Xbox 360 - The First 2 Weeks

dantebk · Post by **dantebk** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 7:47 am

I've had my new Xbox 360 for 2 weeks now. This is my first Xbox product, my first HD source (though I've had an HDTV for a while now), and my first 7th generation console. So what do I think?

General Impressions: I like it! A lot. Okay, more on that... I really like the dashboard. I am an obssessive person, so being able to see what games I've played, what my achievements are, check out what my "friends" are playing at that moment -- all really appeals to me. I also like how the system exists when you're playing a game; how messages pop up to tell you the demo has finished downloading or an achievement has been unlocked. The graphics are, of course, unlike anything I've ever seen on my TV before. I am in no way regretting this purchase.

Games I own:

Call of Duty 2 came with the console as a free promotion. I have not played this game very much because I'm not a huge FPS guy, but I have enjoyed the parts I've played and I do plan on finishing it. Unlikely I'll get all the achievements because you have to beat the game on the hardest difficulty and I don't think I'm good enough at this type of game to do so. My girlfriend doesn't like this game because it's too realistic and violent.

Hexic HD comes preinstalled on the hard drive. This game my girlfriend likes. I like it too, and just this past Thursday night I unlocked the Black Pearl achievement and the Marathon achievement. I'm going to tackle the Timed Mode achievement next. I always had trouble getting into puzzle games, racing games, sports games and so on because I never felt the feeling of accomplishment that I do in a story-driven game. Achievements have changed all that, and now even games like Hexic HD can be really engrossing.

Big Bumpin', Sneak King, and Pocketbike Racer are the three Burger King promotional games. Okay, they're not great games, but they were only $4 each and are definitely worth at least that much. Again, achievements have really made otherwise crummy games more compelling. Unlikely I would have ever finished all 20 challenges in the first level of Sneak King if it wasn't an achievement. And online Big Bumpin' is pretty fun, even if it does break sometimes.

Games I've rented:

Amped 3 is awesome! I love this game! My favorite 360 game so far. I played it for almost an entire weekend, just building up my awesomeness meter and stoking people, chasing yeti's, hanggliding, falling off cliffs using a recliner as a sled, and so much more! The craziest, oddest, funniest (snowboarding) game ever. And as earlier, achievements only make it better -- really driving me to attempt EVERY challenge and try to own EVERY mountain and get the most out of the game.

Games I've demoed:

Small Arms sucks. Half-ass Smash Bros. wanna-be. Ugh!

Geometry Wars is probably awesome, but I'm so terrible at it. I don't see any point in unlocking the full game when I can't even get to the end of the 4-minute demo.

Cloning Clyde seems fun. Undecided if I will unlock the full game or not. I like beating up chickens and stuff.

Burnout Revenge is fun if a bit inexplicable. Definitely a rental.

Kameo: Elements of Powers is a bizarre mess. Why did I need a 4 minute demo segment of talking to people? I don't know the story, I don't know who to talk to, I don't know the significance of what they're telling me... And I hated trying to kick shells into the giant tree's mouth.

Tomb Raider: Legend was a blast. Definitely going to rent this one!

Fuzion Frenzy 2 I only downloaded because my girlfriend likes party games. Well, not this party game. As soon as I turned it on she hated it. She hated everything about it and wouldn't let me forget it as I cycled through the demo games. She is a diehard Mario Party loyalist.

Lost Planet Multiplayer is sort of fun but I'm terrible at this time of thing. You know you suck when you get a 5 MINUTES REMAINING graphic followed immediately by a YOU LOSE graphic. I didn't even know you COULD lose in a deathmatch game?? Doesn't it always just tally the points at the end?? Am I that terrible??

That's all for now... I'm going to try to get a Wii this weekend so expect a similar report in a couple weeks... My gamertag is DanteBK if you want to say Hi!

LimitZer0 · Post by **LimitZer0** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:38 pm

I thought Small Arms was great for an XBLA game. Not as fun as Super Smash Bros but it is cool in its own way. It was hard to get used to.

I was addicted to Hexic for a while.

As for the Burger King games I hated Sneak King, I loved Pocket Bike Racer and Big Bumpin.

You should rent GoW and Viva Pinata.

iamsjn · Post by **iamsjn** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 7:24 am

A curiously fun game to download off of Live Arcade is Feeding Frenzy. This game is somewhat addicting. Basically it involves gobbling up schools of fish. A buddy of mine here at work was telling me about it so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'll be honest, I wasn't blown away at his description of it but after playing it and seeing that over an hour had passed since I started.... I was hooked. It's one of those great time killer games.

If your girlfriend participates in your gaming activities this'll do for both of ya!

(P.S.... If you thought COD2 was too violent, stay away from games like Gears of War & Hitman!!)
--SjN

dantebk · Post by **dantebk** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:33 pm

LimitZer0--

I don't think Sneak King is that bad... I just got the achievement for 100,000 points in a single delivery... I'm not sure if that makes it all worthwhile, but I'm feeling more sunshine-y about it now than I did a couple days ago.

Both Gears of War and Viva Pinata are on my To Rent list... though Dead Rising, Smackdown 07, and Tomb Raider and higher on the list.

SjN--

*I* didn't think COD2 was too violent, my girlfriend did. I do not think she will watch me play Gears of War (she actually likes to sit with me and watch me play Amped 3, go fig!)

And as for Feeding Frenzy, my GF saw it on the download list and went Yechh! I guess she's familiar with the free Yahoo! games version. She said it is fun for 10 minutes but gets too boring. Oh well. It's not like I have any Microsoft Points anyway.

LimitZer0 · Post by **LimitZer0** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:54 pm

Viva Pinata is a perfect game for you, your GF can watch and even help you with the 2nd controller... Or she can start her own garden.

I'm loving Contra right now... Just beat it with no continues. If any of you play it, be sure to change the graphics to the old style. I was horrible at it with the updated gfx... That affects gameplay so much.

I think it is due to the fact that with the old graphics, I can move perfectly to avoid hit detection. When you throw in gradients and transparencies, it makes it harder to see the hit detection part of your body, the aim of your gun, hit detection part of bullet, etc...