Bought my XBox - OMFG!

[Blackadar]

Well, I finally broke down and bought an XBox because PC gaming is getting very boring.

All I have to say after seeing the first couple of games is OMFG!

I got the XBox, an extra controller and 6 games.

ESPN Football 2005
Madden 2005
Knockout Kings 2002 (used)
LOTR: Return of the King (used)
Prince of Persia
BG: Dark Alliance 1 (used)

Whole thing cost me $325, or $125 less than the $450 approximate cost just to upgrade my PC to barely minimum standards.

I played Knockout Kings 2002 for a bit. I don't have the rule book with it, but it seems fun. I had KK2000 for the PS1 for a while there and this blows it away (obviously), but the gameplay is similar. After beating up on my 4 year old son on the game, he went to bed and I put in ESPN football....

...and was blown away. I felt, since the original Football Pro by Dynamix, that I was playing the game. The production values were incredible. The announcers, screen changes, the graphics on my 32" TV - unbelievable. I don't know if the long-term gameplay is there, but the jaw-dropping factor is about 9.5. Chris Berman's halftime wrapup was simply incredible. And it played awesome, too! Not that I know what I'm doing, mind you.

And I haven't even put in LOTR yet, which should be even better.

WOW! All I have to say is that I'm rapidly becoming a convert - for many genres, consoles are miles better than PCs. I'm down to turn-based strategy games, the occasional RPG, text-based sports sims and MS Flight Simulator as the only PC-based games I care about anymore.

[Mantle2600]

welcome to the dark side...

Sorry been playin star wars:kotor lately, a game which you should definitely look into gettin if you like star wars and rpg's.

[Blackadar]

Played KOTOR for the PC. No reason to revisit it with KOTOR 2 coming out soon. Guess I'll be playing the XBox version. :)

[Ragone]

fight night 2004 is worth a rental.. and you should check out ncaa 2005

also fable.. and the newest nascar game (which comes out at the end of this month)

[Blackadar]

So many games, so little time...

On Fable, I'll wait for some reviews. Molyneux (sp?) burned me with Black and White.

Nascar? Maybe. But I hate driving games with a gamepad and I'm sure in hell not going to buy a wheel.

Fight Night? Very likely, but not for a while. As with NCAA 2005, I figured 2 football games were enough. :)

[Bearcat729]

You should rent Ninja Gaiden.

[TargetPractice6]

Played KOTOR for the PC. No reason to revisit it with KOTOR 2 coming out soon. Guess I'll be playing the XBox version. :)Eh, I'd consider myself more of a console gamer (well a Nintendo gamer mostly :p ), but I just can't see what an Xbox version of KOTOR could offer over a PC version. The interface works so well with the mouse on the PC and some of the environments look outstanding in the higher resulotions you can only get on the PC.

[Tex Schramm]

Are you nuts? You bought an xbox and didn't buy Halo...shame on you!

[TargetPractice6]

Oh yeah, I loved Prince of Persia (have it for Gamecube). It's one of those games that I would much rather play on a console than PC. Anyway, I recommend you get to that one as soon as possible.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Hey Blackadar,

I just ordered my first Xbox last week. Should arrive on Wednesday. Glad to hear that you like yours. I'm really looking forward to ESPN football for that same shock value.

[CamEdwards]

I rented Madden 2005 for the X-box, played a quarter of a preseason game, and immediately popped NCAA 2005 back in. Despite my initial hesitation with NCAA, it's really grown on me.

After my wife bought me the X-Box a few months ago, it's all I've played. I can't even sit down and attempt to play the PS2 anymore.

[hukarez]

If you get a chance, give Shenmue II a shot. Should be $10 or so. Supposedly, the next game's going to be an Online game or something...think it's for the PC, but not quite sure.

I'm still pulling for a Shenmue 3....

[Qwikshot]

If Fable is all it's cracked up to be, I will be purchasing an X-box.

[hukarez]

If Fable is all it's cracked up to be, I will be purchasing an X-box.
I told myself that during X-Box's launch year. Of course, when the price drop kicked in, I figured it'll come out eventually. Here's to just a few more weeks! :D

[Pumpy Tudors]

Are you nuts? You bought an xbox and didn't buy Halo...shame on you!

