New 360 Arcade, Now what should I get first??

hotwls13

hotwls13

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OK, I had a 360 years ago and never played it. Took the plunge today and picked one up at Wal-mart. We have a Wii with quite a few kid friendly/family games.

I'd like to get some adult games (I prefer FPS on the PC, but I'm not sure if I can ever be any good with console controllers) I'm currently playing COD4 on the PC (always multiplayer) . I'm thinking gears of war, Halo 3 etc. I also like racing/off-road games. I would prefer something easy to pick-up and play for 5 minutes or an hour if I can get that much time. ;) I'm not into the deep adventure multi-hour long games, I like action.

Also, the Arcade comes with a Silver Live subscription, should I get the gold??

One last question, what's the best deal going for a hard-drive?? I'm thinking the 60gb with 3 month live on ebay is a pretty good deal.

I'll be either hooking up to my 50" plasma and surround or my 37" LCD in the bedroom. Either way I will be connecting via HDMI.

Thanks for the advice to a semi 360 newb.
 
If you plan on playing games online you have to get the gold subscription. I'd suggest picking up Burnout Paradise and The Orange Box, for starters.
 
You'll definitely want to get a gold subscription. Without one you're experience will be hampered quite a bit.

With that said, I highly recommend these games; Bioshock, Dragon Age: Origins, The Orange Box, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Halo 3 (just buy ODST if you are going for multiplayer), Gears of War 1 & 2, and there are many more great games for the 360, so lastly I recommend a Gamefly account so you can try out games without the hassle of worrying about late fees.
 
First get GOLD. Don't pay more than $40 for a year.

RACE: Pure is fun to pickup and play. It's an ATV racer. Download the demo of Dirt 2 and see what you think.

Be sure you check LIVE for demos of games before you buy when you get a HDD. Also check-out the arcade. Geometry Wars, Shadow Complex, Trials HD, 'Splosion Man, Marble Blast Ultra, Mega Man 9, SSFIITHD are all fun. All the content is rated and demoed.


Gears still has a thriving online community, as does Halo 3.

As for the HDD you can ind used 20GB for $20-$30.
 
Thanks guys, great advice. So for the Hard Drive, 20gb would be enough??

So far I'm looking at:

Gold 12 month $40
20gb Hdd for around $25 or 60gb HDD for around $45
Burnout Paradise
Halo 3 (dont know what ODST is)
Gears of War

Seriously thinking of pre-ordering CODMW2 at Wal-mart
 
You will need a HDD for Halo 3 multiplayer (if you don't get the the ODST disc) to install the maps. Same applies to Gears
 
Gears of War 2 and/or Halo 3 (or ODST) for multiplayer. Dirt or Dirt 2 for racing (Dirt 2 is a lot better but Dirt 1 is a lot cheaper). Bioshock and Beautiful Katamari just because, they're awesome.
 
grab MW2 and go from there on the shooters, I would think.

Burnout is good. need fro speed shift is supposed to be decent.
 
check out Oblivion, Fallout 3, Bioschock, Mass Effect, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 aka GRAW 2, Rainbow Six Vegas (1&2), Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is coming out in a few days, Assassin's Creed, Lips is a karaoke music singing game similar to singstar, Fable 2 are all the games I can think off the top of my head. Check out alot of the xbox live arcade games. There are free demo's and i'm sure you'll find a few easily that you will buy.
 
what are the best 360 exclusives? I have a ps3 i intend to only use the 360 for its exclusive and the ps3 for everything else.

have been thinking of getting Gears of War series and mass effect. really have no interest in halo. I already have L4D on pc.

any other good games worth checking out?
 
i just got an arcade too. is the used 60 gig hard drive reliable? should i get a new one? and should i get the messenger kit? thanks.
 
Messenger kit is a waste of time.

If you're buying a used HD, you should be fine as long as it doesn't ship from Hong Kong. Personally, I'd wait until there's an excellent used coupon for Gamestop - that's where I picked up my used 120GB drive for $70 (20% coupon + Edge card knocked it down from $100).

As far as great games go that you're not going to find on the PS3, I'll recommend Viva Pinata (either the original or Trouble In Paradise, steer clear of Party Animals). Everyone else is going to say Gears or Halo, so I figured I toss out the one that gets overlooked.
 
+1 for Borderlands if you have 2-3 reliable friends to co-op friends. More fun that way. If you get a HDD, get Fallout 3 and give up on your real life.

