The official I Love Games XBOX 360 and XBOX LIVE thread!

I dont have a gamertag, cos the xbox isnt mine, it is mr Puppy's. Maybe he'll let me get one so I can be laughed at for having no points and only 3 stars :(

I'm also playing Dead or Alive 4, which makes me feel like I'm playing a fancy Dreamcast, and Call of Duty 2, which makes me feel scared and confused.

I also still only have 3 stars and one friend :(

Dead Rising has usurped RE4 as GAME OF THE MILLENIUM. I've been too busy to play lately but I got the true ending and am very, very frustrated with "overtime" mode.

Although frankly there's no room in our setup (or budget) for a 360, so thpbt.

Log on, look me up, and laugh at my pathetic one-game 3-achievments stats :(

I finally got an xbox live account. My gamertag is Jimdoo, add me plz!

Ditto. My gamertag is Shinefield (talk about unoriginal names). I'm playing Gears of War. Well, trying to play. Playing very poorly.

ahhhhhh a minefield of gamertags here, cool!

Antexit;s mines! Also Gabbby, for a short time.

God. I can't stand playing non-ranked matches, and getting thrown out of the match in the middle (I guess because I'm not already friends with the host, or because I suck?). But the fact is, I'm only playing non-ranked matches because I suck in the first place.

I need: Some friendly ILXors to non-ranked Gears of War with me. Ideally, with some patience and who love to give helpful tips to people who stink at shooting games.

Is anybody on here planning to pick up Forza 2 this week? I'm very undecided.

It seems like it has been a while since there has been a really compelling release & things are looking kinda dull until fall, I guess. It's sad when the upcoming game you are most looking forward to is Discs of Tron...

yeah, I dunno; doubt it

and shinefield's sentiments seconded

But czn, you're already good at Gears!

What do those co-op modes on Rainbow Six Las Vegas play like? I've only been playing the sharpshooter stuff (a bit)? Sorry I didn't have time to join up the other day...

nah, it's cool; they're fun actually... the ppl seem a bit nicer and um co-operative... there's lots just on there to level up and ppl playing LVU campus over and over can be a bit boring... but the AI is pretty good on R6 and the difficulty realistic so the chatting and tactics is fun

I haven't played any of the other modes tbh

re:gears - I ain't so good really; I played for an hour and half yesterday and got like 5 kills total

anyone in town tonight?

I got Command and Conquer yesterday, and am trying plow through the missions on Easy to get myself reacquainted with the genre. I'll still be shit, of course, because on XboxLive, it only takes about 6 hours after a game's release to have most of the other players to be total experts.

I am good at Gears single player but i was absolutely rubbish at the multiplayer. Also my gold account ran out and i'm too poor to renew it right now.

I friended back everyone who friended me. Now -- get on Gears so we can play!

sorry about that shinefield, I got your message - those guys can get a bit bullyish if they don't know you

will you be on tomorrow night? am getting (slowly) better at gears

you got no xbox live gold trials, dy?

It was ironic. I mowed down two people and got tossed immediately. :-P

Anybody played the new Pac-Man? Believe it or not, it's pretty unbelievably fun and cleverly-designed. I'm considering making it my first XBLA purchase.

My company has a borrowable Xbox 360... and only about 3 people borrow it, incl. me. So add "vsta01" to the friends lists, fools. I will have it for the long weekend on June 21-25!

Aw guys, I turned my 360 on last night for the first time in a while and got all your friend adds! We've gotta play!

Tag = BigGlim

I have been playing nothing but Shadowrun for the last week, it's grand.

I would play Gears, but I lent it to a middle-aged French man at work, who I can only imagine slips out of bed after his family is asleep to play it, hunched over a quiet TV and quietly cackling to himself as he shoots Locust. I should be able to retrieve after I can figure out how to beat General RAAM with my horribly broken command of the French language.

Your coworker's name is General RAAM? Why don't you just ask him for it back?

i have no gold trials, i might connect it again next month for ilx'ing gears and for table tennis.

durr, I can't write clearly. I mean, he's stuck on the last boss fight, and his English / my French is terrible, so communicating concepts like "kill the cloud of killer bats with exploding arrows from the torque bow so you can shoot RAAM in the head with the sniper rifle" is a bit of a challenge ;)

here's a tip.
go to sears, look for the old xbox live 12 month bundles. they usually come with a headset and some even come with crimson skies. anyway, i bought one the other day for 10 months. and the code worked on my 360.

you bought one for 10 months?

oh, sorry. that's a typo. it's 12 months.

shit...where is my head. it's supposed to say, i bought one for 10 bucks. not months.

The new Pac Man game is just outstanding. If you like the original Pac Man/Mrs. Pac Man at all, get this thing.

Loving Forza two and i don't particularly enjoy racing games.

Physix in it are off the hook, even just buying a minor upgrade to one of yr existing cars substantially alters the feel of driving.

What is the level of ilx xbox 360 multiplaying because the reason i gave up on my gold account in the first place was that almost anyone i played with were v. dickish.

Also Settlers of Catan multiplayer would be sensational.

there is basically none ilx multiplayer tbh

mostly probably due to us/euro timezoning and the fact I only really play gears

We need to get ILX multiplayer going, quick! If I see any of you guys on and you're playing online, I'll endeavour to join you. It's true, almost everyone I've played with online has been dickish.

Dy OTM re: Forza 2. I quite like some racing games (Outrun, SF Rush, Mario Kart etc) but I've never been into the slow, realistic sim ones. Forza's won me - it's awesome! Now when flashy cars drive past in real life I crane my neck round to look at them, where before I never gave a shit.

Forza 2 is great. I haven't had much of a chance to play it yet but I am saving up for a fancy black Audi to pimp out and recreate car chases from Ronin in. It is like Gran Tourismo without the incredible mind-numbing tediousness.

I need to get a racing game that can occupy my attention while trying to exercise on my stationary bike.

I think I just sent a friend request to everybody on this list who I hadn't from the other one. I believe that makes ten for ILG. If I missed anybody my tag is jeff levine

how is boom boom rocket?

o hi dere, you may know me as 'stevietonychick'. tony hawks proving ground is much fun... and worms.

Anyone playing EXIT? I haven't really gotten into it yet, but so far it is kind of entertaining. Once I get to the really fun puzzle missions I'm sure I will be in love.

Boom Boom Rocket is great if you're very tired or very stoned or both. otherwise it's like Guitar Hero without the guitar or the hero.

stevie can you play proving ground with others?

there is definitely an online option, sunny, though i only actually played online (on a friend's copy of halo) for the first time yesterday, so have not checked it out yet. haven't played tony hawks since PS1 days but very much enjoyed it. also, timeshift is thee shit.

slowly turning into one of the best systems ever??

looking forward to hunkering down with some time off over christmas to play through my stockpile of recent releases

It seems like it has been a really long time since there has been an intersting game released on xbox live. Also what happened to Discs of Tron?

space giraffe was pretty recent, no?

well - over two and a half months ago, I think

There's a Battlestar Galactica XBLA game now.

Also Extend Every Extra Extreme from the Meteos and Lumines guys.

jeff: the game i mentioned upthread, "exit," is a FANTASTIC live arcade game that was released about 10 days ago... really fun, classy-looking puzzle-platformer. just play yr own music while playing, because the 30-second music loop provided is irritating as sin.

I'd heard the Battlestar Galactica game was horrible (maybe you were joking?). I already bought Every Extend Extra on the psp - didn't give it too much of a shot, but really didn't like it. I've still got it sitting around waiting for a second chance. That Exit game does look semi-interesting - I fogot about it. Another game that first came out on psp...

In regards to "slowly turning into one of the best systems ever" ... I do think the 360 now has a pretty nice library of games, but I'm a little worried - because after Mass Effect next week, it doesn't seem like (I have yet to hear of any) exclusive games they have coming out that look interesting. Maybe Alan Wake? On the other hand, 2008 for the ps3 look rather promising (MGS4, Little Big Planet, GT5). The 360 has to announce something for 2008 to keep me excitied.

Puzzle Quest is on XBLA now, too.

As for '08 360 exclusives I'm interested in:

Ninja Gaiden II
Lost Odyssey
Fable 2
Too Human
Halo Wars
Culdcept Saga

Also keep in mind that every nearly every multiplatform game ends up playing better on 360. Rumors of MGS4 coming to 360 later in the year still going strong.

How did I forget about Ninja Gaiden II? Definitely looking forward to that. And maybe Fable 2. What's Culdcept Saga - never heard of it?

The news (rumor?) that they're going to start selling original xbox titles over live for around 15 bucks (beginning next month) is kind of exciting. I never had an xbox and have only picked up a few old games so far. The first titles are supposedly going to be Halo, Fable, Fahrenheit, Crimson Skies: High Road To Revenge, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex and Burnout 3, but lots more to follow (apparently).

Culdcept is a weird card strategy/board game thing with a big cult following. I missed the last gen version, so I'm looking forward to checking it out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culdcept_Saga

As for the other three, Lost Odyssey is another (original FF creator) Sakaguchi RPG, Halo Wars is a Halo RTS and Too Human is the new game from Silicon Knights (Eternal Darkness).

Yeah - the other three I'd heard of, but have yet to spark my interest... I am also looking forward to the Ikarugu HD version.

Speaking of the classic xbox titles, here's the quote from the official press release (when they say "all" xbox live members, I wonder if they mean North America or worldwide)...

"Starting on Dec. 4, all Xbox LIVE members will receive a free system update with a host of new features and enhancements. Included in this update will be the launch of Xbox Originals, which, for the first time, will enable consumers to download and own full Xbox games, such as "Halo," "Psychonauts," "Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge" and "Fable," among others, directly to their Xbox 360. This new service will launch with an array of blockbuster titles spanning the most popular genres from action-adventure to classic role-playing games.

With no disc necessary, and at just 1,200 Microsoft Points per game, Xbox LIVE members can easily rediscover these hit titles, or check out a game they missed the first time around. This launch lineup is only the beginning, as Xbox 360 owners can expect to see a growing catalog of Xbox games to download and own over the coming year."

Nice! Never played Psychonauts. Are they going to get a resolution kick, I wonder?

Also, everybody make sure to get your free Carssonnne or whatever the fuck it is on the 15th. I think it'll auto download it if you have it set to grab all new Arcade titles.

Somehow I don't think they'll be upgrading the games - probably just releasing straight up ports - though most of the games for xbox were in 480p, I think, right, which isn't so bad. I'm excited, 1. Because of finally getting to play some missed games 2. Don't like going into most of the retail stores dealing extensively in used games 3. Not having to worry about scratched up used games. Worried about, 1. Filling up the 11 or so gig I got left on my hard drive

Once you bought a game I am pretty sure you can delete it at any time and redownload it if you want to play it again, it's linked to your account. Atl east I think this is true.

I thought i'd revive this old thread because I wanna talk about my XBLA love for the past weeks. Sensible World of Soccer + Metal Slug 3 the other day + Omega Five coming out next week! And Rez HD on the horizon! Notto mention Ikaruga comes out... err, some day.

as much as I am required by principle to hate msft I am pretty stoked if the CES rumors are true about netflix on XBL

and please, please get a new case design

"Microsoft admits to having some trouble over the holidays with Xbox Live, the online service it offers for users of its Xbox 360 video game console. To make amends the company will offer Xbox Live users a free game from Xbox Live Arcade."

!!!

How I get this.

(I didn't even notice the Live probs)

no specifics yet. I hope we get to choose which game.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,141018-c,gameconsoles/article.html

ewww...its an arcade game.

im still having trouble connecting.

why eww?

yeah - what does it's an arcade game mean? I can't find any info on the free game being announced anywhere anyway.

Has anybody tried out Omega 5?

I played the trial version of Omega 5 last night. Kinda R-Typical. But with dudes who fly standing straight-up for some weird reason.