I've had an Xbox for over two years, and I've never even played Halo.

[Blackadar]

Are you nuts? You bought an xbox and didn't buy Halo...shame on you!

I can't. Pukey-pukey.

[GrantDawg]

So many games, so little time...

On Fable, I'll wait for some reviews. Molyneux (sp?) burned me with Black and White.


With you. Never buy into the hype of game again after Black and White.

[Blackadar]

help

The little shit behind the counter at EB last night took out all the booklets in the used games we bought. Is there a place online to DL the instructions on how to play some of these games?

[cartman]

But I hate driving games with a gamepad and I'm sure in hell not going to buy a wheel.

Blacky,

I felt the same way until I tried Project Gotham Racing 2 for my Xbox. After a few games, I didn't even notice I wasn't using a wheel anymore! You just have to get used to using the thumbstick instead of the D-pad to steer. I have a wheel for my PC, but from a gameplay perspective, I didn't have that much of a drop off using the controller on the Xbox.

[gstelmack]

help

The little shit behind the counter at EB last night took out all the booklets in the used games we bought. Is there a place online to DL the instructions on how to play some of these games?
He did what? You're supposed to get those (I do with all the used ones we buy). They only pay full price for people who bring in the manuals with them. Talk to a manager or write to EB and complain about this.

[Ryno]

help

Is there a place online to DL the instructions on how to play some of these games?

I've bought some used ones myself and have found that <a href="http://www.gamefly.com/xbox/">Gamefly</a> has some good instructions. Just search for the game and click on the Instructions tab.

[Shaun Sullivan]

This thread and recent events bums me out. I spend so much time on PureSim and my real job, that I almost never play games anymore. It's gotten so sad that we actually moved the XBox, Cube and PS2 out of my office and upstairs into the kids play room. :(

One more update for PureSim and then I am going to go get some games!

[stevew]

Blackie.

gamefaqs.com. it should have anything and everything you need on any game.

[Philliesfan980]

I'm just really looking forward to the next few years of what the consoles bring us in terms of "sports simulations". Most of the games right now can't even "simulate" (cpu vs. cpu) games right. Once they get that down (or make it a priority), I think I can start doing some serious career sims with some nice graphics!

[Eaglesfan27]

help

The little shit behind the counter at EB last night took out all the booklets in the used games we bought. Is there a place online to DL the instructions on how to play some of these games?

Ditto to what others said. They are absolutely supposed to give you the booklets with those games. I refuse to buy used games if they don't have the instruction booklets. Report that guy to his manager or EB games corporation ASAP.

[MizzouRah]

www.gamefaqs.com (http://www.gamefaqs.com) is also a good site for instructions.

I traded my ps2 in for an Xbox months ago and I love it, especially with my Logitech cordless controller.


Todd

[sabotai]

Definately gamefaqs.com. With that website, there isn't any need for game booklets nowadays. :) (Especially with how piss poor game manuals have become. Soon I expect to get a piece of paper as a manual that says "Insert Game. Play.")

[Troll]

I've bought some used ones myself and have found that <a href="http://www.gamefly.com/xbox/">Gamefly</a> has some good instructions. Just search for the game and click on the Instructions tab.

Sorry to thread jack but is gamefly a good place to rent games online? or is there a better place?

[SackAttack]

Gamefly's awesome. I get my games usually about two days after I pop the old ones in the mail, and their availablility is generally excellent, even on newer titles.

[Blackadar]

Damn. Can't find Knockout Kings 2002 instructions at Gamefaqs...grrr.

[Pumpy Tudors]

GameFly usually takes 5-7 days to get me a new game, counting from the day I put an old one in the mail. I hope they get a central US distribution center soon. The mail time is just too long. I still like GameFly, though. I just wish I could buy the two games I have out from them right now (MotoGP 2 and Kung Fu Chaos). Unfortunately, I guess they don't have enough copies in stock, so they won't let me buy them.

