So, I've decided that I want a 360.

[Dark Flash2099]

Well, on Saturday is when I'll go get it, and I really only have one game in mind right now for it (Marvel: Ultimate Alliance Gold) and one that I'm debating on (Call Of Duty 4). What I'm wondering is, is there any other suggestions for games for me to check out (besides Rock Band. I don't want to spend $150 on a game just yet).

[Thawmus]

Well, on Saturday is when I'll go get it, and I really only have one game in mind right now for it (Marvel: Ultimate Alliance Gold) and one that I'm debating on (Call Of Duty 4). What I'm wondering is, is there any other suggestions for games for me to check out (besides Rock Band. I don't want to spend $150 on a game just yet).

If you have any interest in playing 'Realms folk: Halo 3 and Gears of War

If you're looking for a good RPG: Mass Effect and Oblivion, I warn you to buy a brand NEW copy of Oblivion. Avoid used copies at all cost.

If you're looking for a great sandbox: Crackdown - you can probably buy it really cheap, now that the Halo 3 beta is long done with.

Dead Rising is pretty good. The control scheme is enough to make you kill your whole family and burn your own home to the ground, but outside of THAT, it's a great game.

I've heard some great things about Army Of Two, and I've been wanting to get my hands on it...just...money...yeah.... :(


As for XBL Arcade, I think most people have Uno. Best to wait on that until if and when you decide to buy the webcam, because it comes with the webcam, though.

I play Hardwood Spades sometimes.


There's quite a few other good ones out there like Orange Box, Call of Duty, stuff like that, but I haven't any experience with those.

[Dark Flash2099]

I was also thinking about Halo 3 before someone mentioned that CoD4 was much better. I'm wondering, though, which one better supports a "Rambo" play style?

[Thawmus]

I was also thinking about Halo 3 before someone mentioned that CoD4 was much better. I'm wondering, though, which one better supports a "Rambo" play style?

Well....define "Rambo"

If you mean jumping around and sticky-grenading vehicles, and getting in a tank and blowing stuff up, and slicing someone apart with an energy sword, Halo 3 is your game.

If you like your bullets to kill people, CoD4 is your game.

If you like a ####load of gore, a cover system, and *cough* awesome people to play with, Gears of War is your game.


Personally, I like Gears of War best, but I've never liked the CoD series. Halo 3 is fun in small doses.

Superfro and I play Gears pretty much whenever we can. Because a lot of the kids and griefers aren't there, you can actually run from spot to spot, and there's a lot of different strategies to employ. Seriously, I've had much more success with teamwork in Gears than with any other game.

I kinda hate Halo 3 multiplayer, but I'm kinda alone in that. I like co-op, though.

[Dark Flash2099]

By the "Rambo" play style, I mean charging forward with a huge machine gun mowing people down. Basically, think of any 80s action film with Stallone or Schwarzenegger.

[Thawmus]

By the "Rambo" play style, I mean charging forward with a huge machine gun mowing people down. Basically, think of any 80s action film with Stallone or Schwarzenegger.

I think all 3 will do that for you, really.

Halo 3 has many turrets that you can pick up and carry, and mow people down with. And there's always the Warthog turret. The Assault rifle will not get double kills for you. It has a very short clip, and you'll often find yourself smacking the person you've been shooting forever, to kill them, if you're not reloading. There's a lot of weapon options, though, and lots of different ways to get the job done.

CoD, dunno. I'd be shocked if there wasn't something in that game that you're looking for.

Gears of War...you can mow people down with the Lancer (machine gun with a chainsaw bayonet....it's messy), but I prefer to disintegrate people with the shotgun. There's a Troika turret, but it's only on one multiplayer map, and it's largely a death trap. Usually if I see someone on the turret, I lick my lips and try to find the sniper rifle.

You'd probably find what you're looking for in all three.

[Dark Flash2099]

I'm looking at online reviews and it seems CoD4 is the best of the three options. Also, it seems when I ask others the same question I asked here, I'm getting a resounding "CoD4." So, I'm thinking I might end up going with CoD4.

[biz567]

CoD has a great story.

