Widescreen Gaming Forum

I'm fairly certain I'm getting a 360, the controller is much better for FPS and the overall games for it are much better b/c of the amount/types, if I got a PS3 I would be bored after beating MGS4. The Wii doesn't really offer anything to me since I beat Zelda:Twilight Princess on the cube already. and I wouldn't buy the console for any of it's mainstream games either. The 360 even with just Halo 3 for multiplayer is worth owning.

For the past 2 years I haven't paid any attention as to what games have come out on the 360 though, so I'd like 360 owners to tell me what's worth owning. I know the obvious games such as GoW/Lost Planet/Halo 3 ect...

My buy list is

Halo 3
Gears of War 1/2
Lost Planet: the new w/e it's called edition with extras
Fable 2 - when it comes out
Mass Effect
Call of Duty 4
Eternal Sonata
Lost Odyssey
The Sonic game - possibly...

I also want someone who actually OWNS a 360 and Oblivion to tell me how the framerate is.


Now I just can't decide on the Deluxe/20gb hdd version or the Elite

In addition to the above, I would add PGR3 or/and 4. The best thing to do I believe is, after you buy the 360, to download demos and try them for yourself. There are MANY demos out there.

In addition to the above, I would add PGR3 or/and 4. The best thing to do I believe is, after you buy the 360, to download demos and try them for yourself. There are MANY demos out there.

That's why I'm contemplating the Elite over the 20gb Deluxe version. I don't plan on downloading tv shows or any BS like that, but I imagine i'll dl every demo in sight and that would add up quickly.

EDIT ---- I'm very very picky about racing games, I don't like 99% of them, I'm a fan of racing games such as Hydro Thunder, Speed Devils or w/e that dreamcast one was.. racing games like that interest me, but sadly the other 99% of them don't.

EDIT 2 --- Do I have to have some type of stupid currency to dl demo's ? like some stupid points or anything like that.

EDIT 3 -- I'm also contemplating Bioshock, I have it through Steam but the pc I played it on was terrible. I'd sacrifice the nicer controls like a mouse and keyboard for a controller just to see that game in good detail @ an excellent framerate.

I think you have it down pretty good on your annalysis, except that you didn't mention, or possibly know about the changes that have been made to the 360. Since the Halo 3 edition released it has been made with a new smaller die (65nm) CPU dubbed Falcon. Thus the PSU is different too, a 175W vs the original 203W, which should translate to less heat output.

There have still been some reports of RRoD though, but none I've seen yet that detail how often it happens, the length of gaming session when it does, ambient room temp, etc. Since they only downsized the CPU die size and not the GPU, it stands to reason that there's still a fair amount of heat generated by these systems.

IMO MS should have a 65nm made for it if they can and offer better cooling and ventilation. I don't hear of problems with the PS3s overheating and shutting down, yet they have better graphics. The only problem with the PS3 is less titles to choose from, but it's not been on the market as long.

Here's how to tell if a 360 has the Falcon chip: http://forums.xbox.com/15804553/ShowPost.aspx

My buy list is

Halo 3
Gears of War 1/2
Lost Planet: the new w/e it's called edition with extras
Fable 2 - when it comes out
Mass Effect
Call of Duty 4
Eternal Sonata
Lost Odyssey
The Sonic game - possibly...

I also want someone who actually OWNS a 360 and Oblivion to tell me how the framerate is.


Now I just can't decide on the Deluxe/20gb hdd version or the Elite

Not trying to sound elitist, but I think I'm one of the more knowledgeable authorities on the Xbox on these forums (someone please correct me if I'm mistaken).

As far as the buy list goes, The Sonic game (the first) was pretty terrible. And I would suggest to try out the demo of Lost Planet before you buy it.

Don't buy Xbox Live with the console, there is a free month *3 (free month three times for each new account) built into the system.

The marketplace allows you to download demos and some other items for free, but everything else is bought with "Microsoft Points" (eight cents to a point I believe, and points are non-refundable).

As per which console to get, I would suggest the Elite, as you'll be regretting the 20gb hard drive on the Pro down the line.

EDIT: As a note on RRoD. When my 360 is playing COD4 (another game to buy ;)) for 5 hours or more, I notice freezing that locks it up for about 10-15 seconds. The freezing will occur every 20-30 minutes. I've had the console for a year, and that's the only problem I've ever noticed.

I think you have it down pretty good on your annalysis, except that you didn't mention, or possibly know about the changes that have been made to the 360. Since the Halo 3 edition released it has been made with a new smaller die (65nm) CPU dubbed Falcon. Thus the PSU is different too, a 175W vs the original 203W, which should translate to less heat output.

There have still been some reports of RRoD though, but none I've seen yet that detail how often it happens, the length of gaming session when it does, ambient room temp, etc. Since they only downsized the CPU die size and not the GPU, it stands to reason that there's still a fair amount of heat generated by these systems.