[SackAttack]

Depends on where you are, I guess. They ship my games from Inglewood, which is pissing distance from my town, really. I drop a game in the mail on Monday, they get it Tuesday, I have a new game on Wednesday. Great stuff. I could see where it would suck if you're on the East Coast though.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I believe they have a place on the east coast also. They just don't have one in the central US.

[Troll]

ight, thanks, they have some games on there that interest me, ie Koei strategy games, that no one carries around here. I'll look into them, I was just making sure b/c I remember EGM running a feature on several internet rental places(several years ago I believe) and said that they never got games from some places.

[Sharpieman]

I only play text based games on the PC, although I might want to pick up a turn based strategy game soon.

[ice4277]

XBox is great, I just got a used one a couple months ago, and the only thing I am upset about is that I waited so long to get one.

[Philliesfan980]

XBox is great, I just got a used one a couple months ago, and the only thing I am upset about is that I waited so long to get one.


Yeah, as much as I like the power of the PC for gaming, you gotta give the nod to the console for:

1. Price - $150 now won't even get you a decent video card
2. Selection - Wide variety of games for consoles
3. Stability (underrated in my view) - Since all consoles are the same, you don't have to worry about crashes. No drivers, No problems.

[GrantDawg]

3. Stability (underrated in my view) - Since all consoles are the same, you don't have to worry about crashes. No drivers, No problems.
"In theory." Major producers still release buggy crap from time to time. There is no excuse for it, but it happens. ESPN has crashed on me a number of times, and has several bugs. Madden in the past has had problems locking up, read disk errors, etc.

[Philliesfan980]

"In theory." Major producers still release buggy crap from time to time. There is no excuse for it, but it happens. ESPN has crashed on me a number of times, and has several bugs. Madden in the past has had problems locking up, read disk errors, etc.


True, I agree that some stuff locks up from time to time. I think that has more to do with the hardware than anything else. In the 1st generation Xbox's, they sold them with "thompson" dvd drives. These things were really bad, and that could be the reason why you'd get lockups,dirty disk errors, etc. Since them they've been putting in Samsung drives, and while it's not impossible to get the same problems with that drive in place, the complaints have been greatly reduced.

With that being said, you can't send your xbox back to M$ and have them put in a samsung drive for free (they might do it for a charge, not sure).

[SackAttack]

"In theory." Major producers still release buggy crap from time to time. There is no excuse for it, but it happens. ESPN has crashed on me a number of times, and has several bugs. Madden in the past has had problems locking up, read disk errors, etc.

As Philliesfan pointed out, many freezes and disc read errors are related more to hardware issues (particularly the Thompson drive) than the game itself, although there have been some buggy pieces of crap on Xbox (Pirates of the Caribbean, anybody?), and I'm sure there have been on other consoles as well (although nothing quite THAT egregious).

The big thing you get from console development is streamlined testing. Since you don't have 38 million different configurations, bug squashing is (theoretically) an easier process, meaning you should be able to catch more of them before the game ships.

'Course, now that two of the consoles have both a hard drive and online capabilities, what bugs do slip through QA should theoretically be fixable. It isn't something you want the developers to rely on, but it's a nice fallback to have.

[Troll]

True, I agree that some stuff locks up from time to time. I think that has more to do with the hardware than anything else. In the 1st generation Xbox's, they sold them with "thompson" dvd drives. These things were really bad, and that could be the reason why you'd get lockups,dirty disk errors, etc. Since them they've been putting in Samsung drives, and while it's not impossible to get the same problems with that drive in place, the complaints have been greatly reduced.

With that being said, you can't send your xbox back to M$ and have them put in a samsung drive for free (they might do it for a charge, not sure).

indeed, that charge is $99.00, however if you buy a PS2 and the hardware goes bad @ any time, warranty or not, Sony will fix it for free. I highly recommend Sony for this reason alone. Sony fixed my PS2 while my X-Box sits in a trash heap untill(if?) I can afford to get it fixed. Both were 1st generation machines.

[Blackadar]

I didn't buy an extended warranty on the Xbox because...

1. A new one should be out in 18 months, which is well within this machine's lifespan.
2. It's not the 1st generation machine, so it's chances of breaking down should be less.
3. I'm not spending $50 to warranty something that costs $150 today and will probably drop by Christmas.