Halo 3 is very fun online when playing with friends. And yes, I consider Realms folk friends. Cause honestly, everyone hates when you get that annoying guy doing the whole "YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYALOOKAT ME I'M ANNOYING PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET! wOOOOO!"

I've only played Gears of War a few times. Cool game.

[Webheadman]

Well if you want a more realistic shooter CoD4 is your best bet good good luck running and gunning as you WILL get shot to pieces.

Halo 3 is your best option for run n gun action and you don't have to worry as much about having cover you can run in the open a little.

CoD4 if you dont take cover enemies will kill you same with GoW you have to take cover take your time taking your enemies out then proceed with Halo you just run in shoot everybody up and continue.


Personaly i would go CoD4 but that's just me considering i hate halo and don't like gears that much i am into the more realistic aspect of Cod and the fact that it uses real guns.

[Dark Flash2099]

Someone brought up a very good point for me:

In CoD I can't just charge in guns a blazin' while yelling oneliners because I'd get killed in one or two shots. I can do that in Halo.

Basically, for my wrestling game fans out there, he made a good analogy for me to understand:

Call Of Duty 4 = Fire Pro Wrestling (a very intensive sim, if you didn't know)
Halo 3 = Smackdown (pick up and play arcade style wrestling game)

So, I think I might just go with Halo 3. I still have a few days to think about it, though.

[FoxInStocks]

Lemme' chime in here.

I'm not a fan of CoD4. I don't like "realistic" war shooters for starters, but my biggest gripe about CoD4 is that you die VERY quickly...just like real life. :cheeky: Seriously, a few stray bullets can easily kill you.

Halo 3 is my shootan game of choice these days, but it CAN be frustrating. The jumping mechanic and regenerating shields can drive new players crazy. Until you start to learn the weapons and maps and tactics, you'll find it hard to get kills. Once you know what you're doing, that goes away.

Unfortunately, Halo 3 also has one of the most, uh, "vocal" player bases. It can get obnoxious.

So ultimately, Halo 3 may be the better bet for run-and-gunning, only because you don't die the instant you leave cover (usually).

Gears of War is a game well worth getting, but mostly for the single player/co-op. The multiplayer is buggy, to say the least. Hit detection is god-awful, the shotgun in particular is completly unpredictable, and the cover system can make you want to tear your hair out. You want to roll left out of the line of fire, you say? NO, says the game engine; you need to hump this wall here while you get shot to death.

I'll only play Gears with the Realms guys, and even then I can't play more than a few games before the frustration kills the fun.

As for other games...

Dead Rising is a blast, but don't buy it right away. Try the demo on Live, and then ask yourself, "Can I do this for eight hours straight, several times in a row?"

Oblivion is a must if you like pen-and-paper style RPGs. Hell, even if you don't you should try it. It's one of the best video games I've ever played, and there's an incredible amount of content in it.

Mass Effect and Lost Oddessy are both great RPGs as well.

Beyond that stuff, remember to check out the demos on Live.

[FoxInStocks]

If you're looking for a great sandbox: Crackdown - you can probably buy it really cheap, now that the Halo 3 beta is long done with.

I was thinking of picking this up if anyone still played it, but then I read that GTAIV is due next month and (apparently?) is going to support up to 16 player multiplayer and free-roaming.

[Thawmus]

Gears of War is a game well worth getting, but mostly for the single player/co-op. The multiplayer is buggy, to say the least. Hit detection is god-awful, the shotgun in particular is completly unpredictable, and the cover system can make you want to tear your hair out. You want to roll left out of the line of fire, you say? NO, says the game engine; you need to hump this wall here while you get shot to death.

I'll only play Gears with the Realms guys, and even then I can't play more than a few games before the frustration kills the fun.

I really hope they fix most of this in Gears 2. I don't care how pretty they make it, they need to make it far less glitchy.

Oh, and put an actual matchmaking system in there. That too. :cheeky:


Although, I won't lie, I still like having the power to boot jackasses. It's a precious ability, that I don't get in other games.

[Thawmus]

I was thinking of picking this up if anyone still played it, but then I read that GTAIV is due next month and (apparently?) is going to support up to 16 player multiplayer and free-roaming.

