Planning on getting an Xbox 360?

Question

I already have a Wii, which I love. But I do admit that due to its weaknesses (mainly the controls and lack of decent online support) I decided that I should have a 360 also. I never owned a Xbox console (only a PS2 back in the day), so Im not sure how it works. So I guess I have a few questions.

1. How important is the size of the GB? Do I need it to save game files to? And is it used to store games downloaded from Xbox Live? I dont want a Arcade model (the $199 one) because I feel its too small. Is the $299 one a decent model?

2. Do the new 360s still succumb to the "red ring of death" or does that only apply to older models?

3. Do you experience a lot of lag when playing a game online? Are there ever other connection issues, such as trouble getting a game started, or the game booting you out.

4. What about games? I looked through and saw a bunch of games that looked good, and that had high ratings from various sites, but what does everyone here prefer.

5. Which is the better series: Rock Band or Guitar Hero? Whats the main difference? Is it just the tracks?

Thanks for all your help guys. I appreciate it.

Answer 1

1. You should get an xbox360 with a harddrive. It's much better in order to get the optimal gaming experience which does include saving game data. The $299 is a great model. I've had it for 2 years and it still works like new.



2. In my opinion the RROD is overrated. I have two xbox360's. One from December 2007. And one is from January 2005. Neither has ever gotten the RROD. It's just a matter of taking care of the xbox..like you care about it.



3. I never have problems with a game booting me out. There will always be little connection time outs here and there because it is the internet. When I connected my xbox directly to my modem I never ever had lagging issues. Now I connect it through my laptop and use my laptops wireless connect and I do experience some connection issues here and there but it's still great.



4. My favorites are: Halo 1, 2, 3(No Xbox Collection is Complete without it).

Bioshock(Best Scary Game).

Oblivion(Best RPG of it's time).

Madden 08(09).

Call of Duty 4(Best Shooter).

GTA IV(Best Story).

Guitar Hero.

Assassin's Creed(Amazing Graphics).



5. I've seen both. I've played only Guitar Hero. I know there's been a few malfunctions with equipment when it comes to Rock Band but overall they're both pretty good. Guitar Hero is good for single player but Rock Band seems like a lot of fun in a group. The songs are good in both.



Well good luck and have fun with your new xbox360! :)

Answer 2

1. Your GB size really depends on what exactly you want to do. If you're just using it for game saves, 20 gigs will be more then enough. If you plan on downloading a lot of videos from the 360's Video Marketplace, you may want to consider the 120 investment, as it adds a huge amount of space which you will need, especially if you download HD Video.



2. 360's Sold After March of 2008 have small hardware change and are less prone to the Red Ring of Death (RROD). The chance is still there, but it's very very unlikely now days, and even if you get it, you can send it in to Costumer Support and they replace your console free.



3. Lag for online play really depends on your connection, and what game you are playing. Certain games take a lot of connection to play lag-free, such as Halo 3, other games take barely any, such as Uno. Your "lag Free-ness" really depends on what kind of internet connection you have.



4. The Xbox 360 has the largest next-gen game variety and overall the best overall rating. Again though, it comes down to what games YOU like to play. Here are some of my personal suggestions.



Action/Shooter:

BioShock

Halo 3

Call of Duty 4

Gears of War 2



Online Multiplayer:

Call of Duty 4

Gears of War 2

Halo 3



RPG: (Role Playing Game)

BioShock

Fable 2

Oblivion Elder Scrolls IV

Grand Theft Auto IV



Racing:

Project Gotham Series

Dirt

Forza Motorsport Series



Family Friendly:

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Series

Lego Batman

Uno

Texas Hold'em



Sports:

Madden 09 Series

NBA 09 Series

Usually any EA SPORTS game, as they dominate competition in the sports market.



5. The difference between Rock Band and Guitar Hero is pretty big controversy right now, and asking which one is better is gonna cue the flamebait even more. I own both and personally prefer Rock Band. I think that they have a better track selection, along with an overall much more entertaining game play. Rock Band is in general much easier then Guitar Hero, and in my opinion this is what makes it so much more fun. I also love being able to sing, play drums, or strum the guitar. Guitar Hero: World Tour is coming out this Fall, but i doubt it will live up to the standard that rock band has set. In my opinion, Rock Band 2 is just more fun, and overall a better game.



Have fun with your new 360!