#3 is the one that bothers me about warranties and the reason I never get 'em. It's always based off the current purchase price but obsolence is never factored into the equasion. With electronics, unless you plan on having the device for 5-10 years and can get a reasonably priced warranty that runs that far, it's almost never worth it because (generally) next year it'll cost you 1/3rd to 1/2 less to buy the same exact product.

[GrantDawg]

As Philliesfan pointed out, many freezes and disc read errors are related more to hardware issues (particularly the Thompson drive) than the game itself, although there have been some buggy pieces of crap on Xbox (Pirates of the Caribbean, anybody?), and I'm sure there have been on other consoles as well (although nothing quite THAT egregious).

The big thing you get from console development is streamlined testing. Since you don't have 38 million different configurations, bug squashing is (theoretically) an easier process, meaning you should be able to catch more of them before the game ships.

'Course, now that two of the consoles have both a hard drive and online capabilities, what bugs do slip through QA should theoretically be fixable. It isn't something you want the developers to rely on, but it's a nice fallback to have.

Not completely true. Sure, somethings are "hardware" related, but that was not what I was talking about. Madden in the past had freeze problems and disk error problems related to the Xbox (caused by the harddrive). ESPN this year has several gameplay related bugs and an xbox online problem (later fixed with a patch). It still does happen and really there is no excuse for it except they want to push crap out the door.

[Ksyrup]

I didn't buy an extended warranty on the Xbox because...

1. A new one should be out in 18 months, which is well within this machine's lifespan.
2. It's not the 1st generation machine, so it's chances of breaking down should be less.
3. I'm not spending $50 to warranty something that costs $150 today and will probably drop by Christmas.

#3 is the one that bothers me about warranties and the reason I never get 'em. It's always based off the current purchase price but obsolence is never factored into the equasion. With electronics, unless you plan on having the device for 5-10 years and can get a reasonably priced warranty that runs that far, it's almost never worth it because (generally) next year it'll cost you 1/3rd to 1/2 less to buy the same exact product.

I'll take this as a personal slap in the face, seeing as though I wrote the damn thing! :D

Actually, Each year of coverage is only about $25, and I think they offer 1, 2, or 3 years. Since the manufacturer's warranty is only 3 months, a 1-year service warranty for $25 is probably worth it.

[Philliesfan980]

I didn't buy an extended warranty on the Xbox because...

1. A new one should be out in 18 months, which is well within this machine's lifespan.
2. It's not the 1st generation machine, so it's chances of breaking down should be less.
3. I'm not spending $50 to warranty something that costs $150 today and will probably drop by Christmas.

#3 is the one that bothers me about warranties and the reason I never get 'em. It's always based off the current purchase price but obsolence is never factored into the equasion. With electronics, unless you plan on having the device for 5-10 years and can get a reasonably priced warranty that runs that far, it's almost never worth it because (generally) next year it'll cost you 1/3rd to 1/2 less to buy the same exact product.

Good man!

Never, ever, ever buy warranties on such inexpensive (relative) electronic goods. Take your chances. I feel like punching the clerk who rings me up when he hounds me to "Buy a $19.99 1 year warranty on a $100 phone".

When I bought my laptop from BestBuy a year and a half ago, this dude was pushing a $400 , 3 year laptop warranty. I bought an HP laptop, at $1600. "These things always break", is what the young gentleman informed me. A year and a half later, the thing never even hiccuped, and its selling for $800 (maybe less) *NEW*. First off, I don't think HP would be in business if they had such a high fail rate, and secondly, I don't think its good for a salesman to promote their products as "failures".

*edit*

And if the thing does break, well I doubt that its more than a $400 problem, most likely its the CPU crapping out, or the HD dying. Even if I spend $400 in 3 years on it, I break even. I'll place my bet on the under every time.

[Ksyrup]

Good man!

Never, ever, ever buy warranties on such inexpensive (relative) electronic goods. Take your chances. I feel like punching the clerk who rings me up when he hounds me to "Buy a $19.99 1 year warranty on a $100 phone".

