XBL arcade titles that tickle your fancy (It's nice to play galaga from my couch). I like perfect dark zero for online.

No exp. hookingup to a mac but works GREAT with my media center PC in my den.

Landos Mustache · Aug 9, 2006, 09:36 AM

I got mine on the day of launch. The unit crashed a few times so I retuned it when they got new ones 2 weeks later.

I have had my new unit for 8 months and it has only crashed ONCE with heavy use. That is better than my gamecube.

Mine is in a stereo shelf on its side with an open front and back. I put the power brick on another shelf behind a speaker and made sure it had good air flow. No problems what so ever.

The 360 is honestly the best system I have ever used. I love everything about it, even the design. The controller is the best I have ever used, the interface is great, the online demo's, gamercard etc are some of the best things ever to happen to games.

In the end it will pretty much be equal to the PS3 anyway as by the time it ships the games will be second gen and look even better than they do now.

As for warranty I got the official Xbox one for $50. Bust buy etc warrantys are scams to say the least.

Games I recommend.... Kamio (mario like with more variety) and Condemned.

Condemned is one of the best games I have ever played. Scares the living hell out of me when it is in surround sound. I played it though 3 times because i enjoyed it so much.

Avoid perfect dark, it is really really bad.

You can add me as a friend if you like: Silly Hoe

Get this app so your Mac works perfectly with the 360. It is really amazing how easy it is and how well it works:

http://www.nullriver.com/index/products/connect360

jonasmac · Aug 9, 2006, 10:48 AM

I just got a 360 as well. I started with Call of Duty 2, which is pretty fun. The only problem is that COD2 doesn't allow guests to play with you online. I play mostly sports games, so I'm waiting for Madden and NBA Live to come out later this year. Currently, I'm playing Rockstar Table Tennis and TopSpin 2. Of course, I also play Halo 2. Next up for me is GRAW. You guys can add me if you want: guamie mac

I LOVE my 360. No issues in the 2 weeks I've owned it. I'll check out those other games you guys mentioned.

kaze0 · Aug 9, 2006, 10:50 AM

dudes, if you are having overheating problems why dont you get the system fixed. Even in less than ideal circumstances, they arent supposed to overheat.

Eug · Aug 9, 2006, 10:56 AM

Connect 360 rox. I stream music all the time from my iMac. It's well worth the small registration fee, as long as you have a reasonably fast connection speed. (I had a 1 Mbps no-configure-wireless connection which worked, but sometimes had a sound dropout at the beginning of a song for a split second. Upgraded to a 802.11a/g setup and the dropouts went away.)

Sadly, I don't use my Xbox 360 much for games much these days, and I have several. Looking forward to the HD-DVD add-in at Xmas though... that is if they get some better content out.

BTW, my 360 NEVER overheats. When I was using it for games more, I'd play PGR3 for 3 hours straight with no problems whatsoever.

Landos Mustache · Aug 9, 2006, 10:57 AM

If you like FPS try out Pray. It is pretty damn good.

Eug · Aug 9, 2006, 10:58 AM

Quake 4 seems pretty stupid. Luckily there is a demo.

Landos Mustache · Aug 9, 2006, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by Eug

Quake 4 seems pretty stupid.

It is.

Download the dead rising demo. it is getting good reviews.

mdc · Aug 9, 2006, 11:57 AM

Dead Rising started shipping yesterday, I'm going during my lunch hour today to buy it.
The demo was really fun.

Multiplayer wise, we play Fight Night all the time when people come over, it's really great.
Street Fighter (bought off xbox live arcade) is really fun.

You can add me as a friend (as anyone else who wants to). cosentino is my gamertag.

itai195 · Aug 9, 2006, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by air

yeah. mine overheats in about an hour. It stand vertical, but is in a cabinet enclosure. Even with the cabinet doors open, it overheats.

Have you called Microsoft? This is definitely not normal.

To the OP, Best Buy employees will come up with all sorts of lies to try to get you to buy an extended warranty. Though I don't know for sure, I suspect this is because they're rewarded and evaluated based on how many warranties they sell. Burnout Revenge is good, but the price has been reduced so shop around. You probably can find it for $30 or less. PGR3 is probably still my personal favorite game on 360.

Eug · Aug 9, 2006, 12:16 PM

Be careful with the Westinghouse LCD: Lots of reports of bugs with their LCDs. I don't know if the latest firmwares correct the firmware issues, but there are also reports of corner light bleed and uneven lighting with some models, and those issues are not firmware correctable obviously.

OTOH, the reports also say that if you get a good one, it's a stellar bang for the buck.

JohnM15141 · Aug 9, 2006, 01:08 PM

I've had mine for 7 months. I keep it in a cabinet laying flat with little airflow. No overheat yet even during the recent heat waves.