Messenger kit is helpful if you think you are going to use Facebook or Twitter, but you can use a USB keyboard as well.
 
If you're looking for some good games that you can get for cheap, Crackdown and Dead Rising can both be found very cheap and are a lot of fun. Orange Box can also be found for cheap.
 
Get a GENUINE Microsoft 20gb HD off eBay. Do not buy the chinese ones or any hard drive that has been implanted with a Western Digital BEVS drive. People think Microsoft do not care about third party hard drives but with all the recent bans (and no way to affirm how they are performing them) just don't even bother. A Genuine 20gb on eBay will run you about $25-$33 shipped. Don't pay any more!

Obviously, get XBL Gold. If you want to find a deal on it, the going rate is $39 for a 12 month card. Every 3 or 4 months though there is usually a great deal at 29.99 through buy.com or another site.

Now this is optional but I love it and find it incredibly useful. It's called the Quick Charge kit. You don't EVER have to mess with batteries -- in fact, I can't recall the last time I had to buy AAs. Get the kit for $25 and buy a second battery pack for about $11 on Amazon. For under $40 you will have two battery packs you can quickly pop into and take out of the charger and the charge of the batteries, honestly, lasts for quite some time. I recommend the kit, heavily (but is not necessary :)).
 
being CAG and all, I'd reccomend GRAW1 and Prey. Both games are $5 and $4 respectively used at EBGames. I had a ton of fun with the first Ghost Recon AW when it first came out, you really can't beat it at that price.
 
[quote name='dizee']what are the best 360 exclusives? I have a ps3 i intend to only use the 360 for its exclusive and the ps3 for everything else.

have been thinking of getting Gears of War series and mass effect. really have no interest in halo. I already have L4D on pc.

any other good games worth checking out?[/QUOTE]

This.
I only used my 360 for exclusives. I didn't buy live since I had the console for three years I would have paid $150 to play online - money has half-paid for my 80gb ps3.
I gave up and sold it this morning after fixing it for the fifth time this year.
You honestly might want to reconsider (Just my opinion)
As for games, Borderlands is great. 4 players in co-op is perfect but XBL has the advantage of more users with headsets if you really care.
Bioshock was great hands-down.
Modern Warefare 2 is coming out on Tuesday (Both 360 and PS3 have equal sales). Gamestops "most preordered game ever".
Not a fan of Halo anymore. Had a free live trial. 6 year olds were screaming curses. Not fun.
 
Alright, went to eb and here are some that interest me (all under $15). What do you guys think??

Madden NFL 08 Xbox 360 $3.99
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter Xbox 360 $4.99
Project Gotham Racing 3 Xbox 360 $4.99
Ridge Racer 6 Xbox 360 $5.99
Rockstar Games Table Tennis Xbox 360 $6.99
Tony Hawk's Project 8 Xbox 360 $7.99
Forza Motorsport 2 Xbox 360 $7.99
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Xbox 360 $9.99
Madden NFL 09 Xbox 360 $12.99
Project Gotham Racing 4 Xbox 360 $12.99
Burnout: Revenge Xbox 360 $14.99
Mass Effect Xbox 360 $14.99
 
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 and Project Gotham Racing 4 should be about $15 also. Mass Effect is good, but can be a long game. Burnout Revenge is still my favorite racer on the 360. You might want to take a look at GRID for racers, that one's < $20.
 
[quote name='hotwls13']Alright, went to eb and here are some that interest me (all under $15). What do you guys think??

Madden NFL 08 Xbox 360 $3.99
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter Xbox 360 $4.99
Project Gotham Racing 3 Xbox 360 $4.99
Ridge Racer 6 Xbox 360 $5.99
Rockstar Games Table Tennis Xbox 360 $6.99
Tony Hawk's Project 8 Xbox 360 $7.99
Forza Motorsport 2 Xbox 360 $7.99
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Xbox 360 $9.99
Madden NFL 09 Xbox 360 $12.99
Project Gotham Racing 4 Xbox 360 $12.99
Burnout: Revenge Xbox 360 $14.99
Mass Effect Xbox 360 $14.99[/QUOTE]

Burnout: Revenge Xbox 360 $14.99
Mass Effect Xbox 360 $14.99
 
For $5 more you can get Burnout: Paradise new.
You could get PGR4 in a bundle with a year of LIVE and Chatpad, or used off another CAG for less.
 
Went to EB and Target today, picked up the following:

EB (used)
Madden 08 $4
PGR3 $5
Prey $4
GRAW $5

Target (New)
Gears of War $15
Orange Box $15


Where do I get the pgr4/live/chat bundle for the least $$??