IMO MS should have a 65nm made for it if they can and offer better cooling and ventilation. I don't hear of problems with the PS3s overheating and shutting down, yet they have better graphics. The only problem with the PS3 is less titles to choose from, but it's not been on the market as long.

Here's how to tell if a 360 has the Falcon chip: http://forums.xbox.com/15804553/ShowPost.aspx

I already know all about that, i've had that bookmarked for months. But thanks for spreading the news.

don't buy Xbox Live with the console, there is a free month *3 (free month three times for each new account) built into the system.

Is that 3 months of GOLD ? b/c I want to play online.

I wonder if Best Buy will let me checkout that label before I buy it.

Also, from what I read over the past 3 months an Elite has the highest chance of being a Falcon version.

Although I want a white elite console for some reason.

The RROD or whatever it is called, is a real issue. I am one of the lucky ones that haven't experienced one yet. 2006-02-06 is the date of manufacturing for my console that I bought in September of 2006. Don't know if that means february or june, but my guess is it uses the old design.
Just keep it cooled and don't place anything under or over it and have plenty of room behind and top of it.

I haven't played the dreamcast racing games you mentioned so I can't really comment on that, but the PGR3-4 are not simulations or extremely arcade racing games. There are I would say, in the middle. I only own the third one and played the demo of the fourth one and they are the most enjoyable for me racing games.

Saints Row is a very nice game too, a GTA3 clone, that is for me superior to all the GTA games till the fourth one that I haven't played yet. You should be able to find it cheap too (as PGR3).

Prey is a good FPS game that I rented and finished on the console too.

But yes, my favourite has to be Mass Effect (and PGR3).

You might enjoy Gears of War. I don't like it and regret buying it, but most people say it is a great game, so perhaps they are right.

If you find that zombie game where you kill zombies (can't remember the title now), it might be worth your time and some money, but try the demo first.

Oh yes! Rainbow Six Vegas is a fantastic game, my favourite FPS at the moment (PC version) but the Xbox 360 version is very good too from what I have heard. The sequel was released recently, but you could get the first one for cheap now.

Rez HD, is a great little fun shooter that you can buy with microsoft points. Very fun game, try the demo!


If you like shooters, or if you remember liking Afterburner back in the day (don't know how old you are), then try Ace Combat 6. A more complicated shooter with modern fighter planes, not exactly Falcon 4.0 , but fun nevertheless.

From what I remember from reading is that I do NOT have to buy a warranty such as from Best Buy, b/c Microsoft should repair mine if sent in if it's made after a certain date correct ? I don't want to buy the Elite and then get the RRoD and have microsoft laugh in my face


I beat Prey for Pc when it first came out, it's the best use of the Doom 3 engine hands down and it's an amazing game.


The main determining factor in deciding if I buy a Deluxe or Elite is that say I buy 5 games, will that use a huge chunk of the hdd and the Downloadable content for it makes me wonder also, how many games/updates would I have to have for me to regret buying the 20GB version. Like for example are the Halo 3 mapacks like retardedly huge and warrent the 120gb hdd or what ?

--- MAJOR DETERMINING FACTOR BELOW -----

Here's a better example, Say I buy the top 9 games, and I download patches/mapacks for them ... will that fill that 20GB HDD b/c buying the Elite only allows me to buy 2 games with it.

view below

Sorry about that. I checked for a sig but did not notice it becasue of the edited line. :oops:

The RROD or whatever it is called, is a real issue.

Too bad there isn't more info on the cases of it since the Falcon, though I really haven't searched all that extensively for it. Since 65nm GPUs will be common soon, MS may eventually downsize the GPU too. If they did that the 360 might not even need better cooling and ventilation. Ultimately it may depend on how the sales of the PS3 compare as to whether they continue to redesign the 360. I can't help but think to a degree they are resting on their "we have more titles" laurels.

OH, and BTW, a guy at our local Best Buy that seems to know a bit about the 360s says you can tell by the lot number (serial number) on the outside of the box as to whether it's a Falcon model. I doubt they'll let you open the box before buying it because there's simply no need to. I can see their point there, can you imagine how many open box items they'd have to sell if they let everybody do that?

He talked about the disc scratching issue as if it were a bigger problem than RRoD, but as far as I know despite him making it sound like the new Falcon units have this problem, MS has solved it with a new DVD drive since Feb '07. There has been a lawsuit over the disc scratching issue though. I feel you have to take much of what BB employees say with a grain of salt because they always underscore it with their "we sell warranties" spiel.

BB employees don't work on commission though, and be aware that though many say the 360 now and for some time has had a 3 yr warranty, it only covers RRoD failures and there is likely a way they can tell if you've actually had one. The standard warranty is only 1 yr.