I did not really appreciate it until I got an HDTV. Until then it was just another video game console, not bad, but not spectacular. Now I have a 40"LCD, and it looks incredible it is definately spectacular now! I truly enjoy playing games on it. I run it mainly at 1080i but 720P looks just as good.

I even use it to watch DVD's albeit at 480P but they look great too.

I heard soon there will be a reasonably priced HD-DVD external drive for the Xbox 360. Can't wait for that to watch HD quality DVD's.

Dark_Lotus · Aug 9, 2006, 02:05 PM

The discs are hard to put in while the console is vertical, but i think its worth it, major spacesaver.

SShoot3r · Aug 9, 2006, 10:34 PM

i have a 360, although i dont have live for it, it is still loads of fun.

demograph68 · Aug 9, 2006, 11:58 PM

Is Dead Rising similar to Resident Evil 4?

Landos Mustache · Aug 10, 2006, 09:00 AM

Originally Posted by demograph68

Is Dead Rising similar to Resident Evil 4?

No. You can watch a video review on IGN. It looks pretty neat because of the Xbox horsepower they have like 100 zombies on the screen at one time. Visuals are rather impressive.

http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/7...96/vids_1.html

The game is more GTAish as you don't exactly have levels but one big world with lots of things to do.

mdc · Aug 10, 2006, 09:26 AM

I bought it yesterday and it is really fun.

You start off the game with 72 hours to survive. In those 72 hours you can do whatever you want. If you want to run around alone killing zombies then fine, but eventually the time will run out and you will not have learnt anything about the zombies.
You could then play the 72 hours doing the little 'tasks' that you are given; which help you understand what is going on and it progresses the story.

It's really neat, and according to the manual you can unlock an unlimited time mode.

Landos Mustache · Aug 10, 2006, 09:58 AM

Originally Posted by mdc

I bought it yesterday and it is really fun.

You start off the game with 72 hours to survive. In those 72 hours you can do whatever you want. If you want to run around alone killing zombies then fine, but eventually the time will run out and you will not have learnt anything about the zombies.
You could then play the 72 hours doing the little 'tasks' that you are given; which help you understand what is going on and it progresses the story.

It's really neat, and according to the manual you can unlock an unlimited time mode.

What does one have to learn from a zombie anyway?

Gossamer · Aug 10, 2006, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by Landos Mustache

What does one have to learn from a zombie anyway?

You could learn to love the taste of human blood.

That's a neat idea, but 72 hours is a long time!

Landos Mustache · Aug 10, 2006, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by Gossamer

You could learn to love the taste of human blood.

That's a neat idea, but 72 hours is a long time!

I think it is 5 minutes of the game is 1 minute real life.

Daracle · Aug 10, 2006, 12:27 PM

I love my 360 and have not had any problems with over heating but I did have some hardware fial on it but MS took care of it in a matter of 3 days.
The dead rising demo is super fun and it wont be long before I pick up the game myself.

Also, Prey is great!

My Gamertag is Darac1e

Macpilot · Aug 10, 2006, 12:38 PM

Wow. Thanks for all the input guys!

Yeah, that Dead Rising looks bitchin. Gonna pick that up too.

Sent a check to MS for their warranty. $60 covers it for 2 years.

Got the games for lots less than retail on eBay.

What is the deal with Grand Theft Auto for xbox 360? That would be awesome.

ort888 · Aug 10, 2006, 12:46 PM

Comes out in October 2007. Saints Row is coming out soon, but looks to be an uninspired knock-off.

Gossamer · Aug 10, 2006, 01:18 PM

Originally Posted by Landos Mustache

I think it is 5 minutes of the game is 1 minute real life.

Ah...that would make way more sense, as that cuts game time down to about 14.5 hours, which is very doable.

itai195 · Aug 10, 2006, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by ort888

Comes out in October 2007. Saints Row is coming out soon, but looks to be an uninspired knock-off.

Wasn't that game originally due out in early Spring? A release back then, closer to the console's launch, probably would have improved the game's image.... worked wonders for The Outfit.

aquadogus · Aug 10, 2006, 03:18 PM

I recently got a 360 and I'm ready to get a new TV. I was thinking about a 42" plasma, but I've heard you have to worry about burn in.

Any suggestions?

Landos Mustache · Aug 10, 2006, 03:35 PM

Originally Posted by aquadogus

I recently got a 360 and I'm ready to get a new TV. I was thinking about a 42" plasma, but I've heard you have to worry about burn in.

Any suggestions?

Yes. Don't get a plazma. Their sales are going down recently also.

Get a Sony LCD.

aquadogus · Aug 10, 2006, 04:48 PM

Thanks.

The LCD's start getting a little expensive when you get to a bigger size. I heard that with the LCD's some of the screens aren't fast enough, and you get some ghosting. Is this still a problem?