I think the Pirates vs. Ninjas vs. Zombies vs. Robots vs. _____ Dodgeball XBLA game will be sweet.

Yeah, I bought Omega Five because I weirdly buy games w/o even trying the trial, ALLLL the time. Anyway, I think it was worth the 15 Canadian bucks (ps. fuk u microsoft for charging me more), at the very least for the amazing Engrish. "STEJ WAN. DA GREYSHAL FOWTRESS."

why eww?

-- Will M., Friday, January 11, 2008 1:43 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Link

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

yeah - what does it's an arcade game mean?

arent the arcade games just like something youd have on your cellphone but on an xbox instead. crap like jewelquest or whatever? maybe im wrong.

anyway, i played beautiful katamari for this first time this weekend. now im REALLY hating this retarded asymmetrical contoller. i guess i should have shelled out for a ps3?

I'd be hating on Beautiful Katamari more than the controller.

the controller really sucks

I wonder if namco is going ahead with plans for more versions of Katamari, including a ps3 version (maybe wii?), or if the 360 flop has killed it off

it would probably still sell well enough on the series rep alone, no?

the more that the original designer is involved, and the less the other guy is involved, thebetter it'll be i reckon.

I just thought BK was boring. The old game had fewer stuff to roll up, but each item made an impact. With the fancy graphics engine you can roll up a ton of stuff, but it's just not as fun. Also, the story is half-assed and not very funny.

YAY MY XBOX JUST DID THE RED RING FOR THE THIRD TIME

How come every time I even read about someone getting the red ring I feel jinxed, like I should avert my eyes?

oh by the way, my gamertag is trdn89 - I plan to be on a fair bit in the near future as I get IRL trashed and drive around Paradise City aimlessly (and rapidly)

My 360 freezes after a few hours of play... but it never did the red ring thing. I have one of the original 360s (2nd or 3rd shipment out before the first Christmas it went on sale). I think I'm gonna get a cooling fan that attaches to the back. My goal is to leave the game on for a long time just so that I'll know if it will eventually get the red ring. MY 3 year warranty will be over soon. I better bust my 360 now.

question: has anyone from this thread had their 360 for more than say 6 months without it breaking? i eventually want to buy a 360 and i would like to buy it used but it seems that everyone has at least one break on them. is the failure rate really that bad?

according to an insider the failure rate is 30%. i've have been putting off buying an xbox360 until there's enough evidence that they've sorted this out. well that and lack of money. also, when are they going to put wifi into one of their consoles??? even nintendo, kings of cutting corners, put it in their machines these days.

A Seattle P-I blog has a good interview with a Microsoft employee re: the RRoD. Going to the main blog page (first link), much follow-up activity.

Holy fucking shit it is risen.

No. No, it's isn't.

http://www.blackratchet.org/etc/blam.gif

I just got my xbox live account working. I'll probably mostly be playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Settlers of Catan for now. My gamertag is REDACTED.

Any further thoughts on Beautiful Katamari? I loved the ones on PS2 but I never had one of my own, so I was excited that I'd be able to play it on 360. But the word is that it sucks? What's up with that? I played it on 360 for half an hour recently and it seemed fine to me---what am I missing?

I gave my reasons upthread, but if you enjoyed it you might as well rent it.

borrowing my brother's x-box 360 while he's away in iraq. i'll prolly buy my own sometime this year.

bought bioshock...pretty amazing!

Hey Will M, have you bought every single XBLA game ever?

Definitely not, there are so many shitty ones. But I've demoed maybe hal of them and bought about... 20% of them.

I think I have 20 XBLA games. Short-burst gaming is the kind I like the best lately.

I downloaded that Chess game, but so far it's too easy. I am a terrible chess player but the computer is somehow worse.

I did a games compare with you guys and I'm amazed at how many XBLA games you have. I have bought a total of two in the last year.

polyphonic - which chess game did you download? There are two on live. The first one that came out is supposed to be pretty crappy - but the newer one - chessmaster - has been a good program in the past (not sure about this version). I actually have the ps2 version which has tons of features & was plenty challenging for me. There must be difficulty setting on there right?

It's Chessmaster. I haven't discovered the difficulty setting yet, but I haven't looked very hard.

The music in the game is ATROCIOUS. If I didn't have a music drive hooked up, I might never be able to play it.

yeah, there are just so many quality arcade games, and they're so easy to buy... there are still four or five old ones that i plan to get during the next dry spell.

that said... poker smash looks like some clever, quality puzzle fun, and ikaruga is coming, which i know if an AMAZING game already and I don't own, N+ is an addition to a game that I already consider one of the best platformers ever, Castle Crashers looks brilliant, they're making X360 Peggle... I probably will not see a dry spell for ages

LOVING undertow. ENJOYING Rez. REVELLING in burnout paradise. NOT VERY GOOD AT brother's copy of Call Of Duty 4.

Rather disappointed to learn that next week's release of Discs of Tron doesn't feature online play. I was really looking forward to that... now I'll pass. Slightly regretting I just signed up for another year of gold too...

They're releasing that next week on XBLA?

http://kotaku.com/354194/discs-of-tron-rezzing-on-xbla-next-week

i wonder if they're breaking embargo or something, i haven't heard this from anyone but them!

scratch that, joystiq said it too.

I played a bit of the PC version of Peggle. It's an okay timewaste but I don't love it.

Tried some games yesterday at my brother's house... Every Extend Extra Extreme isn't so much a port of the psp game, but a completely different game under the same skin. I guess I prefer the 360 version, which includes a straight up geometry wars style shooter and a decent time attack mode. I was surprised the game had no bosses though and no real progression (unlike the psp version which has levels you move through and unlock, and a variety of bosses to face). Fun for the hour or two we put into it, but I'm not sure it's worth ten dollars (I might buy it if there's some kind of sale for four or five bucks).

On the other hand, Undertow - I think I would have been unhappy if I'd spent the time to download that when it was free. Also Omega 5 is pretty much garbage. Both shooters just feel way too clunky

looks like (no surprise, I guess) that Kotuka story about Discs of Tron not having multiplayer was wrong. It does have it, though I couldn't find a game with anybody else on live (lately it seems like people only play halo or call of duty?). Port isn't bad. Instead of a spinner (obviously), you aim the curser with the right joystick - which seems to work okay - giving the game a little bit more of a twin stick feel. I used to love the game - but must admit - it's actually pretty lame and limited. At least it was only five bucks.

Fuck, Carcassonne is pure crack.

does anybody here play Spades on xbla? I've been playing some multiplayer spades but I'm finding the degree of microphone chat unnerving. Is there usually a lot of microphone chat on xbla (not just on spades, but generally)?

sounds like typical xbox. I thought there was a way to mute everybody, but from their FAQ it looks like you have to select each player?

....................

MUTE THE PLAYER
This is your most effective tool. If you don't want to hear them, turn them off!

To do this, select their gamertag from the Players list, and then select the Mute option.

I finally had my first run-in with stereotypically racist/sexist/homophobic etc. asshole dudes on Live the other day, while playing COD4 (of course). It really sucked. It's not even fun to mock those idiots. One guy totally burned another by calling him a book-reader, to which the offended party responded with "I don't even know how to read books". It so perfectly lived up to the Live cliches that I almost wonder if it was some sort of performance piece, or something.

Yeah - sometimes it's hards to tell the difference between the idiots and the intentional griefers. It's obviously not just xbox live that can be shitty like that though - any kind of anonymous group experience, probably. Perhaps xbox live gets more than their fair share as it attracts more teenagers? However, I've heard some pretty shitty stuff playing TF2 on the PC too.

"I don't even know how to read books," is a pretty funny line though

yeah I think I just need to get used to playing online. I haven't run into any serious rudeness, just a lot of bragging about how much dope they're currently smoking, and I don't hear about it when I'm just hoping for a good game of Spades or Settlers of Catan.

er, don't want to hear about it

Wait, you guys read books?

it was some sort of performance piece, or something.

OMG YOU GAVE ME IDEAS

n+ marked the 10,000th Microsoft Point I've spent. GUYZ I HAEV A PORBLEM D:

wo is that like 10,000 dollars

that is like... $147.50

so should I buy n+ tonight?

Wednesday!
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/t/triggerheartxboxlivearcade/

worse than spending 10,000 points, this weekend my gamerscore cracked 10,000

oh man i am so going to also get trigger heart :|

AND YES YOU SHOULD GET N+ possibly the best game on xbla.

and i finally beat bioshock last night, it was really, really awesome. i actually didn't except to like it as much as i expected, but man. i really connected with it.

I did pick up N+ over the weekend - yes! I didn't actually play it too much, just the tutorial and intro levels, I guess, about fifteen levels. And it seems pretty neat. Definitely I'm still surprised every time I die, how violent that is, and how funny - it makes dying okay (like in Team Fortress 2). The music is good too. It's just a really nicely presented game and seems fun. There's so many levels though!

I'm curious about the level editor - I want to try that out too - a pretty cool feature right there.

I recently got the achievement for dying 1000 times. 15 points. awesome.

I finally got a 360 today (premium pack for just £90!). So I've harvested all your gamertags - expect requests. I'm still Jimdoo.

Bought Dead Rising, PGR4, Burnout Paradise, Mass Effect. Haven't tried the latter two yet, PGR will be fun as soon as I give it proper attention. Dead Rising could turn out to be lovely, but man, the text is SO tiny when you only have a normal telly. It's almost unplayable as a result!

Then went online, and got E4, which I LOVE, and Rez, which i've been craving for months.

And what's pleasing me most, so far, is the fact I finally have a way of wirelessly streaming divx video from my PC to my living room TV! At last, I get to watch LOST from a sofa! (Oh yeah, I'm quite excited about this Lost game too, even though I'm sure it'll turn out to be ropy).

Congrats!

There may have been a Dead Rising thread? That game is TOUGH, especially the first time through. In a way I'd say the game is broken - I'm not sure you can really beat it without resorting to gamefaqs. There are a lot of tricks that seem like they weren't the way the game was purposely designed, but more like exploits. It can be clunky at times too. But seriously, once you get to know the game, get your head around its somewhat fucked design, it can be one of the most fun games out there. It can get really frustrating though - especially your first time through. I recommend just fooling around with it for a while working to build up your stats & quitting about at the halfway point and starting over - since your stats carry over it makes the game a lot easier (more health, strength and being able to carry more supplies and weapons). I don't think it's possible to get to the true end anyway w/o bulking up your stats first...

I'm back, bitches. Anyone play *cough*CoD4*cough*? It's all anyone plays these days amirite?

There is a Dead Rising thread, btw.

I believe I am about to take the lead on the ILG leaderboard for CoD4. Put that it your collective pipes and smoke it.

dude there's no way that you have some of the dudes in your leaderboard, in that case. who is it woh's playing it all the time... shit, i can't remember now

I think you're the lead on mine. Who am I missing?

JimD - if your monitor is nicer than your TV there's a vga cable you can buy to hook your 360 to your monitor (at least you could see how that stuff looks in a higher resolution and read that text)...

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/x/xbox360vgahdcable/

i think it's xbox player "chachee" who is someone on these boards... course now i can't rmember

I bought a Dell 2407WFP HC today and have it hooked up to my 360 over VGA and it looks... amazing : O

Annoyed that I don't have my CoD4 here yet.

Here's a question: I thought I read somewhere that Microsoft made a few XNA developed games freely available on the arcade recently but I can't find any... Anyone know anything? That ninja one looked good.

It's like I bought a new console basically... it looks THAT good. Dead Rising is insane.

They were free for a limited time - I think they came down last Sunday?

Ah, bad timing.

