# X-Box 360 Arcade?



## Culhwch (Dec 30, 2009)

So pretty much everywhere here at the moment are having a sale on the X-Box 360 Arcade console - they're going for around $A200. Now, I haven't bought a console since I picked up my original X-Box for a lot more than that many years back, and I'm a little lost here. The main difference I can see between this 'Arcade' model and the 'Elite' is the lack of a hard-drive. I checked out Ebay and you can get a 20GB HDD for around thirty bucks, or a 120GB HDD for eighty or so.

Is this the no-brainer it appears to be, when the 'Elite' model is shipping for $A450 or so? Or am I missing something? I'm sorely tempted, I must say...


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## Winters_Sorrow (Dec 30, 2009)

Certainly seems like there's little difference, Cul. Apart from the fuss of having an external hard drive, of course. The Elite model also comes with a wireless headset and I think you'll also need an HDMI cable as well (only if you TV is HD ready, otherwise don't bother!) to get the full benefit.

Other than that, I don't know enough about the innards as to whether there are different chipsets in the different xbox versions but yeah, certainly seems a better deal getting the Arcade, cost-wise. Don't forget to post your Gamertag when you get the chance of course!


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## Cayal (Dec 31, 2009)

I think that is as it seems, but you HAVE to use a 360 HDD for it, not any old HDD.


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## Harry Kilmer (Dec 31, 2009)

Aye, Microsoft updated the software recently which prevented 3rd party storage devices from working. You should take that into account when costing for one, Official Microsoft accesories are a lot more expensive then 3rd party ones.

There many others on Xbox live here?


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## Wybren (Jan 1, 2010)

Basically the difference is what it comes with, and if you can pick up the arcade for under $200 the HDD's are (at least at Kmart where I work) around $80 for the 60gb which is still cheaper than getting the elite with all its bells and whistles. We have the original 360 pro which came with a 20gb hd and that is fine, we also use ours as a media centre, the only thing it wont do is play blu-ray.

I have an xbox live account but I rarely ever use it.


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## Culhwch (Jan 1, 2010)

Very, very tempted. Going to the city tomorrow, so I may have a bit of extra carry-on luggage on the bus trip home...


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## Wybren (Jan 1, 2010)

Call about first though, we only got 2 in for the sale, so it may be the same across board, you also may be able to get it for cheaper by doing that. Worst case scenario Toombul and Toowong are the better places to look for high demand things as they are quieter locations.


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## Cayal (Jan 1, 2010)

Wybren said:


> Basically the difference is what it comes with, and if you can pick up the arcade for under $200 the HDD's are (at least at Kmart where I work) around $80 for the 60gb which is still cheaper than getting the elite with all its bells and whistles. We have the original 360 pro which came with a 20gb hd and that is fine, we also use ours as a media centre, the only thing it wont do is play blu-ray.
> 
> I have an xbox live account but I rarely ever use it.



Won't wi-fi either unless you buy the adaptor.


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## Culhwch (Jan 2, 2010)

So I ended up getting one today. Just ripped my old Xbox out and set up the new one, which was a chore. Haven't connected to Xbox Live, yet, though. I got it from JB's because they were selling it bundled with Banjo Kazooie. Interesting game, but hey, it was free. Might have some trade in value...

So what games should I be hunting down?


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## Cayal (Jan 3, 2010)

Culhwch said:


> So I ended up getting one today. Just ripped my old Xbox out and set up the new one, which was a chore. Haven't connected to Xbox Live, yet, though. I got it from JB's because they were selling it bundled with Banjo Kazooie. Interesting game, but hey, it was free. Might have some trade in value...
> 
> So what games should I be hunting down?



Mass Effect is a definite must get.

That's about the only exclusive, unless you like Gears of War and Halo?


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## Culhwch (Jan 3, 2010)

I've never played Gears of War and I'm not really into Halo - had the original on my old Xbox, but never really saw what the fuss was about. Will look for Mass Effect, though isn't that also on PC, so not particularly exclusive?

Picked up Madden 09 and FIFA 09 yesterday on the cheap. I do like my sports titles...


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## Lenny (Jan 3, 2010)

What other genres do you like? Half of us may be on a strictly Sony diet, but we still hear things about the beige world.