Landos Mustache · Aug 10, 2006, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by aquadogus

Thanks.

The LCD's start getting a little expensive when you get to a bigger size. I heard that with the LCD's some of the screens aren't fast enough, and you get some ghosting. Is this still a problem?

Under 40" LCD is cheaper. Over 40 plasma is. Problem is plasma's are no good for games.

Ghosting is no longer a problem for a while now.

You should also look at LCD rear projection. Not as flat as Plasma's or LCD's but better picture, larger sizes and cheep.

n8236 · Aug 11, 2006, 07:26 AM

I HIGHLY suggest you buy a fan cooler for your 360. They are sold at Best Buy. It basically attaches to the rear of your xbox to help it dissipate the massive amount of heat. If you haven't already realized, it's the closest console to be a personal butt warmer and it beats the mbp heat hands down.

Many people I know already started to have a defective if not already defective 360 because of the poor heat ventilation.

Landos Mustache · Aug 11, 2006, 09:04 AM

Originally Posted by n8236

I HIGHLY suggest you buy a fan cooler for your 360. They are sold at Best Buy. It basically attaches to the rear of your xbox to help it dissipate the massive amount of heat. If you haven't already realized, it's the closest console to be a personal butt warmer and it beats the mbp heat hands down.

Many people I know already started to have a defective if not already defective 360 because of the poor heat ventilation.

I think that is over doing it. I mean Microsoft did not design these things to crash or overheat without an add on. In the beginning there was some defective units which was within industry norms and it got overblown on the internet as usual.

Me and countless others all run the Xbox as is with no problems at all. Mine even sits by the radiator and it is problem free.

brassplayersrock² · Aug 12, 2006, 03:44 PM

my tip: don't rent it out to friends for money.

Alex

Macpilot · Aug 20, 2006, 03:24 AM

Well, my 360 is running flawlessly so far. The interface is great, the controller is great, I could go on and on. The people in charge of this thing at MS should be taken to the Windows team to beat their asses into shape!

The Westinghouse TV is awesome. Perfect picture. No problems. Super bright and sharp. Regular DVDs look amazing. Great deal for $1300.

Really looking forward to Dead Rising.

My tag is macpilot145. See you guys online!

finboy · Aug 20, 2006, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by screamingFit

Dead Rising looks like a lot of fun. Mmmmm...zombies...

Yes, 9.3 million prestige points (XP) later, it is STILL a lot of fun. Still CAPCOM though, so the dialog, plot, and controls all suck wind. You get used to them.

finboy · Aug 20, 2006, 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by Landos Mustache

Under 40" LCD is cheaper. Over 40 plasma is. Problem is plasma's are no good for games.

Ghosting is no longer a problem for a while now.

You should also look at LCD rear projection. Not as flat as Plasma's or LCD's but better picture, larger sizes and cheep.

From what I understand, LCDs will burn in too. DLP works well.

Severed Hand of Skywalker · Aug 20, 2006, 12:56 PM

Originally Posted by finboy

From what I understand, LCDs will burn in too. DLP works well.

LCD's and DLP's do not burn.

MaxPower2k3 · Aug 20, 2006, 01:01 PM

Originally Posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker

LCD's and DLP's do not burn.

LCDs can, but not the same way CRTs/Plasmas do. It's not permanent, but if you leave a static image up on the screen for a while, it can leave a "ghost" of itself that takes a little while to fade after the image changes. I've seen Apple displays where, if you leave a Safari window up for ~5 seconds and then close it, the image is so burned in that you can still read the web page for about 30 seconds after you close the window. That's not normal, obviously (and it's most apparent on solid color backgrounds) but it does happen.

Severed Hand of Skywalker · Aug 20, 2006, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by MaxPower2k3

LCDs can, but not the same way CRTs/Plasmas do. It's not permanent, but if you leave a static image up on the screen for a while, it can leave a "ghost" of itself that takes a little while to fade after the image changes. I've seen Apple displays where, if you leave a Safari window up for ~5 seconds and then close it, the image is so burned in that you can still read the web page for about 30 seconds after you close the window. That's not normal, obviously (and it's most apparent on solid color backgrounds) but it does happen.

Yes I knew that but it is so unusual for that to happen to a TV it isn't even worth mentioning especially since it quickly fades.

I have never seen it on an LCD TV's. The manufactures say it requires at least 24 hours of the same image for anything to happen.

If you have an image on your TV for that long you got problems other than burn in.

pyrite · Aug 20, 2006, 10:49 PM

my advice for games: burnout revenge, oblivion, PGR3, rockstar table tennis, (yes, table tennis!) and dead or alive 4.. COD2 rocks too. burnout's given me the most mileage, brilliant

ort888 · Aug 21, 2006, 09:13 AM

I'm playing through Dead Rising for a second time now and I'm having just as much fun as the first time. This is my favorite 360 game by far.