And yep, I've been considering grabbing a vga cable and plugging the 360 into my lovely big HD monitor. But it's just a bit impractical - monitor is in my bedroom, 360 in the living room, and the whole point of that is that I want to be able to stream video from my bedroom pc to my living room tv. Moving the 360 would prevent that. It'd be nice if I could stream in both directions!

czn: http://forums.xna.com/ShowThread.aspx?PostID=46554

i think that might answer yr questions!

i think it's xbox player "chachee" who is someone on these boards... course now i can't rmember

Yeah that was me and my roomie. His 360 died a few weeks ago and it doesn't look like he is going to get it fixed any time soon, so in the meantime I have bought a new one and started a new acct. New screenname is "fugexlac", and I'll play w/ anyone anytime.

Is REDACTED somebody on here?

Yes, it's me; see upthread.

pining for some gta action (have lent me ps2 to a friend) i have bought crackdown 2nd hand, over saints row. was this the wrong decision? anyone played both?

i also love n+, i am not a total neanderthal...

I have played both, and they're both fun. Crackdown has the advantages of being a lot more innovative than SR and not having idiotic writing and voiceacting and SR has the advantages of having way more to do than Crackdown and being a lot more like actually playing GTA, since it's a complete ripoff, albeit a well-done one.

Also, this may be a weird thing to say, but Saints' Row is a lot more morally repugnant than GTA, and that really turned me off. Like, in GTA, you can kill civilians, but you're not supposed to, really, and you don't get rewarded for it. In Saints' Row there are all these missions where it's like "We need to make the rival gang look bad! Let's drive to their turf and kill all the women who work in the stores there!"

Yes it's funny how GTA works on that level, for all it's labelled evilness and violence.
An important mission - you're in a hectic car chase trying to get back to base. BUT you sure as hell try your best NOT to run over any pedestrians or attract any extra 'lawful' entanglement. As you know you'll get all your weapons confiscated as well as failing the mission and probably losing a cool car.

And thus after a while you realise that mowing innoccents down just creates more hassle and no reward so you just don't do it, unless you're in a *really* foul mood of course lol.

cheers dudes... less enamoured with the idea of moral repugnancy so i guess i made the right choice!

Crackdown is a lot of fun, but other than that there's an open world you run around in, it's really not very GTA like. I did not play much of Saints' Row because the graphics really bugged me & the cut scenes were horrible. It's an ugly ugly game. Crackdown though is sort of beautiful - it's great fun to power up your character and to be able to climb higher and higher building collecting more and more power-ups so you can climb higher, jump further, etc.

The guys who play "Skate" on XBL are way too good. I beat the game and yet they're beating the living shit out of me. So humiliating. :/

Big price cuts in europe for xbox360. in uk arcade is £149, normal £199 and elite £249. hmmm tempting!

Boo, trying to play crackdown with stevie but it won't let us because we don't have the same amount of downloaded content. Sucks!

sorry about that jim! i started dling stuff but then couldn't get it up and running again... soon though!

i was up very late jumping and climbing to the top of buildings, it is an ace game

anyone else getting or heard about random crashes and full system stalls when playing cod4?

: (((

OK so it seems like it was because I was just about to earn my red rings

fuck sake, microsoft

O HAI

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2170/2367450478_040d7f9550_o.jpg

Oh - sorry. Send it in a.s.a.p and you should get it back in time for GTA IV, at least (I hope)

It... actually rebooted, for some reason and I'm enjoying some CoD4 right now.

It's done this before - I believe there's two grades of red rings tho, one that means O HAI and another which is softer and just means something went wrong try back in a bit. It's done the latter a few times before and almost instantly rebooted. This time it took 6 or 7 tries and I was sure it was done for, but no, working fine now. Phew!

Fuck, sorry man. I've felt this pain :(

Is there any evidence that more recent 360s (say, from December) are less likely to go red?

Are all (or most?) new games coming out region free? Coz I have a (recently acquired) PAL system and got assassin's creed and Bioshock NTSC and they work on it. And they are a heap cheaper than buying Australian versions.

Is there any evidence that more recent 360s (say, from December) are less likely to go red?

I don't know about December but I bought mine last year and so far no red rings.

I bought mine in August or something, and mine hasn't RRoD'd but it is starting to skip during some audio and video and it is louder than it used to be, I'm convinced... if it decides to red ring, I hope it's in the next wek or two, or long after GTAIV.

Someone else should get Culdcept Saga so I have someone to play against in the future. That game is more fun than I thought it'd be.

Cozen, you could try this.

http://www.team-xecuter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47293

thanks jim

I did the towel trick and its back again, but for how long...

folx: I played some crackdown w. jimd recently and kicked his ass (tho the 2nd time ws an accident, sorry!!). tht game is funnnnnnn!!

Ha, yeah. I actually quite enjoyed spectating while coz picked up, threw around and generally ABUSED my corpse!

oh god ikaruga tomorrow

A vertical shooter remade for widescreen TVs! Not sure I see the point in that myself. Surely it's going to mean 70% wasted space.

There's a vertical mode, aka turn your TV 90 degrees, or lie down on the couch as I did with Triggerheart Exelica = huge game space!

I was really looking forward to this game :(

was? ? ? ? ?
what happened?

dead 360

ok downloaded ikaruga

I will complete this!!

you can play online coop right?

can you ever

i will have this tonight, i reckon.

got a bit dispirited watching the replay of the top ranked player on xbla

nice feature being able to download replays but, as I said, dispiriting

I know next to nothing about Ikrauga, save reviews of this rerelease. How difficult and costly would it be to track down a GameCube copy, and would the hours and dollars combined exceed ten bucks?

Garrett - I was just looking into that yesterday myself. In the US, it looks like the cheapest used copies are going for around 40 bucks, with "new" copies fetching a whopping 120+

Plenty of copies to be found on amazon or ebay, etc...

it si very much a collector's game these days, and that's just the GC version forget about the DC version!

ikaruga. fucking hard.

srsly the rotating bullet showers in level 2 just before the boss kill me every fucking time. what is teh knak?

forget it, i got to level three and it's even harder ;_;

i know it's only five levels, so if it weren't tough you'd feel cheated, but there's no sense of progress, just of crushing futility.

^co-sign

With the 360 version I thought you could download other people's runs, so maybe watching those will help you out. Or go cry in a corner some more.

I've just given Microsoft 99 US dollars to fix my console - hopefully a decision I won't come to regret. I want to play more N+

I'm kind of liking this viking game. It's sooo dumb though.

Anyone tried the Codemasters Racedriver Grid demo? It's been a long time since I played a trad racer (the original Gran Turismo so like ten years) but this looks like a lot of fun, racing with realistic damage (try maintaining your lead after you've smashed into a wall and the steering is pulling heavily to the left), and I'm particularly loving the drift mode, makes me feel like I'm in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (embarrassed cough)

I forgot about MSR, I played that quite extensively. But have tried Project Gotham (3) and it didn't appeal.

I've tried the GRID demo but it hasn't sold me on the game. First the graphics are kind of ugly (compared to GT5, Forza 2 or PGR 3&4). Second, I don't really like drifting (so that kills off 1/3 of the game right there for me). Third, the camera (just like in DIRT, which uses the same engine) kind of annoys me - I like a first person cam when racing, but they only give you the bumper view (too low) or the hood view (too much real-estate taken up by the reflecting hood). I also noticed the other day that the way they've placed the speedometer stuff at the edges of the screen, instead of in the center, makes it harder to see. Finally, when I tried to race online it crashed my system, and I had to do a hard restart (scary). I think I liked DIRT more, because it was a different experience than you could find in other racers, while this game travels over the same ground as other games that I think do a better job. It does have a good damadge engine, like you say (same as DIRT), but maybe it's too easy to smash up your car - kind of frustrating (never tried the rewind feature).

You should try more of the rewinding as I think it's one of the main "points" of the game that makes it "fun." But I couldn't get into it for the same reasons as you (but I haven't dug a non-arcade racer since Gran Turismo 2, except for a very slight love affair with my free copy of Forza 2)

guys, when we play gta IV it says something along the lines of 'you cant do online stuff because your user id doesnt have the correct access/permissions'

is this about the silver/gold memberships?

You have to have a gold membership to play 360 games online - yes. I think each copy of GTA IV came with a one free month of live card though - you may want to dig that out.

okay. i was saving that for the mystery exclusive content. what else can you do online with the game besides multiplayer

"the game" being gta IV

Nothing yet, but they've promised downloadable content (which I expect will just mean extra missions) in the future. I expect you'll be able to get that whether you're a gold or silver member though - Gold memberships are usually just for actual online play.

ahh...gotcha. Thanks!

oh, one other thing. is a wireless broadband connection good enough for playing online or do you really need to be plugged in?

I've been using xbox live wirelessly and it's been fine, no noticeable problems (I have dsl).

Wireless works great for me, and my xbox is quite a long way from our router too. (xp)

What's your gamertag Sunny?

i THINK its rabbitwithfangs1

ill check tonight

Jim, its just plain old rabbitwithfangs

Am I right in thinking there hasn't been a single interesting arcade release since ikaruga months ago?

I'd say that was pretty accurate, yeah. I wanted something to play a few weeks ago, so I got Lumines Live - played the first one loads on the PSP, and loved it, so I figured it'd be worth buying again if only so I could play the Heavenly Star stage. But OMG! Why didn't anybody warn me that Lumines Live is a huge fat LIE? You buy what you think is the whole game, then it turns out you've only actually bought challange mode, and any other modes need to be paid for separately! Such a piss take. I decided never to buy another Miziguchi game, by way of protest.

And to rub salt in the wound, Heavenly Star wasn't even included. Apparently that was a separate add-on too. And the worst thing? It was FREE but I missed it, it's been removed from Live Marketplace now.

Seriously, huge amounts of bullshit related to this game.

I think I have Heavenly Star, I will see if there's a way to send you an "invitation" to download it or something since they don't remove things, just delist them...

That would make me VERY happy. :)

Am I on your friend list? I'm Jimdoo.

Will - how have you completed so many N+ single player episodes? I'm loving the game but getting so stuck. Have you been using multiple players to complete the single player stuff - cause that seems like the only way to beat some of that stuff...

multiple players? how do you mean?

i just played that game for HOURS for a while... pretty much the only game i played from... whenever it came out, until ikaruga or gta IV or something. what level(s) are you stuck on?

TECH QUESTION: having played my brother's 360 for six months, i now own my own. is there any way to transfer my saved games between machines?

Will - by multiple players, I meant, I fooled around with some of the single player levels at a friend's house a while back, and you can play through them with multiple people - which sort of breaks the hard levels or at least makes 'em more possible to beat (for instance, one guy does a suicide attack clearing out a lot of the red mines, making it possible for another guy to easily reach the switch, while player three stands at the exit ready to tap A) - I wasn't sure if it actually saved your times when played that way though or not (I thought maybe not).

stevie - it looks like you can transfer your saves with this http://assets.xbox.com/en-us/support/na-memoryunit.pdf

thanks jeff!

