XBox 360 After Christmas

Hi, everyone. I'm thinking about buying an XBox 360 Arcade after Christmas (and will probably add a harddrive and whatnot later)and would like the following advice:

(1) What do you think are the top 5 absolute must-have games for the 360?

(2) In the past, I've heard numerous reports of technical problems with the 360. Is it true that the new models have less problems? Also, what are some of the steps I can take to reduce the chances of a technical problem with my system?

Any and all advice would be appreciated!

1) The Recommendation Thread now has a "Must-Haves" section and I agree with everything in it. It depends what genres you like so just pick the 5 most interesting to you and you won't go wrong. My top 5 are Mass Effect, Oblivion, Fallout 3, the Halo series (1, 2, 3, & ODST), and Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare (the single player is better then MW2 but MW2 has better multiplayer).

2) The problems with earlier model 360s is heat. The CPU and GPU were both 90nm and got pretty hot. The newest iteration motherboard, "Jasper", has a 65nm CPU and GPU, uses less electricity, and generates less heat so it should have much less of a chance of three-red-lighting. I have one and I've had it on multiple times over 20 hours and it stayed cool and hasn't hiccupped on me once.

3) Buy a used 120gb hard drive off amazon for $80. Don't waste your money on a brand new one (I got an Arcade originally and did that).

kameo

modern warfare 2

resi evil 5

fable 2

wolfenstein

1 saints row 2

2 gta iv or ts lc pack

3 mw2-if not mw1

4 halo 3 /odst

5 test drive unlimted or midnight club la,

to prevent failure do not put towels onthe 360 dont throw it

dont throw it into pool , dont take baths playing it -for all you know it ould go in with ya and zap

do not attemp to repair things your self if it does fail cal microsoft

I actually just got a 360 arcade and i have a 20gb hardrive coming in. So I say it's a good idea. Anyways if you want to take good care of it then don't let it stay on for too many hours like 7 or more is at risk. Give the system atleast 4 inches of space on each side of the system. Don't put any coverings over it. Dont play the system on a carpet or rug. I am actually paranoid rightnow and I'm unplugging the av cable and power cord out of the xbox every time im done playing and know that I won't be playing for a while later.

[QUOTE="MathMattS"]

Hi, everyone. I'm thinking about buying an XBox 360 Arcade after Christmas (and will probably add a harddrive and whatnot later)and would like the following advice:

(1) What do you think are the top 5 absolute must-have games for the 360?

(2) In the past, I've heard numerous reports of technical problems with the 360. Is it true that the new models have less problems? Also, what are some of the steps I can take to reduce the chances of a technical problem with my system?

Any and all advice would be appreciated!

AdjacentLives

A new hard drive is around $150, so I'd recommend getting a elite for only $100 more. As for games, while I do love the COD series and action games like Assassin's Creed 2, I'd have to say you should pick up Mass Effect and Fallout 3. For me replayability is a big thing, while also getting to build a character to your liking. Though you should probably just do some research on what you want before hand. read some reviews and what not.

http://www.gamespot.com/games.html?type=top_rated&platform=1029&mode=all&sort=score&dlx_type=all&date_filter=all&sortdir=asc&official=all

Go through all the games 8.0 + that interest you, make a day of it. Then find a game you like, watch the Gamespot video review, read some player reviews. Ask some questions on that specific game forums.

As for technical problems, never buy used. Even a refurbished console from a place like Gamestop can be more likely to experience problems. One of the major problems for the Xbox 360 is that it has a lot of heat coming off it. Microsoft last year, but mostly this year, started shipping out consoles with the "Jasper" motherboard. Which causes the Xbox 360 to use less power, meaning less heat. Hpw to find a Jasper model is all in this articlehttp://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3472&p=2. Never ever keep your Xbox 360 on your carpet, and don't have it sitting in a cramped area with lots of other crap ( other consoles, directly next to your PC/TV ). Give it enough room for airflow.

It's really hard to limit it to only 5 games, but I would say, and not in any real order since they are all great:

The Orange Box

Bioshock

Assassin's Creed 2

Modern Warefare (1or 2)

Batman Arkham Asylum

I know it's 6 and 7 but must mention Gears of War 2 and Dragon Age, both also great games.

As far as reliability goes I have a launch model and a 360 I bought back in Feb 09 both work great and I've never had a problem with them.

Keep the system in a ventilated area. I've actually got both of mine up off the shelves with little sticky feet I bought at the hardware store. So all of the air holes are actually getting air.

Don't move the system when it is powered on an. This will cut down on the chances of getting a line burned into the disc. Of course this is just common sense.