People have complained about the save system and other various things, but I don't have any problem with the way they did it. It's old school hard, and I love that.

Landos Mustache · Aug 21, 2006, 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by ort888

I'm playing through Dead Rising for a second time now and I'm having just as much fun as the first time. This is my favorite 360 game by far.

People have complained about the save system and other various things, but I don't have any problem with the way they did it. It's old school hard, and I love that.

OK I got the demo but what the hell am I supposed to do in it? Just kill zombies?

Cuz the second I go into some rooms or outside the demo ends.

ort888 · Aug 21, 2006, 09:25 AM

Yeah, the demo is just for screwing around and killing zombies. I loved the demo.

I would say that anyone who loves the demo will love the game, and anyone who hates the demo will probably hate the game. It's probably not for everyone.

Landos Mustache · Aug 21, 2006, 09:40 AM

Originally Posted by ort888

Yeah, the demo is just for screwing around and killing zombies. I loved the demo.

I would say that anyone who loves the demo will love the game, and anyone who hates the demo will probably hate the game. It's probably not for everyone.

So far I pretty much hated the demo.

Looked cool though.

ort888 · Aug 23, 2006, 09:42 AM

Here's a good tip... for the next 48 hours, you can download Texas Hold 'Em for free from Xbox Live. After 48 hours, it goes up to $10 bucks.

Even if you hate poker, you might as well get it when it is free.

Landos Mustache · Aug 23, 2006, 11:44 AM

Originally Posted by ort888

Here's a good tip... for the next 48 hours, you can download Texas Hold 'Em for free from Xbox Live. After 48 hours, it goes up to $10 bucks.

Even if you hate poker, you might as well get it when it is free.

I heard about that. I don't know how to play poker but perhaps I will grab it for one of my friends.

jonasmac · Aug 23, 2006, 03:20 PM

Originally Posted by ort888

Here's a good tip... for the next 48 hours, you can download Texas Hold 'Em for free from Xbox Live. After 48 hours, it goes up to $10 bucks.

Even if you hate poker, you might as well get it when it is free.

Cool, thanks for the tip!

screamingFit · Aug 28, 2006, 06:40 AM

Well, in a fit of boredom Saturday night, I thought it would be a good idea to buy a 360. I'm not so sure now that that was a good idea.

1) First time on XBOX Live. While the online stuff looks cool like downloading demos and stuff, I tried to do an online Burnout race. Took 15 minutes until I got in a race as people would continually kick me out. NOT cool. If I feel the need to play online racing against 13 year old sugar infused children, I want to do it NOW. Not in 5 minutes, not in 15 minutes.

Let it be known now that I hate playing online against people and XBOX Live has not made the experience any better, therefore, no reason for a Gold account.

2) Marketplace. They've gotta be outta their ever loving mind. $5.00 for a straight port of Galaga? Couple bucks for AN ICON?? This is beginning to feel more and more like a bought a razor.

3) Gamer tags, points. OK. Maybe I'm not L33T enough, but I seriously don't understand what the point is to this other than to show how much of your life you've devoted to playing with your 360.

4) I rake Apple over the coals for this so don't think I'm just MS-bashing. 90 day warranty? Oh, I can add a two year through MS for $50. Again, feels like I bought a razor.

5) Though not loud, the thing is freakin' hot. Really freakin' hot. The temp in my living room (20' x 20') went up three degrees with it on.

6) Games are purty but really there's nothing really exciting going on here. Hoped Dead Rising was going to be cool - no. Saints Row? Oh, look - GTA but with sterotypical gangsta-flava - yawn. Everything else just seems like a rehash with better graphics. Not so much the fault of the system but lazy game designers and publishers. It's a sad day when the best game I've played so far on the 360 is Geometry Wars.

7) Was bummed I couldn't put in a disc full of .avi files and play them back through the media player. Guess I still need to hang on to the XBMC enabled XBOX.

What's good about the system?

1) The controller is really good.

2) Getting it online was a snap.

3) iPod integration was so seamless, it felt very "Apple".

4) Build in DVD playing was pretty good.

5) The visulaizations were cool. I do think they need to add some more through Marketplace, though.

6) The 5.1 game sound was great and being able to run games at 1080i on a projector was good. Finally, it seems that having such a A/V system has been put to it's full capability.

I really think this system just ain't gonna do it for me at $400. Maybe in awhile when it hits $200, I won't feel quite as bad at spending the money as I do now. I just don't see where it's worth it to me - I'm not getting $400+ worth of entertainment. Plus the continual paying money for online experiences or kewl new icons just leaves me feeling dirty and ripped off.