This is one of the levels that has been driving me crazy in N+...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qhuWWtkyAg

now that I've given in and watched some videos of people doing it I imagine I can beat it

fuck yeah i spent a lot of time on that level, but once i figured out a strategy i managed to beat it in about an hour or two. that guy is jumping over only one set every jump, but you can definitely do two. Other than that It's just a matter of getting over the guys, even if it means you won't make progress for another ~6 seconds.

jeff: swos?

once i figured out a strategy i managed to beat it in about an hour or two

Woah. Phrases like this make me very glad I didn't get this game.

czn - I'd be up for some swos next time you see me on. I've yet to succeed in scoring a goal though - so I don't know what kind of challenge you'll get. I'm still having trouble with the aftertouch. Need to get one of those 3rd party controllers maybe. I wonder how the game would work with my fighting stick? Anybody tried it?

my xbox just came back from the hospital and it seems to work again, which i'm excited about. i just got N+ and it's really really fun.

no way

alan wake confirmed for E3?

http://e3.net/games/?game_id=8

czn - that's not a legit site. I know some of the stuff on there has already been debunked as fake info. Whoever set it up seems to be posting guesses - though Alan Wake is a good guess, right? the real e3 site is http://www.e3expo.com/ - I think

YOU HAVE BREAK MY HAERT

anyone fancy a game of crackdown?

i think im gonna finally take the plunge and get an xbox 360.. but so confused by arcade/pro/elite. wtf should i get. i dont really care about xbox backwards compatibility.

arcade = no hard drive. you need this to play most games these days + download off xbla. it DOES have HDMI - £160
pro = hard drive but HDMI. - £200
elite = bigger hard drive, HDMI and is black. -£270

arcade and elite have new chipsets I think and don't get the red rings

basically pro is entry level, and the one most ppl get; you can still play HD but only through component or VGA

^this is my understanding, tho it might be out of date so pls correct if wrong

pro = HD but NO HDMI, sorry

^again subject to corrections

also, one of us one of us...

ohh... you NEED a hard drive to play games? whats HDMI?

most games need an HD to run, and the ones that don't need one to save <-- I think is the position

HDMI <-- type of HD interface/port... like SCART obv but makes stuff pretty

so basically i have to get the elite.... or can i get the arcade and buy an HD addon??

http://img.skitch.com/20080707-b4n7fs5wp6rne2gwgc1ts4e8wx.jpg

oh WAIT, I do apologise; I am talking out my ass

google is our friend: the PRO now ships with HDMI

so it basically boils down to difft HD sizes: 0gb, 20gb, or 120gb

20's plenty

crib sheet
http://img.skitch.com/20080707-8j2kry1er8fwd2976gdg9g9typ.jpg

ooh headset!

i might chicken out and just get a cheap used ps2 and play all these games i missed out on.. suikoden 3. fire emblem. etc

fire emblem not on PS2

dragon quest 8 is though

plus all the katamari fluff

ooh headset!
http://img.skitch.com/20080707-trtphy1y83imn5acsw14hsam8f.jpg

Visually there is pretty much no difference between HDMI output games and games output through component cables. Also the component cables are included and you have to buy the HDMI cables separately, right (and they aren't exactly cheap)? Also your TV has to have an HDMI input, obviously (and if you have an HDTV it probably does, unless it's a quite old one).

There have only been one or two games to require the hard drive - and only for online play, I think. You want the hard drive version though, just to easily be able to download the nice games they offer on the service - several which are better than anything you can get on disc for the system. I have a twenty gig version and nearly two years in, still have eleven gig free. Most of the download stuff is pretty small. You would only need a bigger hard drive if you plan to use your box to download multiple movies or TV series at the same time, or if you want to store a bunch of music on there, I guess.

Also, backwards compatibility is the same on all versions.

huh - I didn't know the arcade didn't support old xbox games. I guess because without a hard drive there is now place to store the update to run 'em?

no place

also they do sell the hard drives separately, but they're over-priced. Better to spend a little extra from the get-go

so many systems, so little time :(

maybe i'll just start with the gamecube so i can play the new zelda twilight thing, fire emblem (thanks tom), and resident evil 4... then by the time im bored of those, maybe the xbox will have gotten a price chop!

Hey - I popped in Triggerheart tonight and there was an update to include proper leaderboards - fixing my major complaint about that game (well, except that it still feels average).

JimD - do you have any Ikargua advice to pass on? You're at the top of my friend's leaderboard, I think. I've yet to play the game very much though (maybe ten times). I guess the key may be just to play more? Did you play the previous version too?

Um.

A friend who has played LOTS before came over, had one go on my machine, then I realised he was logged in as me! So no, can't offer any tips, I'm rubbish. The score is a lie!

anyone up for some tee it up golf?

seems a lot like how I imagine hot shots golf is... I never played that but it always looked fun

this is fun : ) like a cartoony PGA golf

I am loving Assault Heroes 2. It's like Jackal on the NES, a top-down shooter, with insane numbers of enemies from all directions. I played co-op over xbla last night and it was fabulous.

I'm downloading Tee It Up now czn, I'll see if I can find you in there.

cool

was playing cod4 for a bit but will jump back on the golf ; D

:(

Every time I try to accept an invite it tells me "game session no longer available".

seem to be having some difficult joining jim? : )

oh xpost

weird

try setting up a game and I'll try joining yours

yup; I'm getting the same error : (

weird, cos when I set up the game other folk are joining. teething problems I guess

Grr.

Ah well, I'll get a bit of single player practice in for now I guess, and we can see whether they've fixed it in a couple of days.

xbox live cod4 in-game chat:
dude 1: "dudes, would you ever like lick a girl's asshole"
dude 2: "uh... yeah, but only in the shower tho""

!!!

Hahahah oh man. I was aobut to say "it's been to long since I was on XBLive" but really I won't get class statements like that, instead I'll get, like, people saying faggot a bunch. Which is why I don't really go there anymore. THat and all I play is N+ and Ikaruga on my xbox.

yeah the faggot/nigger stuff really puts me off.

uh-oh quoted of context.

This is kind of an advantage of playing GTA4 on my tv: the volume is really low compared to what I normally use my tv at that I can't hear much of what's being said; and I don't use the mic unless it's a coop game where coop matters (not like in team deathmatch). Yeah, I could turn up the volume, but I can hear explosions and the songs on the radio, but not the crap other players say, so overall it's good.

what's worse was I was only online to play some cod4 with my little bro, who was also in the same game and is also only 12

what's the story with xbox's breaking? I've read bad things but am considering buying one anyway, seems to be so many great games. I'm tempted to shell out for the elite as I've heard it's more reliable.

I think, don't quote me, they're sorted it out now; it was something to do with the heatsinks buckling when warm - some hardware issue that they've ironed out anyways...

either way they all come with a 3yr warranty that covers the red ring of death

Just make sure to wait a few more days Ronan, as a price drop is apparently imminent

ah good tip! thanks a lot.

MS announcements at E3 today included a brand new dashboard interface. Make that a brand new COMPULSORY dashboard interface. Hmm.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/14/microsoft-giving-the-xbox-360-a-totally-new-dashboard/

It's weird - I think the new dashboard looks good, but I don't like the avatars at all (they remind me of those horrible yahoo avatars). Everything about the re-design looks slicker, more adult, then they dump these goofy cartoony characters everywhere. It's almost like this was designed by a giant corporation rather than by an individual with design sense and vision :)

Heh.

I guess the avatar will be an upgrade on my tiny picture of Karen Allen from Indy 4, but like if I wanted a Wii I would've bought one.

I finally downloaded Pinball for XBLA. I think this might be the best pinball video game I've tried. The ball physics is surprisingly solid.

The Too Human demo is pretty lame. For some reason I thought maybe it would be good.

god it was terrible eh? i maybe played 10 minutes, 7 of which was cutscenes, and i was like "fuck this, ticket to ride time"

I bought the arcade last weekend, got pre-loved versions of GTAiv and Burnout paradise with it at a tenner a pop too (some special secret deal). Feels very very odd not to be playing on a sony console.

Seeing as I haven't got it on-line and won't for a while as we have games stuff in the spare room upstairs and all the b-band gubbins is in the lounge - do I really need the hard drive? How reliable are the wireless bridges?

ugh, that fucking wireless adapter. be advised that it doesn't support WPA2 despite all the claims it makes to the contrary on the packaging.

porkpie, do you have a laptop / wifi in your house?

I connect to live using my macbook as a wireless bridge via this setup and I'm sure something is similar using a PC: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/17/how-to-share-your-macs-internet-connection-with-your-xbox/

sure there is something similar*

we do, and that looks like a good idea - one other potential solution is that weird plug based network doohickey.

yeah, there's also the plug-in wifi adapter for the 360 itself - I didn't buy this because i. it's a travesty that the 360 doesn't ship with wifi as standard, ii. it's quite spendy at £50/60 and iii. I am cheap

I use an Apple Airport Express which also lets you stream music wirelessly to your stereo, in addition to serving your xbox with a net connection,

You should look for used 20GB hard drives, since a bunch of people upgraded to 120GB HDs when they came out... they were insanely cheap for a while. may have petered off by now, but still.

The next month's worth of releases on Live look extremely good. Its been a long time!

July 30th, Geometry Wars 2
August 6th, Braid
August 13th, Bionic Commando: Rearmed
August 20th, Galaga Legions

I use an Apple Airport Express which also lets you stream music wirelessly to your stereo, in addition to serving your xbox with a net connection,

-- Euler, den 17 juli 2008 21:10 (1 week ago) Bookmark Link

wait a minute, explain how this works please?

Sure. The Airport Express can be used to extend your network, so that a device plugged into it gets an IP address just like it was plugged into your main router or modem or whatever. And it still works as a normal Airport Express so that you can play sounds to your stereo.

To set it up, the easiest way (if you have an Apple router hooked up to your modem) is just to run the setup wizard in Airport Utility, and say that you want to extend your network. It handles all the details of copying MAC addresses, etc. Or you can do it manually. I've gone both routes with success both times.

Does that help?

jeff don't forget the 27 of august, castle crashers!

yeah - people seem excited about that one, but I don't know anything about it. What's the deal? The art I've seen doesn't make it look like my kind of thing...

That helps, Euler, thanks. Just realized I don't have an Airport express, silly me... I'm on Live anyway, but streaming music sounded cool although it's pretty pricey - as everything Apple.

I don't have much faith in Bionic Commando, looks pretty poor, but if they pull it off it would be great.

You could just do what I do. I run a program on my Mac called Connect360 that syncs up my Macbook to my 360, so I can watch movies + play music off my Macbook onto my television. If you don't have a Mac, it's even easier to connect them up (or so I'm told -- I don't actually know how to do it).

castle crashers looks like gameplay-wise it's taking a page out of double dragon or those TMNT games, a crazy beat 'em up with special moves and shit but at the end of the level you have to fight the other dudes on your team for the treasure, i think.

:(

Jeff has sucked the fun out of Geometry Wars 2 for me, by racking up a bunch of scores I'll never even come close to beating, all within the first 24 hours. 7 million plus in evolved? 12 plus in sequence?? Dude! Boo!

OK ive got a tech question for y'all:

If I have an N wireless router and I get an N wireless usb adapter do you think that would work on XBOX360? As far as I can tell its wireless thingy is a B or G.

I would think a better option would be to get a wireless adapter that connects through the ethernet port, no?

hmmm..yes. i didnt think of that

Fixed mine! take that red rings!

what are you playing these days gukbe? (not long till you're back in the country, I hear! good news)

(webinar = czn)

it was broken for a few months, so i haven't played anything really. we fixed it last night and all i've played is rock band. Have I missed any quality games?

Geometry Wars 2 is bad-ass!

12 plus in sequence??

35mil in Sequence last night. Watching a video really helped me a lot.

The problem I'm having with GeoWars 2, is that once I start playing I have a really hard time stopping. The little games, like pacifism and deadline are the worst offenders I've ever come across of that just one more kind of feeling. I actually have to consider twice before turning that thing on, as it's turning into such a time sink

p.s. eurogamer has just rated Braid 10/10

lol massive price dump

braid looks great!

it's beautiful

and wicked clever

it's like a little bit of theatre

the music reminds me of nick cave's score for metamorphoses

Okay, I just amazonged an Xbox 360 with a 20gig drive, a wireless adapter, a spare wireless joystick with recharger and battery pack, GTA IV, text message kit, 4000 xbox points and a year of live gold.
Someone tell me I haven't just fucked up.
And while you're at it, suggest four or five older games that I need to go get to start building a library. I'm already gonna snag Mass Effect and Bioshock; should I get gears or halo 3 or what?

Gears of War i guess. I loved mass effect, I think someone here was saying it's a pile of shit tho.

