Xbox 360
Last August (2006) I received a third-year anniversary gift certificate from work. Debating what to purchase with it, I decided to buy an Xbox 360. One reason was that I wanted to get into gaming, another was that it would put a DVD player in our second family room. I bought the $399 version, with a hard drive, wireless controller, and headset. The $299 option doesn't include these items.
Xbox offers two version of its online service: Silver (free) and Gold (requires a monthly subscription). They offer free downloads of movie trailers, game demos and game trailers. For a small fee per download, usually $3, you can also download and watch movies and TV shows. I don't play games against other people online, so the Silver membership suits me just fine.
Since buying this console, it gets used about every day, either for games or watching pre-recorded TV shows. My wife and three-year-old daughter spend as much time on it as I do. My three-year-old likes to hold the controller, but her hands aren't big enough to move the analog sticks, pull the trigger buttons, and press the thumb buttons that most games require.
Another feature provided through the Xbox Live online service is Xbox Live Arcade. Live Arcade offers trial versions of both old and new games. If you like the game, you can buy the game online for between $5 and $30. Live Arcade games are downloaded from the Internet, whereas other games can be purchased or rented DVD-sized discs.
One feature that I like about the Xbox 360 is that it supports wireless controllers. We use two controllers, and, because there aren't any wires between the controller and the Xbox, other people can walk in front of you without tripping over the wires. Another benefit of wireless controllers is that you don't need to trace the wires to see which is controller #1. The controller that is turned on first is controller #1.
Another feature that I like is that I have it hooked up to a 19" CRT monitor through a VGA connection. The picture is sharper on this monitor than a standard-definition TV (SDTV). I don't yet have a high-definition TV (HDTV), so this will suffice until I upgrade one of my TVs to HDTV.
The Xbox 360 is backward compatible with a large number of original Xbox games. See http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm for more info.
Here's a list of our favorite games:
UPDATE:
If you are in the market to buy an XBox 360, I recommend that you buy it from a store that offers an extended replacement warranty. The XBox 360 is a great machine, but early shipments have experienced a large number of hardware failures.
Just about one year after the purchase date, my 360 started displaying an error code when I tried to connect to XBox Live. I contacted XBox Support, and they said it was a hardware failure, and that I would need to send it in for repairs. When I bought it, I knew about the high percentage of hardware failures for the 360, and decided to add an extended warranty for $39 when I bought it from my local GameCrazy store.
The extended warranty just paid for itself. On 8/22/07, I took my broken 360 back to the store, explained the problem, gave them my receipt and warranty sheet, and they offered a replacement. With the recent price drops, I opted to upgrade to the XBox 360 Elite. The Elite has an HDMI cable for high definition televisions, and a 120 GB hard drive. I paid $50 for the upgrade, and of course, another $59 for a two-year extended warranty. I hardly ever buy extended warranties, but in this case, I'm glad I did.
Xbox offers two version of its online service: Silver (free) and Gold (requires a monthly subscription). They offer free downloads of movie trailers, game demos and game trailers. For a small fee per download, usually $3, you can also download and watch movies and TV shows. I don't play games against other people online, so the Silver membership suits me just fine.
Since buying this console, it gets used about every day, either for games or watching pre-recorded TV shows. My wife and three-year-old daughter spend as much time on it as I do. My three-year-old likes to hold the controller, but her hands aren't big enough to move the analog sticks, pull the trigger buttons, and press the thumb buttons that most games require.
Another feature provided through the Xbox Live online service is Xbox Live Arcade. Live Arcade offers trial versions of both old and new games. If you like the game, you can buy the game online for between $5 and $30. Live Arcade games are downloaded from the Internet, whereas other games can be purchased or rented DVD-sized discs.
One feature that I like about the Xbox 360 is that it supports wireless controllers. We use two controllers, and, because there aren't any wires between the controller and the Xbox, other people can walk in front of you without tripping over the wires. Another benefit of wireless controllers is that you don't need to trace the wires to see which is controller #1. The controller that is turned on first is controller #1.
Another feature that I like is that I have it hooked up to a 19" CRT monitor through a VGA connection. The picture is sharper on this monitor than a standard-definition TV (SDTV). I don't yet have a high-definition TV (HDTV), so this will suffice until I upgrade one of my TVs to HDTV.
The Xbox 360 is backward compatible with a large number of original Xbox games. See http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm for more info.
Here's a list of our favorite games:
- Legos Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Xbox 360)
- Star Wars: The Video Game (Xbox)
- Disney Pixar Cars (Xbox 360)
- Viva Pinata (Xbox 360)
- Fight Night Round 3 (Xbox 360)
- PGR 3 (Xbox 360)
UPDATE:
If you are in the market to buy an XBox 360, I recommend that you buy it from a store that offers an extended replacement warranty. The XBox 360 is a great machine, but early shipments have experienced a large number of hardware failures.
Just about one year after the purchase date, my 360 started displaying an error code when I tried to connect to XBox Live. I contacted XBox Support, and they said it was a hardware failure, and that I would need to send it in for repairs. When I bought it, I knew about the high percentage of hardware failures for the 360, and decided to add an extended warranty for $39 when I bought it from my local GameCrazy store.
The extended warranty just paid for itself. On 8/22/07, I took my broken 360 back to the store, explained the problem, gave them my receipt and warranty sheet, and they offered a replacement. With the recent price drops, I opted to upgrade to the XBox 360 Elite. The Elite has an HDMI cable for high definition televisions, and a 120 GB hard drive. I paid $50 for the upgrade, and of course, another $59 for a two-year extended warranty. I hardly ever buy extended warranties, but in this case, I'm glad I did.
Labels: "Video Games", "XBOX 360"
posted by Kevin at
12/31/2006 11:04:00 AM
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