Actually, I've put in about 8-9 hours into it already this week. Mostly because I got my box back, and wanted to hit my games shelf again.

[Webheadman]

I feel stupid not knowing this but did they make the Orange Box for 360?


If so Team Fort 2 sounds like it could be of your liking great online game with good people so you don't have to worry about all the Haloe people who DON'T SHUT UP.


So if you don't MIND all the people nagging and bragging and just being plain obnoxius get Halo 3.

If not and they did make the orange box for 360(can't beleive that i don't know this) then pick that up instead plus you get portal and half life 2 and epi 1 and 2 which are GREAT games in themselves.

[Dark Flash2099]

I'm looking at The Orange Box right now. I'm liking the look of Team Fortress 2, as well as Portal.

[FoxInStocks]

I'm looking at The Orange Box right now. I'm liking the look of Team Fortress 2, as well as Portal.

Portal really is a lot of fun. So is TF2; it's very heavy on teamwork and knowing the class you're playing. The only complaint I have with the 360 version of TF2 is the lag. It ranges from "not there" to "there in the room with you beating you with a pipe".

[FoxInStocks]

I really hope they fix most of this in Gears 2. I don't care how pretty they make it, they need to make it far less glitchy.

Oh, and put an actual matchmaking system in there. That too. :cheeky:


Although, I won't lie, I still like having the power to boot jackasses. It's a precious ability, that I don't get in other games.

There's things I like about both systems. Being able to boot the meatballs and make custom games public is a must, but a matchmaking system could go a long way towards making some more balanced matches.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Gears 2, but I get the impression that Epic likes the game just as it is. None of their patches really fixed much of anything. Still, as long as the campaign has co-op, I'm in.

[Dark Flash2099]

Hmmm, it seems that TF2 is online only, so I can't just mess around with it offline to get used to it. I don't really like that.

[FoxInStocks]

Hmmm, it seems that TF2 is online only, so I can't just mess around with it offline to get used to it. I don't really like that.

You may want to get used to that. It seems that PC ports (and there's a lot of them these days) don't have any sort of local multiplayer. Developers in general are shying away from "splitscreen" because it ruins their big fancy HD visuals.

CoD4 and Halo 3 both offer 4-player local splitscreen. Anything ported FROM the PC does not, at least not that I've encountered.

If you're talking about "Bots" though, as in offline multiplayer against AI opponents, the ONLY 360 shooter I've seen with that is Perfect Dark Zero. I don't know if CoD4 has that.

[Dark Flash2099]

Hmmm. I'm starting to not like any of these options now. Mainly because, well, only one of my friends has a 360, and he doesn't play FPS games.

[FoxInStocks]

Hmmm. I'm starting to not like any of these options now. Mainly because, well, only one of my friends has a 360, and he doesn't play FPS games.

Well, that's sort of the point of Live, to find other players to play against.

But I'm only talking shooters here. There are plenty of other "on the couch" multiplayer games. The fighters like DoA4 and Virtua Fighter, brawlers like Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Live Arcade games like Ninja Turtles and Small Arms.

It's just that FPS titles are getting away from splitscreen and bots since online play is becoming more and more the norm.

Both CoD4 and Halo 3, however, DO support 4-player splitscreen local play, so you can play against each other.

[Thawmus]

Hmmm. I'm starting to not like any of these options now. Mainly because, well, only one of my friends has a 360, and he doesn't play FPS games.

You get used to playing with less local friends, and more online friends.

Really.

I actually can't stand playing with any of my local friends, as some can attest to from a few nights ago. They're generally not going to be playing at your level, they like to arrange times to play, rather than just play when you're on, etc.

Having a healthy online friends list makes it so you don't need bots and stuff for some games, and matchmaking systems make it so you're never short of players.

Split-screening sucks anyways. I'll do it if someone wants a LAN party, or if a friend comes over to do some co-op, but that's it. I have no tolerance for it.

[Dark Flash2099]

At this point, I think I might leave the FPS games alone at this moment and I'm looking into Mass Effect. It's developed by Bioware, so that's a plus for me.