Bear in mind, we're a wii household so the idea of online play is totally foreign and very interesting.

I'm also strangely intrigued by Viva Pinata.

Gears over Halo, but Call of Duty 4 over both.

Five older library type games...

1. Crackdown
2. Dead Rising
3. Oblivion
4. Forza 2
5. Skate

or if you've never played 'em on PC, the Orange Box is super solid and a super value.

The most important thing is to get online and download demos instead of wasting your money on games you don't know for sure you'd like.

You need ot get online and buy Xbox Live Arcade games. I tihnk they'd be up yr alley forks!

There's Braid, Geo Wars (get 2, it makes 1 outdated, basically), Ikaruga, N+, EXIT, Ticket to Ride, Puzzle Fighter, Space Giraffe, Sensible Soccer, Rez, Pac-Man CE, and when they come out in a month, Galaga Legions and Castle Crashers.

That's about the cost of two new retail games, if my math is good. And, honestly, I can't think of two retail games that are worth more, fun-wise, than all of those Arcade titles.

then you can play me at SWOS cos no-one else will : /

if you've never played 'em on PC

Isn't this sort of the problem with Xbox games, specifically shooters? Gears and CoD are available on the moused-up platform, and Halo 3 not appearing is even less likely than GTA IV...

4000 xbox points means I gotta try out about three or four I guess, right?
Braid, Geo Wars 2, Ikaruga, Puzzle Fighter maybe?

All those Live Arcade titles have trial versions you can check out for free.

Cool. Hope Amazon delivers the wireless connect and the system at the same time...

Some of these game already exist elsewhere. Have you played Ikaruga (DC/GC) much yet? Castlevania Symphony of the Night (PS1)? N/N+ (PC freeware)? Rez (DC/PS2)? Puzz Fighter? Exit (PSP)? Heck, have you played the Ticket to Ride board game? if so, then you may not want to play them again, or you may want to have updated better versions. up to you.

As far as the non-rehash stuff goes, like Space Giraffe is new, it can probably be skipped even though it's only 400 pts. Braid is pretty vital. Pac-Man CE is equally vital.

if I were you had had those 4000 points, I'd get Braid (1200), Pac-Man CE (800), Geo Wars 2 (800), Ikaruga (800), and save 400 for the next time you buy arcade games. Which you should do.

Wow, ALL this stuff is new to me... and fun! I just killed six hours fuckin' around! Yeah, I'll have some questions shortly.

I'm "forksclovetofu", add me!

Holy shit, I love xbox live.

yeah, it's great isn't it?

I've sent you a friend request, forks; see you have gears of war. fancy a game?

think you might be in some wack west-cost time zone tho??

I'm in New Jersey, so not so much. I have Gears of War, but I haven't fired it up yet! Got GTAIV, Gears, Bioshock, Mass Effect with Assassin's Creed and Orange Box on the way, but just got hung up playing with demos.

cool, let's play some gears!

Well, I gotta get home from work first... but I'll give it a shot. You're gonna demolish me of course.

: ) cool

I'll probably be on around 10pm GMT, so send me an invite if you're around

anyone else fancy some gears (@approx. 10pm GMT)?

i keep forgetting ot add you forks! add me and i will remember! brilliam is my name!

oh right, you're brilliam! I had completely forgot : )

Anyone who hasn't added me (polyphonique) is welcome to do so!

Just went through whole thread; I'm gonna add all you guys as friends tonight.

Questions:
1) is the red ring thing pretty much done with for the new consoles? I don't have to worry about this shit, mehopes?
2) can i attach a regular harddrive via usb and never worry about space issues or does I need the ridic overpriced M$ pop in the slot drive?

you can add friends via xbox.com which is how I usually do it, with ilxors... I couldn't tell you how to add someone as a friend via text entry on the actual console : /

can i attach a regular harddrive via usb and never worry about space issues or does I need the ridic overpriced M$ pop in the slot drive?

I don't think you can use an external drive to store games or game content, but if you buy a game, you can delete it and re-download it whenever you want for free, so space shouldn't be a huge issue. I use my USB drive for music and video (AVI support, woot), which works great.

No red ring for me so far, knock on wood.

1) They've done some stuff to make it less likely, supposedly, but shit still breaks. It's not a terribly well designed piece of hardware & the fixes they have done are like, band-aides and crossed fingers. Not worth worrying about though, as the warranty covers RRD for three years and all other failures for a year.

2) No.

I've sent a request to pretty much every gamer tag in this thread.

What's yr username, Garrett? If you mentioned it, I missed it.

oh yeah - "je suis france"

just bought one, will post gamertag once i have the time to get online/am not spectacularly awful at one of the games i bought (bioshock, dead rising, gta4, burnout:paradise city, beautiful katamari out of obligation berfore it is impossible to find).

once i make some headway on these, prob find used copies of gears of war and orange box.

is there a list of the "more than 300 original xbox games" that work on this thing somewhere, or should i just start shoving things in there and see what happens?

is gears of war still worth buying at this point? serious q

I was amazed to see how cheap burnout:paradise is going for right now (like $20). it might be worth buying (hated the demo, loved the earlier versions)

backwards compatibility list here

thx!

i love all of the burnouts up until the last console one before this, and (keep in mind i have very little time in on this new one as of yet) so far i really like the free roam aspect of this one, not sure how the tracks/challenges will work out but lol is hueg factor is pretty good. much less realistic than the last one was re: bumping and crashes, but as a result more free-for-allish, which is what i always enjoyed about the previous versions.

yeah I'm really curious about the multi on it; spectacular crashes with people I know sounds fab

played a couple hours of Too Human last night. graphics are mediocre, cutscenes are plagued with poor dialogue and voice-acting, and the gameplay is kind of repetitive... and yet I still had a lot of fun playing it. the bad parts aren't that much worse than similar problems in Mass Effect, but there's a higher action-to-cutscene ratio, so it doesn't draga s much. and the gameplay is just like a dual-joystick shooter, but in a 3D environment. I understand people not liking the game, but passionately hating it feels like an overreaction.

Anybody fucked with nu-Galaga yet? Looks kewl.

nu-Galaga is out tomorrow. I will buy it sight unseen (read: I am skipping the demo!) and report back!

Played the Galaga demo, and it seems alright. Might get it somewhere down the road, after exhausting Bionic Commando and Geometry Wars 2.

they should release ISS pro evolution 2 (ps1/psx) on xbla

with online, it'd kill

Not impressed with the new Galaga (after a couple of games). It looks nice, but plays meh. Sort of wish I'd tried the demo first...

It's got to be easier to satisfyingly update Pac-Man than Galaga. There've been a few more shooters than 2D pill-popping maze-crawlers over the last 30 years or so...

I bought Galaga this morning, is pretty fun. Only got aobut 15 minutes of it, though. As far as I can tell though, the advances made in shooters have only made the new Galaga game looks less awesome. So far much prefer Pac Man CE

Force Unleashed demo is out. Downloading it as we speak...

a couple more hours into Too Human, and I think I'm enjoying it even more. but I've got a weakness for Norsey bullshit.

bionic commando is gorgeous, obv; and I don't mind the grappling/swing mechanic

but WHY WHY WHY didn't they update the physics/inertia?!!! you can't influence your movement in mid air? wut

isn't that kinda the point that they didn't?

yeah

: /

That bionic commando demo is whisper thin; there's about three minutes of content there, tops.

Those bastards -- it's like they want you to buy the game!

Just caught up with the new tags on here, so some of you now have requests from me (I'm Jimdoo).

Anyone see the big feature in edge about the dashboard update and all the other near future Live stuff MS have planned? I'm pretty psyched about a lot of it. Things like Primetime sound like great fun, to me.

Most demos give you more than the lightest dollop... I at least want to see boss fight mechanics.

the Madden demo this year was a waste; it was huuuuge, made you play the dumb "Madden IQ" thing, and then let you play the winning Giants drive in the super bowl. weak.

Yeah it was boring, and it didn't do a good job of convincing me to buy it again.

Force Unleashed demo = promising.

When I played through it I did poorly and wasn't sure I enjoyed it, but then my housemate played through and noticed that you can pick up tie fighters with the force and hurl them at stormtroopers. You can pick up dudes and throw them at other dudes. Kinda bad-ass, even if the graphics are only so-so and the controls are mediocre.

i finally bought an Xbox 360, got a good deal & there are now plenty of games cheap - bought Bioshock & Mass Effect for £8 each. i also bought some points via amazon cos they were 15% off, but holy crap do you get a lot of packaging just for a 25 character code - what a waste! just two quick questions 1) how do you delete friends from the friends list and 2) how do you check your points balance on the console, its not very visible.

dudes, Castle Crashers looks AWESOME, I bought immediately. Gotta do some multiplayer.

You think? I thought it looked like a flash game. Only glanced at a couple of screenshots though, haven't read any reviews or anything.

I played through the demo and it blew me away.
Yes, it's flash-lookin' boy, but beautifully realized and the music is hella great.
Plays (based on the demo) like a mix of Guardian Heroes and River City Ransom, which is like a video game blowjob if you ask me. Solid character building system with a lot of weapon/character specificity... and online multiplayer, which is still novel to me!

I bought it but since I am moving this week, by the time I can play online EVERYONE WILL BE BORED OF IT

So, who's still playing GWRE2? Anyone noticed the Pacifism score I clocked last night? eh? eh?

ahh, good job!

i'm obsessed with GW2, especially Pacifism & Sequence. i thought i was getting really good at it until i checked out the leaderboard standings - how humiliating!

What's your gamertag zappi? I'm Jimdoo...

jobhosle
now you can laugh at my scores!

Once I upgraded to a huge flatscreen I got way worse at GW2, I don't know what happened exactly.

Some of Jeff's scores are pretty scary.

yeh jeffs scores are wtf

wha? they're not all that - I haven't played too much yet (they should / will get better, I hope), but I did play a ton of the first game and a fair amount of the wii & ds versions so I'm pretty used to the concepts and controls. Polyphonic has the scary evolved score. I've mostly been working on deadline lately... I love its balanced, quick, intense flavor (as opposed to waves, with is too quick and intense to be fun / also I'm crap at it).

To be fair, my Evolved score was pretty fluky. My second best score on it is probably less than your high score on it.

anyone playing Geometry Wars 2 please add me, i wanna see your scores!

I would like to point out that the reason my score is zero is not because I'm that bad, it's because my internet is down at home. Although I am bad.

http://venturebeat.com/2008/09/12/microsoft-fires-game-test-contractor-who-talked-to-venturebeat/

Predictable, but still a little sad, I guess. He had to pay the price for talking...

o_O

• 7 november, gears of war 2
• 14 november, call of duty: world at war
• 21 november, left 4 dead

haha fallout 3 comes out the week before all that madness!!

awesomee!

That works pretty well for me, because I can happily skip the middle two.

I have finally attached a long patch cable to the back of the 360 and set up my 1 month free trial, my tag is ceepeebee, come laugh at my piss-poor stats.

Have only played a bit of GTA1v multiplayer so far in the unranked free area, and haven't been embarrassed so far, oh, apart from being on top of a silo with a rocket launcher, about to blow up some ridiculously tagged individual...only to crouch and hit the railing right in front of me :(

I'm prolly getting the kid an xbox 360 and want to play him online. Are there any not-too-gory, not-too-violent games that are good? Has anyone played Castle Crashers in online mode?

There are some really amazing parental controls on the 360. CC is kinda very gory though, although it is all really cartoony, if that bugs you.

How old's yr kid?

He's 8. I try to stay away from too many fighting games with him, although for some reason Star Wars gets a pass. (He kills me at the old Battlefront game.) I was thinking Castle Crashers because it does look cartoony, but I read somewhere that the online version was really buggy. (does anyone know if this has been resolved?)