And I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on Banjo Kazooie. I'm not too interested in the game, as such, but how it plays - as part of one of the modules of my course, we have people from the computing industry come in and give talks about bits and bobs. The last guest speaker was someone who works at Rare, and did quite a bit of work on various mechanics in the latest Banjo Kazooie (which I assume is the one you got bundled - it's a driving game). I found it rather interesting and was just wondering if it played as well as it sounded.


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## Cayal (Jan 3, 2010)

Most 360 exclusives are on PC.


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## Culhwch (Jan 3, 2010)

Geez, I didn't even know it was a driving game! I plugged it in Saturday and the lead in was so tedious I gave up! Might have another go down the track, and you'll be the first to hear my thinghts, I promise.

Other than first person shooters (that's what PCs are for), I'll give most things a go. I've been out of the console scene for many years now so I'm not really up with the trends. Do they still make Alex Kidd games?


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## Wybren (Jan 4, 2010)

Apparently if you get games from EB they have a 7 day policy, that if you dont like it they will refund it if you bring it in within 7 days.

 You can get a game for the 360 which has all the old sega games, its called "Sonics Ultimate Genesis Collection" I think it is about $30-$40 depending on where you get it from.

I quite like Fable2 which is an RPG type game, fairly open ended where your choices dictate if your good or evil or somewhere in between. The Guitar Hero and Rockband games are pretty cool, and with the 360 the drums/guitar/mic are all interchangable. there are Lego games and shooting and racing  and all sorts of stuff for the 360, the only things the xbox dont have are things like your active stuff that the Wii has.

Did you end up getting a HD for it?


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## Culhwch (Jan 4, 2010)

No, I asked at the Chermy K-Mart yesterday but they were sold out. The guy at Gametraders there thought there may have been some traded in over Christmas, so I'll keep an eye out for one second-hand. I'm good at the moment with my whopping 256MB in-built!

I'll look for that Sega collection. I just finished playing through the original Sonic on my iPod, actually! Never did beat it on my Master System, but I had the last laugh!


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## Wybren (Jan 4, 2010)

I bet they didnt even offer to see if they can transfer one from a different store either slack buggers! We have about 3 in stock at toombul, they arent moving very fast (I dont think I have seen any sold in months)

Whoo 256mb!! I remember when hard drives came in that size  I also remember thinking psyeah right as if anyone is going to need any more than a gb


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## Cayal (Jan 4, 2010)

EB Games is a massive rip off.


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## CyBeR (Jan 4, 2010)

I'm thinking of getting a 360 again this year. Got one at launch...burned out...got a second one...burned out. And in my country, tech support ain't exactly nice to you on these matters. I read the new chipsets lower the failure rate so I might get interested again in the thing, especially since it's dirt cheap. I'm waiting for Microsoft to reveal their exclusives for 2010 besides 'Mass Effect 2', 'Alan Wake' and 'Fable 3' (I should mention I pretty much hated 'Fable 2' when I played it on a  borrowed 360...ripped into it quite nicely in a review).


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## Culhwch (Jan 4, 2010)

Ah, yes, Alan Wake, I've heard of that one. Sounds very intriguing...


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## Winters_Sorrow (Jan 4, 2010)

Well I wrote this long post about recommendations for Xbox games and then realised it wasn't that diverse but here goes anyway. I have no idea how much space these may need for saves etc though 

On a Budget:

*Bioshock* - this is an FPS so breaks your rule but it really is very fluid to play on the Xbox (the PC version was a port after all) and the visuals, atmosphere and story are still very good, though the ending was a little flat. Still a brilliant game for under £10 though!

*Mass Effect* - A second for this game - more for it's variety, story and extra downloadable content. It gets a bit repetative in places and the side missions can get a little samey-same. Still an excellent game though and your character can be carried over to the sequel, which is due out at the end of this month.

*Crackdown* - Like GTA but with superpowers and huge guns. What's not to like? All joking aside, I loved this game and it was one of my first when I got the console.

*Fable II* - Decent story and visuals but for me was a little twee & lacked the maturity and depth of Mass Effect, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

New & Upcoming:

*Dragon Age: Origins* - an excellent game. Kind of LoTR meets Mass Effect in terms of gameplay & setting but still feels fairly original. The 6 unique origin stories are done very well and one of them (the city elf) is fairly graphic and shocking for a "kids game" but hopefully the little ones missed the subtext.