Answer 3

I don't own one yet, but because I will on Thursday, I've done endless research and found out the following:



1. The Arcade does not come with a hard drive, only a 256MB memory unit that you can use only to store your Xbox Live information and game saves on. If you have a hard drive - the Premium comes with a 60GB - then you can also download game demos and videos from the Xbox Marketplace, as well as download the upcoming New Xbox Experience update in November. 60GB is a pretty good-sized drive, and you should be able to store plenty before you run out of space. Remember, you can also store music on the drive ripped from CDs and play it.



2. Most of the new 360s have a much lower failure rate compared to the older models thanks to many redesigned components. Or so I've heard. Do a little research to make sure.



3. I wouldn't know, but I've heard Live is pretty decent, and the only time you might experience trouble is on a slow connection such as low-speed DSL. If you have cable, you should be fine. Don't even try dial-up.



4. The most popular games are things like Call of Duty 4, Gears Of War 2, Halo 3, and others. Ask around or search.



5. Rock Band generally requires you to have all the instruments, and Guitar Hero could only play with one or more guitars, but with the release of Guitar Hero: World Tour, you can have either just a guitar, or purchase additional instruments and play in a Rock Band-like mode with others.



Hope this helped. I'm looking forward to getting mine!

Answer 4

1.) Hard drive is not that important to me, about the only thing I need/use the hard drive for is demos, I would suggest you have at least the smallest version just in case (I have 30 GB), but a memory card works fine for arcade version.



2.) "Normally" it is only older models, I play mine in a apartment that is about 92 degrees for 6-8 hours at a time (I'm a poor college student, can't afford air condition). Mine still works fine, only had it for about a year in a half, but then again I might just have a good 360. I think MS has extended the warranty by 2 years in case it breaks, but I heard it takes a while to repair.



3.) To be honest, lag is not really a problem, of course there are still people out there with dial-up, I say about 95% have a decent connection. Xbox Live is not perfect, there are times when the game will freeze or crash during online play, but not often where I feel like I want my money back.



4.) Games are great, I have the old CTR TV, so I don't see the high-def graphics, but they still look great. I like various types of games, but I don't really have any suggestions, because I'm not sure what you would like. The way I pick my games is by high reviews, because I don't have tons of money. Chances are that you will like games that have high ratings, otherwise they shouldn't have high ratings.



5.) Rockband has more options and different tracks, but to me, they both are fun and are similar. I a lot of my friends like Guitar hero though.



Thank you, for saying thank you, most people don't have that courtesy.

Answer 5

Hiya =D



I bought an Xbox 360 2 weeks ago.



Here is what I did that I think will work best for you:



Go to www.bestbuy.com and look for the 20 GB xbox 360's (they sell them in like 1 out of 10 stores). Enter your zip code and if you find a store that actually has them, call to make sure and if it's yes go get it.



The reason why I think you should get the 20GB is because you save 40 dollars, and I don't think you really need all 60GB of memory.



If 40 dollars isn't much to you, get the 60GB.



20GB is a decent amount of storage, 60GB is enough to not ever worry about.



You can get a red ring of death, although I feel like the newer ones are getting less of them as time goes on.



I've never had lag or been booted out from any game I've ever played on xbox live ;)



I prefer Guitar hero more than rock band to tell you the truth.



The best games I think so far are:



Grand Theft Auto IV

Halo 3

Call of Duty 4

Call of Duty World at War (comes out November 11, I've been playing multiplayer beta)

Guitar Hero

Assassin's Creed

Mercenaries 2



that's about all I can think off of my head right now.



Good luck =D

Answer 6

1. the 20GB harddrive is more than enough memory you need. The $299 comes with the 20 GB harddrive.



2. I got my xbox 360 in christmas of 07 and i heard they suppose to have a lower chance of getting the Red Ring Of Death and so far i have no problems with it.



3. Lag issue and connection problems deals with your internet connection so that depends on how good your internet.



4. Well since you never had a xbox before you never played their exculsion titles like Fable, Gears, Halo, and Saints Row, which of course are microsoft best games to offer. I personally love playing Call of Duty 4 online. Here a list of some good games.



-Saints Row 2

-Fable 2

-Grand Theft Auto IV

-Halo 3

-Call of Duty World at Wars (comes out in nov.)

-Gears of War 2(comes out in nov.)



5. Sorry im not into Rock band or Guitar hero so I can't help you here.

Answer 7

1. Not very, as long as you don't download anything.

2. yes

3. That is up to your internet speed

4. irrelevant

5. tracks and guitar are different

Answer 8

I am perfectly hapy with my old- school nintendo!