When I bought my laptop from BestBuy a year and a half ago, this dude was pushing a $400 , 3 year laptop warranty. I bought an HP laptop, at $1600. "These things always break", is what the young gentleman informed me. A year and a half later, the thing never even hiccuped, and its selling for $800 (maybe less) *NEW*. First off, I don't think HP would be in business if they had such a high fail rate, and secondly, I don't think its good for a salesman to promote their products as "failures".I agree, generally speaking. Best Buy offering a $5 warranty on a $20 pair of headphones is ridiculous. Computer warranties....go both ways. I've seen some people have tremendously bad luck with their computer, and the warranty paid off. Others, like you, never had a problem.

Brown and white goods (major household electrical and entertainment appliances, like refrigerators/washers/dryers/VCRs/TV's, etc.) - you're probably better off without them. These items typically are fine for a number of years.

One type of product for which I almost always buy extended warranties is jewelry. My wife will undoubtedly break a necklace or anklet 2 or 3 times, and they pay for repair or replacement. I've found that those pay off pretty quickly, especially since they are a one-time buy and usually good for the life of the item.

[Samdari]

"These things always break", is what the young gentleman informed me.

This was right after he recommended the one you bought because of how reliable it was?

Funny, but the only "extended warranty" I've ever bought was on the XBox I got last week, which was $20 for two years of replacement coverage.

[Ksyrup]

I also love it when they tell you that they cover for anything. I had one guy tell me I could take a baseball bat to my laptop, and they'd replace it. I asked him to show me in the contract where it said that. He backed off that statement when I told him I used to work for the Department of Insurance and that the guys who regulated warranties would be interested to hear about when they would cover.

[Philliesfan980]

This was right after he recommended the one you bought because of how reliable it was?

Funny, but the only "extended warranty" I've ever bought was on the XBox I got last week, which was $20 for two years of replacement coverage.

Well, to begin with , I never really valued his opinion to begin with. I went into the store, knew which one I was going to get (did my own research), and attempted to make the guys life easy and just say "I want this one, ring me up". Instead he has to go into his whole sales pitch and everything else. BestBuy swears that they don't pay commissions, but you could have fooled me with the way this guy acted.

$20 for a 2 year XBOX warranty isn't that bad. I'd probably pass, but I can see how you'd take it.

[Philliesfan980]

I also love it when they tell you that they cover for anything. I had one guy tell me I could take a baseball bat to my laptop, and they'd replace it. I asked him to show me in the contract where it said that. He backed off that statement when I told him I used to work for the Department of Insurance and that the guys who regulated warranties would be interested to hear about when they would cover.


Funny, the guy said the same thing about my big screen tv warranty.

[rkmsuf]

I also love it when they tell you that they cover for anything. I had one guy tell me I could take a baseball bat to my laptop, and they'd replace it. I asked him to show me in the contract where it said that. He backed off that statement when I told him I used to work for the Department of Insurance and that the guys who regulated warranties would be interested to hear about when they would cover.

You should have offered a really tough question like

"What if I bring my laptop to a cricket fight and one of the fights gets out of hand and a super cricket puts a hole in my screen. Is that covered?"

[Ksyrup]

Well, to begin with , I never really valued his opinion to begin with. I went into the store, knew which one I was going to get (did my own research), and attempted to make the guys life easy and just say "I want this one, ring me up". Instead he has to go into his whole sales pitch and everything else. BestBuy swears that they don't pay commissions, but you could have fooled me with the way this guy acted.

$20 for a 2 year XBOX warranty isn't that bad. I'd probably pass, but I can see how you'd take it.
Best Buy and other stores like them came under scrutiny here in Florida a few years back for their sales practices. At least in this state, I've seen a marked change in the way they sell extended warranties. Very rarely do they push you if you say no. Before, when they were commissioned, it would sometimes reach the point of harrassment.

These places only make their money on extended warranties, though - that's why the brown and white goods are so cheap, and also why they've added such a large selection of CDs/DVDs from which to make additional income. They've made up for the lack of pressure sales tactics by offering warranties on pretty much anything over $5 now.