*Batman: Arkham Asylum* - a nice linear game with enough going on to keep you interested in going back for more. Definitely a must if you're a fan of the character or comic but good enough to stand alone.

_Mass Effect II_ (29th Jan 2010) - Been getting rave reviews so I'll have to get my hands on it. Original wasn't amazing, but the series is good enough to go back to.

_Final Fantasy XIII_ (March 2010) - Everyone else may be sick of these but not me! Can't wait! 

I haven't included football games or more traditional FPS games like Modern Warfare 2 as they just don't float my boat but I'm sure they're competantly done as well.

Mind you, most of the games I've mentioned aren't that great in multiplayer which I'm presuming is part of the reason you got an Xbox 360! 

There's a lot of gems in the Indie Games/Arcade section too but I may post those another time.

Oh, and CyBer - I'm one of the lucky few to have had an Xbox 360 since about 18 months after launch and have encountered zero problems with it. *touch wood* 
I was worried with all the RROD reports and failures but it's just not happened in my case.


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## Wybren (Jan 4, 2010)

Cayal said:


> EB Games is a massive rip off.



of course EB is a massive rip off, but it is good to know that if your not sure about a game you can go buy it there and if you dont like it return it in 7 days for a refund. Where I work, if you dont like it, tough, once our security sticker is off you cant return it.

Winters-Sorrow, am I reading correctly? are they releasing a final fantasy game on the 360?


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## Winters_Sorrow (Jan 4, 2010)

Yes Wybren, it's due out in March. It was one of the big stories about a year ago when Square confirmed they'd "jumped ship" from Sony (although I think it's a dual-release so will be available on PS3 too). I think I even read somewhere that there would be different downloadable content on each console for it, but perhaps I dreamt that up!


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## Lenny (Jan 4, 2010)

"Jumped ship" implies they've moved it completely, however that's not the case - FFXIII has been out in Japan on the PS3 for a couple of weeks (shifting 1.5 million already, I believe), and it will have a simultaneous release on the PS3 and 360 on March 9th.

Haven't heard anything about DLC, but I have heard that the 360 version is four discs (compared to one Blu-ray on the PS3), and apparently some things have been cut down slightly for the 360. I doubt the latter is true, but it's definitely multi-disc.


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## Winters_Sorrow (Jan 4, 2010)

Well I'm not starting any fanboy rants but by "jumped ship" I meant that it gave up the exclusivity rights as, for most gamers, the Final Fantasy series has been a PS exclusive and then a PC port much later so it's interesting that it's even available on the Xbox 360. 

And I'm sure the multi-disc thing will be fine. I remember doing the same for FFVII on the original PS after all


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## Cayal (Jan 5, 2010)

Final Fantasy was Nintendo before that.

Square just took the money (again).


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## Culhwch (Jan 7, 2010)

Anyone try The Force Unleashed? Is it any good? I was tempted to get a preplayed copy of that the other day...


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## Winters_Sorrow (Jan 7, 2010)

Well I only ever played the demo so bear that in mind with my opinion on it. 
I felt that it was ok but no more than that. It doesn't feel as fluid to play as others (like Jedi Outcast, which is an older but similar game) but looked a fairly solid Star Wars game. I must be rubbish though as I kept being unable to deflect blaster shots with my lightsaber 

Ultimately I didn't buy it as I thought it felt a bit samey-samey (even on the short level I played) and I kept comparing it unfavourably with KoToR in terms of control and use of powers. You wouldn't think Force Lightning could get boring but it does!


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## Cayal (Jan 8, 2010)

It's good if you're not entirely critical of every small little thing of a game.

Enjoy it for what its worth. I compare it to one of those B grade action movies with Sly Stallone or Arnie from the 80s. Good mindless fun.


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## Culhwch (Jan 8, 2010)

I'm not demanding. I enjoyed _Commando_ and _Tango and_ _Cash_. I might pick it up this weekend if I see it again.


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## Winters_Sorrow (Jan 8, 2010)

_Commando_ would make an excellent FPS. Especially if it froze just as you did a killing blow and offered a dialogue wheel for pun options.

a) "Hey Bennett. Let off some steam!"
b) "What's the matter Bennett. Too hot for you?"
c) "Put zat in your pipe and smoke it"


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