[St. Cuthbert]

Actually, I've been debating about getting a 360 as well. There are just a couple things I want to know, as I'm pretty sure I can afford it and I know I'll enjoy playing Halo 3, Ultimate Alliance, and CoD4.

Price. How much are they going for now? Should I get one online or at a local store like Best Buy or Gamestop?

Also, I've heard things about 360s breaking not long after someone buys one. Have any of you had problems with yours?

I'm still not totally sold, but I'm giving it some thought, as I have a job now and this summer, and I want a big purchase for fun before I graduate college and have to spend money on important things.

[Webheadman]

Actually, I've been debating about getting a 360 as well. There are just a couple things I want to know, as I'm pretty sure I can afford it and I know I'll enjoy playing Halo 3, Ultimate Alliance, and CoD4.

Price. How much are they going for now? Should I get one online or at a local store like Best Buy or Gamestop?

Also, I've heard things about 360s breaking not long after someone buys one. Have any of you had problems with yours?

I'm still not totally sold, but I'm giving it some thought, as I have a job now and this summer, and I want a big purchase for fun before I graduate college and have to spend money on important things.


The 360 is an important thing:cheeky:


Though of course i would say over all if you can get a Wii but let's not get into that debate.


360 price depends onwhat you want.

The high priced one's have bigger hard drives for live games music and all sorts of other stuff.

Other's have little to no hard drive space but are MUCH cheaper.

So in all it depends no what you want your 360 to be able to do.

Though i would advise getting a 360 at a gamestop or best buy though best buy is stupid expensive i don't trust online stores to much anymore.


And on the point of breaking i have had a friend who has owned a 360 since it first came out and another since it came out and has broken 8 times either red ring of doom corruption of certain parts fan's breaking and then overheating ect ect ect.

So all in all i really don't know what to say bout the trustworthyness of the 360 some seem to be able to be beaten to hell and work fien other's sit there in a totally safe envirement never to be harmed and yet break down.

[freakazoid_x]

Overlord is really good, I'm digging it. Also don't pass up the arcade games.

[Dark Flash2099]

I suppose I should give you guys a little update: At this moment, I am once again strongly leaning towards getting Halo 3. Basically, here's the tentative buy list I have going for Saturday. Xbox 360 (the standard one) Extra wireless controller Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (I'll probably get this used so that I can save a little money) Halo 3 (again, probably used) 2 1600 Xbox Live point cards. In about a month I'll getting an Xbox Live subscription since I'll have a month free when I get my 360.

[stark's heir]

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga.

Seriously.

1/2 lightsaber slashing. 1/2 laser pistols shooting. A really fun game.

[Dark Flash2099]

Eh, I'm not a big Star Wars fan. I'll keep it in mind, though.

[Pojopembo]

Well, I would definitely back up the above choices - Halo, Gears, COD 4 are all acceptable FPS', and are each worthy for the 360. Halo 3 is my personal favourite, and it seems to be the easiest to get into (though the ranking system needs work - 25 wins without down-ranking and I still won't rank up!)

As for extras, M:UA is a deep, involving platformer with plenty to do - plus, if buying the Gold edition you save the 800-1000 points on the Downloadable characters anyway.

I'd also recommend Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey or Oblivion if you're looking RPG-wise. Blue Dragon (imo) is severely underrated, and though the voice acting is a little annoying at times, it's still quite an involving story.

...and Mass Effect just because it rocks :p

[FoxInStocks]

(though the ranking system needs work - 25 wins without down-ranking and I still won't rank up!) :p

You know, the point of the TrueSkill/Ranking system is really just to pit you against players that give you a challenge by just playing how you play. You're not supposed to try and "rank up". ;)

It is twitchy, though. I've read a lot of the theory behind how it works and it's pretty complicated, but I'm not sure how practical it is.

[Dark Flash2099]

So, on Saturday, I got my 360. Here is what I got to go along with it:

360 Wireless controller (blue)
Rechargeable battery pack (two of them)
1600 point card (two of them)
Halo 3
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

Game and stuff bought with the points from the cards:
Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
Penny Arcade theme
Streets Of Rage II
TMNT (1989 arcade game)

All in all, I'm happy with my purchase.