Tried an Xbox 360?

[tomsega]

tomsega,

Did you not know that graphics cards are overly inflated in price ... and Game designers have become lazy in programing a game.

The "original" Wolfenstein came on ONE FLOPPY disk and ran on a 1meg card, or was it 256k, no I'm sure it was 1meg ... 'cos I remember buying two chips to make mine 2meg

Game designers then wrote games for the hardware WE had ... not for what they could use.

I can't say that I get your point... ? Right. Let me rant a bit-

Sony and Microsoft have the ability to sell the hardware at a loss, and then confidently make the money back with software sales. This, combined with the fact that they are manufaturing them in bulk and so on, is why the Xbox 360 is so comparatively cheap. Either way, ATI and Nvidia get paid. Surely the very reason that PC graphics cards are so expensive is that the manufacturer can only make money from that single one off purchase. If PC gaming becomes less popular, ATI and Nvidia won't be able to lower the prices of hardware very much - especially considering they have nothing to loose if everyone goes console, when they are providing the hardware anyway.

Anyhoo, Im not predicting the death of PC gaming or anything - Im just saying that perhaps WHILST we are in the stage of a new console being released, PC upgrading can only really be justified through love of the format rather than sense... perhaps.

I mean, a 7800gtx is worth an entire weeks wages for alot of people - and thats just a component. When you could buy an almost-as-good system (C'mon, everyone has a tv) for cheaper than that....hmmm...

 

[Chris Pickering]

My 360 arrived yesterday aftrnoon, and I've had a good solid night's play (with no crashes or any sort *touch wood*) and it really is a dazzling little machine!

The Xbox LIVE stuff is exactly as I'd hoped, everything integrated perfectly. It's a real system seller this time.

Even playing on a 21" old Philips CRT via composite, PGR3 in particular looks absolutely gorgeous. Just wish I had the cash for a nice small HD TV in my room!

Oh, and Hexic (the free Xbox Live Arcade game you get with the system) is obscenely addictive. I've played more of that than PGR3, Amped 3 combined. And I'm yet to even start Condemned!

 

[Chris Pickering]

Oh, and the one plus for me in particular was to find that it's SO easy to stream all my music on my PC to my 360. As much as I loved the option to have your own soundtracks on the Xbox, I couldnt be bothered to rip all my CD's for a second time, so the ease with which this has been implemented is an absolute wonder.

 

[psd99]

My 360 arrived yesterday aftrnoon, and I've had a good solid night's play (with no crashes or any sort *touch wood*) and it really is a dazzling little machine!
!

brilliant

how much did u pay then?

 

[Chris Pickering]

brilliant

how much did u pay then?

£279.99 for the Premium pack. Splashed out £65 for Project Gothem Racing 3, and Condemned, and luckily managed to get Amped 3 for free as it's a review copy.

 

[psd99]

bloody hell thats a lot of money!

still probably worth it tho eh

 

[muckshifter]

brilliant

how much did u pay then?

£165 chipped ... by days end £150

How many games do you want?





*Manchester Computer Show*

 

[Chris Pickering]

bloody hell thats a lot of money!

still probably worth it tho eh

Definetly worth it! I'm already down to make around £100 from it with some commisioned reviews, so call it an investment

 

[V_R]

Definetly worth it! I'm already down to make around £100 from it with some commisioned reviews, so call it an investment

Your a lucky bugger!

 

[xSilverwingx]

Same

I can't game on consoles... i just cant. Unless it's a racing game...

I prefer K/b and Mouse for the rest!

Same to me... LoL

 

[Chris Pickering]

Well, it's been 11 days since I got my hands on the 360, and it's certainly been a mixed bag. The highlights include the whole Live integration, and the ability to download all sorts of goodies/demo's free of charge.

Games wise, Project Gotham Racing 3 impresses as you'd expect, but the real sleeper hit is Condemned. Absolutely terrifying game. Worst game I've played so far (I've been lucky enough to get a hold of 'free copies' of most, and at least managed a few days on the rest) is easily FIFA 06 Road To The World Cup. How on earth people can willingly PAY for this kind of dross when Pro Evolution Soccer 5 exists beggars belief. Each player looks like they've been coated in vaseline, and dont even get me started on the whole blurring 'focus' effects!

 

[Alf]

Really? i though condemed would be a good game... whats it like?

 

[Consoles_Suck]

my name ..,although... its dam impressive for the cost

 

[Chris Pickering]

Really? i though condemed would be a good game... whats it like?

It's blooming brilliant that's for sure! The combat in particular is incredibly brutal, one of the most impressive parts of the game in fact. The fear in instills within you is pretty much unrivalled too. Quite a few times I've been scared half to death by my character accidently knocking over a bottle in fact.

The whole evidence gathring lark is more than a little under-used though, with everything sign posted, and no real effort needed to progress through these short sections.

I'll be writing a few 360 reviews soon at a few other websites, so I'll post them in this thread in the future...as long as Ian gives me permission of course

 

[psd99]

£165 chipped ... by days end £150

How many games do you want?





*Manchester Computer Show*

give me fifa
thats all i need!

how do u want to be paid?

 

[muckshifter]

give me fifa
thats all i need!

how do u want to be paid?

you have mail ...

 

[Alf]

So its good but not that good?

Also Monolith created this game... which explains why it looks so much like F.E.A.R

 

[Chris Pickering]

So its good but not that good?

Also Monolith created this game... which explains why it looks so much like F.E.A.R

Just about finsihed this, and it really is a cracking game. What I mean by a 'sleeper hit' is that it's one of those games not too many are going to buy at release, more willing to purchase Project Gotham Racing 3, Perfect Dark Zero, or FIFA 06. But it'll continue to sell in reasonable quantities for a prolonged period of time, and word will spread.

Unless I'm much mistaken, it's my most played 360 title so far.