[SackAttack]

Not completely true. Sure, somethings are "hardware" related, but that was not what I was talking about. Madden in the past had freeze problems and disk error problems related to the Xbox (caused by the harddrive). ESPN this year has several gameplay related bugs and an xbox online problem (later fixed with a patch). It still does happen and really there is no excuse for it except they want to push crap out the door.

GD, I didn't say that each and every problem you run across can be blamed on the hardware. In fact, I believe I took pains to say that you still see games that are buggy even without the hardware's "help," and even gave an example of such. :p

My point was simply that reducing the number of platforms on which a game needs to be tested should (theoretically) reduce the number of software flaws that you see. They're still there, obviously; I have yet to see a 100% effective QA process, and I probably never will see one. But it's still a reduction because there aren't as many variables to fuck stuff up.

But, yeah, I never said software flaws are completely eliminated. Just that they're not as prevalent, and in the current environment, they're easier to remove from console games than they have been in the past.

[Blackadar]

EB wanted $50 for a two year warranty for a $150 Xbox. LOL!!!

[Ksyrup]

EB wanted $50 for a two year warranty for a $150 Xbox. LOL!!!
OK, well I didn't write that one, so you're off the hook. :p

[SackAttack]

Yeah, EB charged me $50 for a two-year warranty on my Dreamcast back when they were $200, and I never had a problem with it (doesn't stop me from getting the warranties, though, not after going through two PS2s and two Xboxes). I found it amusing that the dude told me "Yeah, no matter what happens, we'll cover it" when I bought my DC, and when GBA came out the next year, their tune had changed.

[Godzilla Blitz]

In case people are interested, I was at Toys 'R Us last night and they had a large selection of Xbox and PS2 games on sale very cheap. Most of them are older inventory, but anything that had a green price tag was an additional 50% off at the register.

Picked up these for the Xbox:
Dead or Alive 3: $10
Shennue II: $10
Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee: $10
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2: $10
Time Splitters 2: $10
World Series Baseball 2K3: $15

And this for the PS2:
Midnight Club II: $10

All in all, I'd say there were about 20 or so games for each platform on sale.

As always, YMMV.

[SackAttack]

Godzilla,

There's actually a pretty hefty list of stuff on sale for all of the game platforms - it has to do with TRU getting out of the toy biz and concentrating on their "Babies 'R Us" line. If you check out CAG, Fatwallet, or any of the usual suspects you can probably find a full list.

[SackAttack]

Dola,

I picked up XIII, Gladius, and Hunter: The Reckoning: Redeemer for a combined $35, post-tax there two days ago.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Sack: Thanks! I was near a different Toys 'R Us, stopped by, and got Gladius ($15) and Prince of Persia ($10) for the Xbox. Also got Dynasty Tactics 2 ($15) for the PS2.

This is a good deal for me. My Xbox just arrived yesterday. I've now got a ten game collection for $120, tax included.

[Eaglesfan27]

Fable went gold today. It's on schedule to be released 9/14/04.

[Godzilla Blitz]

And in other good news...

Madden 2005 Xbox (and PS2) is on sale at Fry's/Outpost.com (http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4094792) for $35 and free shipping.

[SackAttack]

Godzilla,

Yeah, I snagged Dynasty Tactics 2 the other day, as well. If your TRU has it (doubt they do, but check), I highly recommend you play Disgaea: Hour of Darkness for PS2. They're selling it for $25 or so right now as part of that sale.

[sterlingice]

Godzilla,

Yeah, I snagged Dynasty Tactics 2 the other day, as well. If your TRU has it (doubt they do, but check), I highly recommend you play Disgaea: Hour of Darkness for PS2. They're selling it for $25 or so right now as part of that sale.
Good luck finding it. From the sounds of it at CAG, next to the first tier of Arc the Lad Collection and another couple, it's one of the hardest ones to find, especially now that the sale is over 2 weeks old. A friend and I checked 2 KC area ones and Topeka (where I found 4 games I wanted off the list) and no luck at all.

SI

[SackAttack]

Hardest to find for that price, yes, but it's well worth full price at $49.99, and can be fairly easily had for that price at most EBGames locations.

I have two copies, but one is just a disc-only review copy Atlus sent me a year or so ago. The other is the one I bought to look pretty on my shelf with the box art and all. :p