Why do you want him to play online?

The online is supposed ot be fixed really really soon... but yeah, that game is way more fun if you play w/ people in the room w/ you! do it up!

what else is good and kid-friendly...? viva pinata comes to mind, obv. that game is wonderful.

Well this is all a bittersweet question, as I'm going to be temporarily living in another state from my son due to a job. I'm really behind on the games curve, I still play old xbox and ps2 (and wii when I visit family). But it looks soo fun to be on those headphones and talk smack while your playing someone. Sports games are a no-brainer; we'll definitely be playing Madden, but I'm looking for like an action game. I wish Force Unleashed had online multiplayer function!

the LEGO games? They've got punching, whipping, and light-sabreing, but that might all fall under the Star Wars exemption. I'm pretty excited for that new Batman one, myself.

yeah, he's pretty much conquered lego star wars. Ooh, I forgot about that Batman game...you can play that online with people, no?

Yeah, the Lego games seem like a sure thing. Did he try Lego Indiana Jones yet?

What about a racing game like PGR4 or something of its ilk.

NHL 09 and a soccer game might be nice options.

My nephew is obsessed with motorcycles, and always wants to play this terrible, broken motorcycle game for the PS2.

Also, my niece and nephew LOVE guitar hero.

thx for your help! Yeah, he's tried Lego Indy on my Mom's Wii...I thought it was a little bland, and he was more interested in Wiisports volleyball.

If he loves motorcycles you MUST get Burnout Paradise. It's like 20 or 30 bucks now, and if you download the free update that came out this week it allows motorcycles (it was originally cars only), and apparently the online play is utterly fantastic. I haven't gone online with it yet, but it is a sort of sandbox-y game, too, so you cna do events like races OR just piddle around and explore the city together and chat.

There's also a game called Pure that just came out, with ATVs and dirtbikes and such, apparently also a lot of fun.

You can play Katamari online, too.

On Xbox Live Arcade, there are some fun co-op games-- classic arcade games (ninja turtles, streets of rage), board games (carcassonne, settlers of catan, ticket to ride), top-down shooters (schizoid), some other ones I'm sure I'm forgetting.

Fracture demo was pretty awesome.

the pure demo is heaps of fun; fracture not so much; sorry forks, thought it was pretty generic : /

I liked what Fracture _suggested_, not so much what it was. Deathmatches where you can alter the terrain sounds like a good idea.

Pure is SSX on ATVs and that's not a bad thing at all.

Pure demo was strange - looks great, but i crashed about 12 times and still came first.

I feel like Burnout would've been too much for me at age 8-10.

I feel like it's too much for me now - so often it feels like I'm piling round this city at full pelt not having a clue where I'm going or what I'm doing..... still fun though. i suppose I just need to get used to the place more.

The first burnout game they made for the 360 is more straight-forward and also more fun...
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/b/burnoutrevengexbox360/

Crackdown co-op was a lot of fun - the violence is pretty cartoonish. What about Marvel Ultimate Alliance? I never played it, but I know some have liked it A LOT

I love Marvel Ultimate Alliance but it's pretty violent...in a cartoony way, but still.

Anyone had trouble logging on the past couple of days? I know the whole system was down for maint on Sunday/Monday but I got disconnected last night and couldn't get back on.

Guy from the xbox live team's twitter page with some updates about the downtime: http://twitter.com/majornelson

Pain in the ass because I was going to get Megaman 9 off of live arcade and play that tonight.

Did anyone play Alone In The Dark? I picked a copy up in the PC World bargain bin yesterday for a tenner, not sure whether to bother playing it, or to just sell it on quick, while I can still make a profit off it.

ok, so if i'm going to buy Oblivion, do i buy the normal one used for cheap $23, or do i buy the "game of the year edition" with all the expansion packs included used for too goddamn much money $51?

san andreas now available as an xbox original... I might just buy it

I wouldn't buy the expanded oblivion just yet, if you're anything like me then the chances are you'll never get round to finishing the main game anyway. :)

Alone in the dark is shite, by the way. I decided this after spending 15 minutes putting a fire extinguisher on a platform, climbing a wall, pulling a rope to raise the platform, and then watching the fire extinguisher fly off in the wrong direction only to land back where it started. Over and over again.

anyone with any tips on underlooked but great xbox 360 games?

anyone played wartech: senko no ronde?

i have wartech, it is... hmm, how do i explain it. it reminds me of the dreamcast but not in the best way; like a great idea that's not executed perfectly, exactly. if you cna find it for $20ish, which is what i did, it's worth it. it's enjoyable. i've yet ot really play it online/learn it with a friend.

anyone want to run the NXE before the 19th? no live for you, then

anyway here it is

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AVHUHD0S

put it onto a FAT32 formatted USB stick or whatever, put it into the system and it comes up asking to update

to clarify, this is safe and fine and M$ has confirmed you won't be banned for doing it but you can't access live while using it (unless you got into the early beta obv)

Hmm. Well, I've installed this, primarily cos I fancied a play with the avatars...and they aren't working yet. Hey ho. At least it's let me install Fable 2 to my hard drive, which is pretty cool. Inter-level load times do feel a fair bit faster, and the fact the disc isn't spinning noisily all the time makes a pretty big difference too.

oh shit, sorry jim, yes you can't do avatars on it bcs tht stuff requires a live connection for access

similarly you can't watch .AVIs or other media codecs for the same reason

everyone is reporting that the noise is massively decreased which is a big plus for me

I'm moving to France next summer from the US. I'd like to bring my 360 with me. Does anyone here know if I can just switch the cord to the wall that plugs into the gigantic power brick, from US to European? Or do I have to get a new power brick?

You need a step down converter, which will drop the 240V power supply down to 110V. Should cost you about, ooh, 30-40 euros?

Or else yeah, a replacement power supply for the 360. Not sure what those are meant to cost, but we sell them for £60 and they go like hot cakes. So I'd guess the price M$ charge is higher than that.

You might still have issues with the TV signal, depending on what kind of cable you're planning to use, and what kind of tv.

Meanwhile...I really didn't think I'd mind being off Live for a couple of weeks, but man, I REALLY want to try the Mirror's Edge demo. And living without divx->tv is hurting too. Ah well. Only 10 more days.

GOW2 is hellof cheap. i saw it for Au$74, new games are usually $100-110 in aus.

I paid more for Dead Space, which seemed weird.

Thanks, Jim! So it's not just the cord, but the power brick, or else a converter. Oh, well. I'll just have to save my pennies for this.

my 360 red ringed on me, today.

And living without divx->tv is hurting too.

ooh, what is dis? i may have to sync my laptop up with the xbox now...

stevie, assuming you're on a pc (they might actually have it for mac, too, i forget) there's a program called tversity. as i remember, it's easy to set up, then you are playing all of your computer fules on your tv through your xbox, and it looks a lot better than plugging your laptop directly into the tv (generally speaking, at least).

thank you sir... as the tv ads have it, i AM pc...

Dear Xbox Thread,

I just got a cash award at work, and I'm thinking of spending some of it on a 360. My questions are many:

1) Which version should I buy? Can I get away with the version with the 256 MB card or should I step it up to the hard drive? How much space does saved data take up? Xbox Live arcade games?

2) What is the deal with Xbox live? What is some cool stuff you can do with it? Is it worth however much it costs?

I haven't really played video games since I boxed up my PS2 in mid-2006. All I want the Xbox for is some sports games and maybe a couple of shooters. I don't care about playing people online, MAY care about downloadable games/content (as long as it's not a pain in the ass), and am just generally intimidated by how crazy consoles have gotten since I was last paying attention.

Xbox thread, your thoughts would be appreciated.

You will want a hard drive if you intend to go online (not even to play games, but just to, you know, go online) due to the autumn update. The 256mb card seriously won't cut it. I think they only reason they released that SKU is to say that technically you can get an xbox for that price point. But get it with the hard drive, or else you'll be kicking yourself later when you realize you have to shell out $100 on a separate one.

Plus you HAVE to buy some of the downloadable $10 games because they are WAY WAY WAY beter than most of the $60 boxed games. Some of those are >256mb each.

What Will said. If you intend to buy downloadable games, and as those are some of the best things you can get on the 360 you should, you really need a hard drive for the space. It's really nice to have a selection of games on there that you can play at any time. Also with the firmware update coming out for the 360 next week you'll be able to install retail games onto the hard drive, which would cut down on the excessive noise produced when playing a game off disc (now I'm bummed I only have a 20 gig). Live is fifty usd a year (not sure about other currencies). You need to have it to play online games. If you don't have it, you won't be able to play the online component of any game, co-op or competitive. You also get access to demos a week earlier than people who don't have a gold account. If you don't care about playing people online, you probably don't need it (though online games can be a lot of fun, see Call of Duty 4). Anyhow, if/when you get a 360, I believe it comes with a one month free trail of gold, so you can try it out and see if it makes any sense for you. Downloading games isn't a pain in the ass at all - as easy as buying stuff from any standard online retailer.

This is what I would suggest buying to a new US xbox user as an all-purpose starter kit; all this is available at amazong with free delivery:

1) Core system w/60gig HD + Indy Lego - $300
2) Extra controller + rechargeable battery pack with two batteries - $72
3) 1 year gold membership - $39
4) Xbox wireless adapter - $83 (ridiculous price, but absolutely necessary and works like a charm)
5) Text message adapter (surprisingly useful) - $23
6) 4000 xbla points - $45 (you'll need these to buy online games, which really are the best thing about the system)
7) Two new games (I'd suggest Fallout 3 with one other) - roughly $100

Throw in a trip to your local gamestore to buy a bunch of $10 and $20 and $30 games that you missed when they were hot and you've got a total of about $800 and should keep you taken care of more or less for a year.

It's at roughly this point that the phrase "credit crunch" should start rolling around your head.

Or "cash award", whichever works for you.

Thanks guys. You're confirming what my Xbox-playing friend said which is that the 256 MB version is useless. I'm curious why you'd say the wireless adapter is necessary--is there any reason other than not having to run a network cable? Only asking because all that stuff is in v. close proximity at my place.

If I go to the store today I'm hoping to come out with no more than the system and one game. Other stuff I can fill in over time and when the holidays hit, and I want to do one or two other things with the cash I got. We shall see I guess.

you don't really need the wireless network adapter if you have 1. a laptop, 2. a wireless network, 3. an ethernet cable, and 4. some savvy; I use my macbook as a wireless bridge to connect my xbox to the internet bcs I refuse to pay M$' ridic price for the wireless doofer and my router is nowhere near my xbox

oh, sorry, got ahead of myself, yeah, if you can run a cable easy enough then just run the cable

You can just plug your ethernet cable into the back - in fact, that's the best way to go.

What game are you thinking of picking up?

Re: Forks's spending guide:

1) Core system's key, for Indy I'd play the demo first before buying (unless it's in a bundle and is mad cheap because, then, why not)
2) this is only important if A) you play two-player games, B) whoever you play with can't bring their own controller, C) you're sitting far enough away form the screen to not just buy a wired controller.
3) gold membership is only really needed to play games online. good discussion on this above!
4) if you have a computer with an internet connection (with Vista it's dead easy, with XP it's a bit harder but doable, Mac I've not looked into), you can plug it in directly to your Xbox's ethernet port then bridge the connections so that the computer acts as a giant adapter! alternatively, if you can get an ethernet cord from your router to your Xbox it also doesn't matter!
5) Any USB keyboard can be plugged into the USB ports on the Xbox, and any place where there is a text input can be controlled by the keyboard, so if you have a keyboard lying around, you cna skip this one for sure!
6) XBLA points are important, 4000 is probably good, because that's five average-priced XBLA games, and there are at least 5 that we'll tell you that you should have.
7) I didn't buy a single retail game for a month or two after I bought my machine, because I was so busy playing XBLA games, your mileage may vary.