I tried to get my Belkin router to connect to main router as a Bridge. Couldn't get it to work, though the flash process worked fine. I'm just gonna finish running cat5e cable in my house instead of trying to get this thing on wirelessly.
 
If you are looking for some good check games check out my lowball sale (link in my sig or click CML below my avatar) I have a bunch of games for cheap to get you back into the swing of things.

Sorry for the self plug but it will be mutually beneficial :)

Also you should get a hard drive if you can get one at a decent price.
 
[quote name='hotwls13']Went to EB and Target today, picked up the following:

EB (used)
Madden 08 $4
PGR3 $5
Prey $4
GRAW $5

Target (New)
Gears of War $15
Orange Box $15


Where do I get the pgr4/live/chat bundle for the least $$??

I tried to get my Belkin router to connect to main router as a Bridge. Couldn't get it to work, though the flash process worked fine. I'm just gonna finish running cat5e cable in my house instead of trying to get this thing on wirelessly.[/QUOTE]
I've got a sealed one I'll let go for $50 shipped. I think they're $70 new, but you're free to shop around. Bundle's got PGR4, headset, chatpad, and a year of Live.
 
If you've never played a GTA game before, do yourself a favor and pick up GTA IV. Longtime players have some complaints with it, but as a newcomer to the series I think it is fantastic. Much better then I expected. The game is *definitely* not something you'll want to play with the kids around, though.
 
I didn't used to be into the long adventure/RPG games either....then I played some good ones. So if you don't want to be into them, then don't pick up any of the awesome ones (like Mass Effect or Fallout 3), they will destroy you. Just last night when I went to take a shower I thought about how many rads I might get from it....

For action games that aren't too long I second Crackdown and GTAIV. Crackdown is super cheap now, GTAIV is getting down there, but you can wait if you want it cheaper (hell, I might actually sell mine since they released the standalone episode pack, let me know if you want it). I'd say to pay the extra money and get Burnout Paradise rather than Revenge (it actually might be $15 used anyway now).

Beautiful Katamari is still fun as hell too, for all ages! And of course Bioshock, which should also be cheap now.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I have played a little bit of GTA games and they just weren't my thing. I could never get into the "see how good of a thug you can be" kind of games. Maybe if I had gotten into them when I was younger. lol

I'll check out Crackdown though (unless it's another Thug game).
 
[quote name='hotwls13']Thanks for the advice guys. I have played a little bit of GTA games and they just weren't my thing. I could never get into the "see how good of a thug you can be" kind of games. Maybe if I had gotten into them when I was younger. lol

I'll check out Crackdown though (unless it's another Thug game).[/QUOTE]

You don't have to be a thug in GTA. You're a criminal, but you can be a nice criminal :p. I never went around killing pedestrians or anything.

In Crackdown you're free to kill civilians as well if you want, but you work for an agency and are fighting gangs and whatever. I just liked jumping around on buildings really, it was fun.
 
[quote name='hotwls13']Thanks for the advice guys. I have played a little bit of GTA games and they just weren't my thing. I could never get into the "see how good of a thug you can be" kind of games. Maybe if I had gotten into them when I was younger. lol[/QUOTE]

I'm 42 and just getting into GTA. Hmm. :)
 
I just don't like having to turn off a game due to language or suggestive material when the family is around. I'm usually watching tv/movies at the time the kids are in bed etc. I can get away with violent games but the other stuff is a bit over the top to just have on.

I have too many other things going on when the kids are asleep to add GTA. lol
 
GTA is definitely not something to play with the kids around! I don't watch much TV, so I manage.

I ditto the recommendations for Trials HD. It's well worth the asking price. Better if you have friends to compare your times/scores with, but fun regardless. Try the demo first, though, to see if it's something you'll like. It's a 2D motorcycle physics game, I guess you would call it, but done with 3D graphics. It does get pretty damn difficult, but it's fun throughout.
 
Is it possible to hook up a keyboard and mouse to the 360 for FPS gaming?? I have done a google search and all I keep coming up with are add-on hardware devices to emulate the KB/mouse. They don't seem to have very good reviews and they are quite expensive.

Just don't know why Microsoft has to make everything soo dang difficult.
 
They want you to buy their controllers, lol. I know you can type with a keyboard, but I doubt you can map buttons to it, and a mouse probably doesn't work at all. The add-on is probably necessary. I don't know for sure, but that's probably how it is.

