09/05/2008 14:22:21

Sorry Imyrick, I passionately HATE Tom Clancy and his arrogant ass. Also counter-terrorism doesn't spin my wheels like slughtering aliens and zombies does.

09/05/2008 01:12:00

Hey man, I do have a 360 (Halo 3 special edition) the hard drive is important if you intend to download lots of old games to play.

09/04/2008 22:15:49

The stuff on XBox Live Arcade is so good, you'll want a hard drive to buy a couple of downloadable games.  And I'd bet that you'll eventually be interested in some downloadable content for disc games.

I initially bought the Core (the predecessor to the Arcade system).  No hard drive, no wireless controller.  Since then, I've purchased a hard drive as well as wireless controllers and embraced them both.  At this point I'd really recommend you splurge and at least get a Premium.

As for online play, I initally disregarded it too.  Then some of my friends got 360.  Suddenly I had good friends to play fun games with, and it became one of my favorite things.  It's really great when you have a standard crew to game with.  It's a lot like tabletop RPGs in that aspect.  Strangers?  Not so fun.

Get one with a hard drive and a wireless controller.  I think you'll be happy. 

09/04/2008 13:59:14

No problem. I hope that answered your question. And hey, online multiplayer is only good for certain games. But that's fine if its not your thing. Personally, I get most of my enjoyment from being offline anyway. But like I said, if you have any more questions or anything about XBox, please feel free to ask me. I was going to end this comment with the XBox 360 slogan, but "Jump in" is pretty lame. So I'll just end it like this.

09/04/2008 12:36:04

Thanks for the help! The game titles out there are the real reason for me to go with this system. Games like Gears of War, Black, Dead Rising and I think the other one is called Lost Planet. So there are plenty of titles to try out. As for playing online I'm sooooooooooooooooooo not interested. I don't need a paid membership to find out how many chodes inhabit the multiplayer online universe, WoW did that for me and I won't be going back.

09/04/2008 10:06:08

I purchased my Xbox 360 console one year ago because there was a very special game that I needed the Xbox to play. And if you look at the releases of the past year and the upcoming releases, then the Xbox is the best console to go with. It has some of the best exclusive titles, and has some of the best versions of the multiplatform games. No to mention an online experience/community second to none. It is the single best console for online play.

 

In terms of your questions, I have become a proud member of Xbox nation, and a very vocal supporter about it. So let me address them if you don't mind.

Hard Drive: i agree with the previous two posters. Get the hard drive. Sure, there are memory cards, but they don't compare to having a hard drive. My Xbox has a 20 GB hard drive, which I thought would be plenty, and it is. Your saves and most of the Downloadable Content (DLC) doesn't take up that much space. Demos and Xbox Original Games (games from the original Xbox system that you can purchase in full and store on your 360, playable without the discs), along with video, tend to take up a lot of the space. If you think you'll get a lot of TV shows, movies, videos, music, demos, xbox original games, etc., spring for the larger hard drive. I think they have an 80 GB, and the XBox Elite system comes with a 120 GB (though I think that would be REALLY hard to fill). In short, GET THE HARD DRIVE. You will thank yourself and not regret it.

Wireless Controller: In terms of the wireless, there are distinct advantages and disadvantages. Personally, I LOVE my wireless controllers. I could never go back to being tethered, and when I have to plug it into the system to charge, I feel so restrained. Plus, I am like a wireless freak. There's enough wires and cables connecting the rest of the stuff out the back, I don't want to have more hanging out the front. Yes, the cables for the wired controllers are long, but they are only about 6 feet. More often than not I find myself taking my controller with me (quite obliviously) when the phone rings or I have to go into another room, and I'll either carry the controller with me or take it halfway and leave it, and pick it up on the way back. I do agree you may want to try a wireless controller once. The way I look at it, the only disadvantage is having to charge it, but you can usually get a good 10-12 hours of gameplay out of a fully charged battery, maybe more. But hey, I'm a wireless junkie, I love wireless technology, I think that it is a huge advantage to not having the front of your system cluttered, and not having wires get in the way between you and your system. More often than not I remember tripping on or pulling on the wires of my old consoles and having them pull out or break of something. Wireless saves us all the hastle.

Rechargable Battery: If you're going to use the Wireless controller, get one of these. The battery packs that use AA's just aren't worth it, and you'll end up going through more batteries than the cost of this little accessory. The Play and Charge Kit (which lets you plug your controller into your console and charge while you continue to play the game) is the best investment in my opinion.

Xbox Live: You automatically get what is called a Silver membership when you buy the console, and a 1-month trial of the Gold. Basically, Silver lets you have a Gamercard and Gamertag (your online identity) on XBox Live, the 360's onlien community. I think you can basically just download some stuff and post achievements and things. But if you plan to play games online, any games using multiplayer online, then you're going to need to invest in the Gold Membership. I found that I stopped using it regularly when the game I bought it for I stopped playing regularly, and was thinking about canceliing it, but I just think its too good an investment, and not so demanding on the wallet. 50 dollars gets you a year's Gold membership. That's 4 dollars a month (albeit paid all at one time). And I'll tell you from personal experience, I've gotten my money's worth and then some. And then some more out of it. Definately reccommend if you want to have an online prescence, especially if your into online multiplayer.

Headset: Some of the higher end bundles (like my Special Edition Halo 3 bundle and the Elite) come with this. It's wired into your controller; there's a wireless version but it's 50 dollars; not actually a good buy, since the charge can die in the middle of a game, and then you can't use it while it charges. If you want to talk trash to your opponents or coordiante tactics with your teammates online, get one. But invest in the wired one, it's actually a better buy. And you won't have to recharge it. Ever.

Wireless Networking Adaptor: I found this to be the most extraneous purchase, but also the most neccessary. At 100 dollars, Microsoft is asking a hell of a lot for it, but it fits into the console perfectly, and is specifically configured for the 360. You're supposed to be able to use any USB wireless networking adaptor, but I tried it with a cheap one, and it just didn't work right. So I bit the bullet and handed over more money. And I've gotten my money's worth out of it ever since. If you don't have an ethernet connection near where your console is, and you have a wirelss network set up, then get this baby. It's worth the money for it to work properly. Had a few problems, but that's because my network is super-secure, so I need to configure the adaptor and my router at times. 

You really don't need anything else, unless you want like a recharging stand for the controller batteries that isn't tied into the console. Hmm...I can't really think of anything else you may want or need. If you have any more questions, just ask. I'll be happy to help you out. Here's hoping to see another new member of XBox Nation soon. And if you hurry, you can get your console in time for Fable II. There's a game you won't regret getting your Xbox 360 for. You know, unless you don't like RPGs or something.

Squish64

XBox Nation Public Relations and Recuitment

P.S. Just for your consideration, here's a few of my top XBox 360 titles that you may want to pick up (or at least play once) once you get your console. They are in no particular order:

Halo 3, Mass Effect, Gears of War, Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, Rock Band, Devil May Cry 4, Grand Theft Auto IV, Fable (Downloaded: XBox Original Game), Guitar Hero III, Soul Calubur IV, Lost Odyssey, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Ninja Gaiden II, Too Human

Just a few to get you started. Be on the lookout for titles like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Fable II.

09/04/2008 07:29:18

There are a couple of considerations here, the first being the hard drive.

Get the hard drive.  Hard drives are wonderful things, especially since once you have one, even a trivially sized one, you use it all the time.  Game saves have never been so simple.

Second, the controller, yes you can get wired controllers.  They are better in the sense that you don't ever have to charge them.  However, try a wireless controller, at least once.  You might find you like it.

--Shishire