Aww, cozwn beat me to it. :D

My roommate sorted out how to do the wireless bridge thing last night, and he's an absolute dummy when it comes to computers, so it must be easy!

OK, yeah, this is starting to come together. I wouldn't go in for the gold membership unless I started playing some shooter-type game and decided to play it online. Initially I kind of want to get an NBA game since I haven't played one in the 2000s and that's what got this whole thought cycle going. And if I do buy the system I will def be hitting this place up for XBLA recommendations.

7) I didn't buy a single retail game for a month or two after I bought my machine, because I was so busy playing XBLA games, your mileage may vary.

^^^ this true for me as well, although Mirrors Edge will break the run this week (and the only game i've bought on the first day this year...)

Yeah, obviously if you're right near a cable connection, that'll work too. My TV is nowhere near my computer, so it wasn't even a possibility.

The core system w/60gig is currently shipping with Indy Lego and that Kung Fu Panda thing in a holiday bundle. Two free games and a 60gig drive for the same price that I paid for a 20gig/no game system four months ago seems like a good deal.

That said, I did kinda go top shelf when I set up and I have my own specific issues (I like having two joysticks, hate buying batteries for ecoreasons, don't want to scurry up for a keyboard, like having a sizable game library, etc); ymmv o'course.

Yeah I loathe buying batteries so that's one move I will definitely make.

My router is very close to where my 360 is, so I just plug it directly into the router. That has been very fast and nice.

I am of the opinion that you don't need to get a big hard drive unless you think you'll download a lot of xbox originals, or intend to download a million Rock Band songs. The fact that you can re-download stuff for free is very nice and helpful.

I have the 10 gig hard drive, fwiw

Many xps, but wrt divx on the 360, I don't use any proprietary software or anything. I just share a folder full of avis on my network, and then tell the 360 where it is, and it reads and plays them directly...

I'm curious. What's the list of Arcade games the ILG collective has decided are worth buying? Castle Crashers, Braid, obviously. What are the 3 others?

for me: rez, geometry wars (but you might as well pick up 2), ikaruga, swos

1. Ikaruga
2. Geometry Wars
3. N+
4. Rez
5. Space Giraffe

also Bionic Commando Rearmed and Mega Man 9

Portal should be on that list if you haven't played it on Orange Box, but then again I would say just get the Orange Box.

Absolutely right; the price of dl portal vs. the value of orange box is a joke.

And honestly, the only games I bought from XBLA thus far are Crashers, Braid and Zuma (accidentally, but I really have played the hell outta it). I just love the demos and stuff and am really hyped about watching my Netflix on it in a week.

I'm tempted to buy Portal anyway though because it has a bunch of new levels.

apparently the new levels are the same ones in the PC version? which were free?

yeah - it's the remade flash game stuff (from what I understand, though maybe not all of the levels? as I read the 360 version has 14 new levels, while the pc map pack had 40). You can get the pc version here http://portalmaps.wecreatestuff.com/

from what I remember the levels are similar to the advanced stuff in the original game - rather challenging. Actually I got stuck / distracted and gave up, but maybe I should go back to 'em.

got into the NXE beta; booting up now, pretty exciting

cool. I'm very very excited about that, almost entirely just for the netflix element.

still no web browser in there, right? It looks like it will be slicker, but I'm still not keen on the avatar thing. I don't have netflix.

I'm re-signing up for Netflix just for this. I'm going to go on the 1 DVD plan because I don't watch DVDs very much.

no web browser but it's so much slicker and responsive; the party system is cool, and the mini guide (inc. quick launch) is a neat throw-back (it's essentially a cleaned-up vn. of the old blades)

I really like it

me, bitches

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/cozeny/avatar-body.png

is there any way to switch off avatars?

lol

the netflix thing is going to push me over to buying a gold membership, and will finally get me to stop bitching about the lack of mac support for netflix streaming to anyone who will still listen to me.

OI NETFLIX HURRY UP AND LAUNCH IN THE UK YOU FUCKERS

Didn't Mac support finally come in last month for Netflix?

ORLY?

no, just checked. notrly.

Yes really. I've been using it on my Mac for about a week now.

rly

OIC. it only works on intel based macs, and i was the last of the pre-intels. fuckers.

The worst aspect of the 360 is, as usual, Microsoft itself. The interface is truly fucking horrible. There are millions of problems but I'll pick one.

It just signed me out of Xbox Live to do something. I tried to sign back in and it won't let me, but it keeps asking me if I'd like to. It also gives me the option of logging in as 'Guest' before rejecting me on the basis that guest accounts are not allowed.

1. What the eff is a Guest account even doing there if I can't use it?
2. Why won't it let me sign in to the account I was signed into 10 minutes ago?
3. Why did it force me to sign out in the first place?

Oh, and if you want more information on the error it says 'Technical configuration error.' That's helpful, Microsoft, thanks.

This Experience thingo'd better be halfway decent.

there are problems all over live right now

the interface problems are abt to dissolve btw

Oh, good.

new xbox live is ok. netflix is decent.

It launches tomorrow?

yeah, it rolls out to everyone tomorrow. if you applied for the trial, you should have access by now. i upgraded mine last night.

http://marketplace.xbox.com/

The parties system means that there's virtually no in-lobby chatter on games, which is annoying, because it means if you're not part of the party then you can't communicate with your team. Also, it makes Live more insular and decreases the chances that you'll 'connect' (ooh err) with someone randomly. The number of people on my friends list who I have from just playing random games of CoD4 is far greater than those I know from real life or message boards.

Also, you can cheat on S&D in CoD4 now, cause you can hear dead people.

this is kinda ugly. playing from hard drive is good though.

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/stevietonychick/avatar-body.png

HI DERE

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/Jex%20Blade/avatar-body.png

I love women and this avatar is sure to confuse people.

so i borrowed a 360 from a friend for a bit. i expected to hate it, but found that i actually really liked it. sucks for me, because now i will have to buy one (unless i can continue to sponge the 360 from him, which is only marginally likely).

give me your xbox purchasing advice! are their rumoured upgrades etc that i should be holding out for??

I like the new interface! maybe just because it's new, but it sure was due

now I just wish I had time to play anything...

anything at all...

give me your xbox purchasing advice!

What kind of games do you like?

Not a fan. It's like they changed everything but improved nothing (except that it looks marginally slicker). I HATE the avatars. Is there a way that I can never seen them again? The thing that makes the wii casual friendly isn't the mii shit, it's that when you turn the nice little box on, the first screen you see has all the info you need - there's a picture of your game and you point at it launches.

What kind of games do you like?

games are not such a problem; i have a large library of borrowable games available to me (another reason for thinking about finally taking the plunge), i was more interested in knowing about the hardware.

on the off chance that i have misinterpreted yr line of questioning via second guessing (which i think i may have), i mainly play FPSs. i finished gears of war on the borrowed 360 last night and YE GODS did i love that game (despite being the most over-macho thing ever).

(though i did have to stop playing for a while when one of the characters shouted "THIS IS BULLSHIT" and all i could think of from that point was the bit in peep show where superhans gets locked in the toilet)

Don't get the one that costs 199. The hard drive is too small.

Definitely get Xbox live gold for a year if you think you'll play online (great for fps's), definitely get a recharging station for your rechargeable batteries, and definitely upgrade to the retail headset over the cheap one that comes with the system.

Definitely don't get the HDMI cable unless you decide you can't live without it.

We just did this!
The official I Love Games XBOX 360 and XBOX LIVE thread!

That was like a week ago though, who knows if any of it is still relevant.

doh :(

huge threads == not good for scanning

NXE has been totally broke for me tonight. Two total system lockups, which needed reboots to fix. Regular error messages from Live. And it wouldn't let me download any of the demos I've missed in the last couple of weeks: kept tellng me they just weren't available, despite having them at the front of its "hot new demos" area. So far, it's a ack of shit!

I mean sack. Oh, I do quite like the avatars though. Mine has come out looking quite a lot like me (10 years ago).

Forcing me to buy Gold Membership in addition to my preexisting Netflix account is such bullshit. I've basically gotta pay a monthly fee to watch on my television what I can already watch on my computer!

Dude just get a cable and connect your computer to your TV like any other godfearing American.

Forcing me to buy Gold Membership in addition to my preexisting Netflix account is such bullshit.

Yeah, why should you pay to stream video through the XBox Live service if you're not a subscriber? What a bunch of dicks!

^^^ just saw Mean Girls :D

(via XFlix)

as a pre intel chipset mac dude, i am ecstatic to pay for $4 a month to finally have access to instant viewing from netflix.

i will list my gold gamertag here in a few minutes and we can all be pals.

Hrm. How do I redeem a code on the new Live?

Nevermind.

My gamertag is Fairlie Arrow

(fwiw; I haven't played any online games yet)

oh man these avatars are sub-mii for sure, although the options seem STRANGELY FAMILIAR

my gamertag is nnnnnggggghhhhh, arrived at as a result of endless failures and terrible suggestions. it evokes how i felt about trying to make something up at the time.

I am sonderangerbot, shocka I know

I'd like to play some online but it's been so long since I played GTA4 and I'm afraid everyone has outgrown me by now

The new experience is nice enough. It's really just a wrapper for the same old shit.

A hugely needed one, though. I think the days of confounding Microsoft front-ends are slowly drawing to a close.

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/fairlie%20arrow/avatar-body.png

lol I didn't know you could do that

Bought Pure on clearance at target today for $30. this is a really great game.

oh yeah also really surprised at how well the streaming netflix works.

Anyone wanna play GTA IV multiplayer with me? I'm having a hard time finding an online game to jump into.

Here's my dumb avatar:

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/polyphonique/avatar-body.png

I've added you newbs. Do I have you on my list Mordy? I'd be up for some GTA, haven't played for months.

Mine:

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/jimdoo/avatar-body.png

Slightly embarrassed by how idealised it looks, really. I'd like to make it a bit more realistically chubby and stubbly and 32, but it doesn't really give you the option.

Also, with I could have that jumper without that gold chain. But hey.

Jim, my SN is Shinefield

Ah cool, got you then. I'll try to get on for a game or two tonight.

Why is it that 80% of Live users have this really annoying, nasally, 13 year old voice?

Because 80% of Live users are really annoying, nasally 13 year old boys.

anyone else picking up left4dead on 360?

I'm gonna, yep.

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/snarly%20yow/avatar-body.png

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/snarly%20yow/avatar-body.png

pants not actually that tight ^

shit, Pure is already on clearance at Target? Well, at least maybe it'll sell at that price. My two fav games of the year, Pure and Civ:Rev, are both on clearance at Target now (bought Civ:Rev for my bro for $30 last week).

I bought Kingdom of Keflings last night and am loving it; it's basically Warcraft without war, which sounds awesome to me! If you love micromanagement of resources and construction, you'll love this---it's blissful OCDing, esp. for someone whose cash job isn't micromanagement of resources and construction.

Bought L4D last night and had a lot of fun playing it with my neighbor. Good times!
http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/Forksclovetofu/avatar-body.png
Not so very far off; a lot closer than my mii!

hey nerds, I think I just added like every name on this thread ^___^ so if you get a request from "tehdead" it isn't some hippie grateful dead fan, it is some boring indie fan!

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/je%20suis%20france/avatar-body.png

This is what I looked like in 1996. They should add a slider to customize beard length.

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/Bevens/avatar-body.png

Looks nothing like me but the mustache is tight.

yeah I love observing how people choose their avatars: to look like them or not? I want a character that *I* like to look at it, so I almost always play games as a woman. I tend to separate how my character looks from how they act, though; I guess I do that irl too. But I can see wanting to present yourself through your avatar; from what people are saying here, that sounds like the predominant way of choosing.

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/powerstrikelol/avatar-body.png

Looks like me and Will Forte.