You get used to controller FPS eventually though. Never as good as a mouse/keyboard, of course, but still not that bad.
 
[quote name='hotwls13']I just don't like having to turn off a game due to language or suggestive material when the family is around. I'm usually watching tv/movies at the time the kids are in bed etc. I can get away with violent games but the other stuff is a bit over the top to just have on.

I have too many other things going on when the kids are asleep to add GTA. lol[/QUOTE]

Gears of War 2 has language and violence filters.
 
[quote name='Hydro2Oxide']Gears of War 2 has language and violence filters.[/QUOTE]

Cool! Good to know. I'll probably turn the language off, but I gotta have my violence. lol
 
[quote name='GenghisJohn']My advice is if you havent played any of the older 360 games, save yourself a ton of money and go back and get the best of the last couple of years instead of going out and buying the newest games for way more money[/QUOTE]

That's pretty much what I'm doing with these:

EB (used)
Madden 08 $4
PGR3 $5
Prey $4
GRAW $5

Target (New)
Gears of War $15
Orange Box $15

Though I did order CODMW2 through Wal-mart. ;)

Now if I can just get my hands and fingers to understand the controller in FPS I will be fine. lol
 
Alright, I tried GRAW and I didn't like it. Not into the team based stuff (where you are controlling your squad), plus it just seemed like WAAAY too many different controls. Hopefully this isn't the end of me and shooters on the 360. lol

Anyway, I tried:

Madden 08 (actually the easiest madden I have played and I like easy)
PGR3 (It was OK for a $5 racing game, though I think the Burnout series will be better)
Prey (I've only got passed the first two saves but I like it. Feels very half-lifey)

Still haven't played Gears of War or Orange Box as I wanted to test the used ones within my 7 days. ;)
 
[quote name='hotwls13']Alright, went to eb and here are some that interest me (all under $15). What do you guys think??

Madden NFL 08 Xbox 360 $3.99
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter Xbox 360 $4.99
Project Gotham Racing 3 Xbox 360 $4.99
Ridge Racer 6 Xbox 360 $5.99
Rockstar Games Table Tennis Xbox 360 $6.99
Tony Hawk's Project 8 Xbox 360 $7.99
Forza Motorsport 2 Xbox 360 $7.99
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Xbox 360 $9.99
Madden NFL 09 Xbox 360 $12.99
Project Gotham Racing 4 Xbox 360 $12.99
Burnout: Revenge Xbox 360 $14.99
Mass Effect Xbox 360 $14.99[/QUOTE]


When you first create an account, it will ask you if you want to get gold. If you say no, it will give you a one month free trial. I think you can make three accounts that will get this free trial, so you could do this a few times to check out Live and multiplayer before you buy a 12 month card (do not pay for LIVE directly through the console! it's a ripoff).

Plus, you don't want MS to get your credit card number, it is pretty much impossible/improbable that you will be able to remove it from your live account.

Those are some decent games. Try to wait for a Buy 2 get 1 Free sale, and you will save a bundle (just make sure you are getting similar value games for free, not buy 3 $10+ games and only get the $4 games free. You might have to do multiple transactions if they are jerks about it).

Some people didn't like the Burnout series after it came to the current generation, so read some reviews.

Pick one of the Madden games, and one of the Gotham Racing games (again, read some reviews to compare the two versions)

I would recommend at least a 60GB hard drive. You are going to want to install your games to the HDD so the system stays cool and quiet (disc doesn't spin when it's installed). This is important in reducing the risk of RROD.

Be very wary of buying HDDs off ebay, at least the 120gb. I don't know if there are bootleg 60gb drives there or not. Do not buy a 360 memory card off ebay, unless it is brand new, has a picture of the sealed package, and has a game sticker on the package (like for the Worms arcade game which was included with the 512MB card).

The next Dashboard update will affect bootleg memory cards, and it will not work very well after it comes out.
 
Alright, I took back GRAW and exchanged it for DIRT. I REALLY like DIRT. Probably spent too much $$ on it $18, but oh well.

Now I'm going to take back PGR3 and get something else (probably Mass Effect for $15).
 
Just got myself a 360 myself, only going to use it to play exclusives. I want to get the following:

Fable 2
Lost Odyssey
Blue Dragon
Mass Effect (have it on PC, but would like 360 version for cheap)
Dead Rising
Halo games (maybe)

Any other must have non FPS, non sports, non racing good exclusives? I have a great gaming PC and a PS3.
 
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