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/nnnnnggggghhhhh/avatar-body.png

was somewhat sobered by the fact that the "tired wrinkles" really were a make it/break it option for this to look like me ;_;

I tried to make mine look like me, still not sure what they're good for though, might modify if I have to look at that scrawny butt all the time
http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/sonderangerbot/avatar-body.png

bleach your hair orange and you'll look like Conan O'Brien

My avatar doesn't really look too much like me

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/Brilliam/avatar-body.png

howver, my gamer picture that i took with it, which is just my avatar from the bridge of the nose up, LOOKS SERIOUSLY SO MUCH LIKE ME

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/Brilliam/avatarpic-l.png

when i get a hcance i will take a photo of myself from the bridge of the nose up for comparison

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/cozeny/avatar-body.png

i just added a bunch of you, if you're wondering who powerstrikelol is...

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/Shinefield/avatar-body.png

Me! Kinda. :/

my avatar looks preecisely 0 like me, even though I tried to make it so.

A quick question - are 360 games region free? or should I not snap up bargains when I'm in NYC over Xmas?

It varies title to title, annoyingly. But yeah, plenty of US games will work in the UK.

Overly complex compatibility list here.

cheers Jim, nice one

WHY DO THE HANDS START AT BASICALLY THE ELBOWS is my question.

Do I understand that the dboard update REMOVES divx functionality? What the fuck?

there was divx functionality???

i GAVE AWAY my fucking dvd player with a usb-in for divx because I was using the xbox instead. Do I have to choose whether I can play on XBL and get DLC or whether I can use my xbox to watch divxes? What kind of crap is this

what?? I gotta try that right now

Divx still works. I just needed to re-download the codec pack.

Re-download from where?

doesn't it just automatically download when you try to play a divx?

it did for me

so is it impossible to activate streaming netflix if you only have 1 internet connection? I have to take the line from my computer if I want to use xboxlive.

1) get activation code from xbox. disconnect box.
2) connect computer, get on netflix, put in code
3) no work :(

do I have to finally buy a little hub or steal wireless?

Do you not have a router?

bnw, is your computer near your xbox? there might be some way to share yr computer's internet connection w/the xbox, depending on ports and cables and stuff obv

You could get a friend to put in your code for you.
I'll do it if you want.

your computer doesn't do wireless? you should be able to set up your PC as an access point

I got it to work via borrowed wireless. I guess I should buy a router.

You really should. Streaming movies and itunes wireless from my mac to the xbox is like something from the future

Wish I could do it from Linux. Appaz there's no way to get the 360 to pick up any of the various Linux tools, unless I'm just looking in the wrong places.

i've been using http://www.nullriver.com/products/connect360 to play movies from my mac.

Wish I could do it from Linux. Appaz there's no way to get the 360 to pick up any of the various Linux tools, unless I'm just looking in the wrong places.

― I'm Richard (Autumn Almanac), Saturday, 22 November 2008 13:31 (6 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

USHARE FTW

not really impressed with the streaming live quality on netflix. they need an option to force the highest quality picture even if you have to buffer for an hour beforehand.

really? I'm _Very_ impressed; better than any streaming video I've seen ye.

yeah me too. (esp the stuff in HD). maybe just a bad rip of whatever you were watching?

Fucking Microsoft. In the video menu you can play videos but not audio files, even though it shows them to you. In the music menu you can't play anything, despite it showing you both video and audio files.

How about this: JUST PLAY THE FUCKING FILE.

Also, it constantly disconnects from my PC without explanation. I have to restart the 360 in order for it to reestablish the connection. WHY??

are you hard-wired or wifi? we have 2 xboxes running here, and the hard-wired streams faultlessly, the wifi less so.

Hard-wired.

so I had to try running GTA4 from the harddrive and all of a sudden I am driving into trees and buildings that pop out of nowhere, not to mention driving through the tunnels which looked like I was in space. have you experienced this too, with other games?

maybe just a bad rip of whatever you were watching?

yeah, I think it was this. I watched "Them" last night. good pic quality and very creepy.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/goldbox/ref=xs_gb_gw_lg?pf_rd_p=464281351&pf_rd_s=right-blog-0&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=384082011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0FA6Z6VMF7J87VQP3WN8

Fables 2 discounted in 45 minutes. Yay!

woah, it's cool that when you play music through your 360 it auto-mutes the in-game music channel

so... apparently you can download xbl demos, burn them to a dvd and read these on an unmodded xbox? might be handy for next week's japanese resi 5 demo

if the demo's region locked you still can't play it

i learned this wqhen i made a japanese xbl silver account, some games worked, some wouldn't operate on the console. only (some) japanese companies seem to do this, from what i have learned.

iiNet has added all Xbox Live content to its freezone!

Battlefield: Bad Company - thumbs up or thumbs down? (found it in a bargain bin for $25 new, trying to decide whether to buy another game i will not bother with until i get through fallout 3 for the first time)

http://www.splitreason.com/Product_Images/3438734b25ba.jpg

$25 is a pretty sweet deal for Bad Company. I haven't played it outside of the demo, but I'd buy it for that price.

I just wanna update, GTA4 from harddrive still runs like shit. It's really not worth it and if all games are like this the function is no longer an argument. But soon I'll gta'd all the cars for Stevie ...!

ok i am already hooked by the menu music, which is "The Beast" by Milt Buckner (which i recognize because of mulholland drive). interesting choice. will report back on how the actual game is.

xpost: the halo 3 update that basically says "do not run from harddrive, will be terrible terrible experience" kind of set the tone in general for me.

Well, they did actually say only the oldest games might load a bit faster from the HD, as after the first year or whatever, load times were being optimized & you wouldn't see much difference. The main advantage to being uble to put things directly on the HD has always been a somewhat-quieter running 360, I thought. Only having 9 or so gig left on my HD, it's not really an option for me anyway...

re: Bad Company... I played about halfway through it and maybe six hours of multiplayer, before trading it back in. It's an okay game, but there's so many better ones to spend time with - it seems kind of pointless. Its best features were the graphics and semi-destructible envoironments. The mutiplayer only had one mode (they've since added a second) and it just felt kind of lackluster (despite looking great). The maps are quite big, which sometimes makes for a lot of trudging. There just wasn't enough variety there. It's also based in 4 man squads, but I think at the most the maps had maybe 18 palets(?), so breaking it into little squads seemed kind of dumb... teams were enough (also you could only comminicate with your squad members - not sure if later patches changed that). For 25 bucks it's not a rip-off, but you probably won't be missing much either if you skip.

Just bought a copy of Fables 2 for $40. $10 off on Amazon plus my $10 off coupon that I got for buying Fallout 3. Woo.

Black Friday / Weekend sale on xbla.

Rez for 500 points, down from 800. You guys seem keen on this. Worth it?

also Catan for 500 but I hope everyone already has that, if not CLASSIC

I don't think I really "get" Rez.

did you beat the fifth level? it is way crazy/fun. to be fair though the first couple levels are kinda "okay is looks kinda nice and is kinda relaxing/easy but..."

also probably great: getting HI

rez, "high" definition

I played the demo and it only kinda seemed like *I* was doing anything. I pressed buttons and moved the joystick, and I think my perspective kind of shifted, and maybe I hit enemies I wouldn't have hit otherwise. But it kinda seemed like I was just watching a video (like Dragon's Lair back in the day). I suppose the demo might actually not be functional, but I doubt it; I gather the gameplay is just weird, esp for a shooter. Is this at all right, those of you who like this game? Because I'm intrigued by it.

Yeah, I've only played the demo which is just the first level.

Essentially a slicked up rail-shooter? I am interested in it but the demo left me pretty underwhelmed what with all the hype around it.

It gets a lot harder and requires some technique, but it's always essentially on rails.

it takes a loooooong time to spin up, and by the time it's blowing your mind, it's over, but aside from that it's one of the best XBLA releases OAT.

I like REZ from the beginning - you have to enjoy the art / music... that's at least half the game right there. Also, playing for score is fun. It does start out easy and definitely ramps up gradually (I still haven't technically beat the final boss - though I've seen several of its forms). Yes - under the amazing style it's a pretty basic "on-rails" shooter. You just control the cursor, selecting up to eight targets at a time (the more targets you hit at once, the higher the score). You also get a certain number of bombs and evolve your character up to higher levels by picking up power-ups. Really, this is one of the most beautiful video games ever, especially by the time you get to the last level. At 500 points it's one hell of a fucking steal.

That said, if you ain't getting into the demo, perhaps it's just not your thing. FREAK!

Bah. I want to buy Catan, but I'm out of town for the weekend. Hopefully the deal will still be available Sunday night.

Nevermind - apparently I can queue it up from my computer. Yay.

I think I'll give Rez a try. The demo was gorgeous, just puzzling. But from what you've said, I get the gameplay a little more now.

Yeah, it's sort of a shame XBLA games don't come with manuals, cos Rez kinda needs one if you've not played it before.

Anyone want to play some Catan tonight?

Mordy, damn, I would have, but I didn't read this thread in time. But definitely sometime I'd be up for it.

so turns out you can download the new resi 5 demo (check internationally renowned torrent sites), burn it to disc and play it on yr console (on a UK console at least, not sure abt US or canadian)

hem hem

Is it possible to play hotseat Catan on the 360?

I don't think so (re Catan). I can see why not: it would be weird if you could see the other players' resource cards. But you could make house rules that say don't look. And actually knowing the other players' resources isn't *that* much help; placement matters more.

Changed my gamertag to jefflev13 - so now it's the same across all platforms.

Seems like Left4Dead is turning into kind of a hit? At least it was sold-out at the big named store I went to today.

Any interesting downloadable games on the horizon?

czn - why haven't you played Geometry Wars 2? Please explain yourself... It is a shooting game, you know
whoever on here is jobshole (I think you're from here), hats off to your GeoWars2 scores!

you have me all wrong, mr levine, I don't just like shooting games tho I know it does seem that way : P

the reason I haven't played geo wars 2 is cos I bought geo wars 1 and couldn't get the 1million w/out dying achievement and so couldn't justify getting the sequel... is it really worth buying if you have the original?

in other news dodonpachi 360 has now been delayed : /

anyone played triggerheart exelica or omega 5?

ketsui kizuna jigoku tachi EXTRA is out on 29/01/09

i'm jobhosle, i got a bit obsessed there for a while!
in fact i'm kinda regretting buying the xbox, the games i thought i'd like i tried for a bit and didn't really enjoy (apart from geo wars 2 & mirrors edge)
i have a free 3 month rental thing from lovefilm though, so i'm gonna use that to try out more games

I'd say Geo Wars 2 is worth it. There are six game types, all different from the original. In the case of pacifism, my favorite mode, very different (could be a completely different game). Only one of the modes is really similar to the original. They've also changed the mechanics, in that when you shoot things they drop little multipliers that you have to collect and there is now no limit to how high it can get (and you don't lose it when you die). Also the graphics have been updated, now runs at 1080p, looks beautiful, has some new tunes.

In regards to the Japanese shooters being delayed, well, it's a bummer that the 360 has region encoding, so you have to buy a Japanese 360 if you want to play 'em. Though I was talking to my brother over the weekend and he said HE"S GOING TO BUY A JAPANESE 360! Can't wait... and hopefully that'll keep me from having to pick up my own.

Triggerheart Exelica is pretty average. I thought Omega 5 was horrible (but I only played one game at my brother's place).

Yeah, I really want the full Ketsui. The bastardized death label version for the DS is one of my top 10 games of 2008

: ) cool, just bought geo wars 2 and rez HD

might get my dodonpachi fix this way in the interim
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2196/2352038146_bd43dcf4c3.jpg

some of you dudes' geo wars 2 scores are ridic (looking at you zappi and jeff); there's some dude on my friends list has 223million on pacifism o_O