Thinking of getting a Xbox 360, couple of questions

[Raumarik]

I've had a PS2 for a year or so, before that a PS1 etc. One thing that always annoyed me with consoles is loading times, are they better with the Xbox?

Is the "premier" pack worth the extra cash? I wont' initially be going with Xbox live but will eventually be hooking it upto my wireless network once I have the cash for the wireless card.

I have an old TV, no HD or anything fancy we're talking bog standard not even widescreen, playable or not? I realise I wont get the full quality of games on it but until I can afford to replace it it'll have to make do!

Anyone know anywhere doing good bundle deals?

 

[Nismo]

Premium pack is definitely worth it, and you must hook it up to Live ASAP, even if you only use Silver. You miss out on a huge amount of features otherwise.

Loading times arnt too bad, however you still have the obvious limits of loading from an optical disc.

If you are using a standard TV I would recommend getting at least an RGB scart cable, to try and make as much use of the graphics as possible. The only option that you will get out of the box which you can use is composite, which is poor.

I think HMV are doing some good deals at the moment, Premium & 3 games IIRC for somewhere in the region of £350.

 

[melchy]

I've had a PS2 for a year or so, before that a PS1 etc. One thing that always annoyed me with consoles is loading times, are they better with the Xbox?

Is the "premier" pack worth the extra cash? I wont' initially be going with Xbox live but will eventually be hooking it upto my wireless network once I have the cash for the wireless card.

I have an old TV, no HD or anything fancy we're talking bog standard not even widescreen, playable or not? I realise I wont get the full quality of games on it but until I can afford to replace it it'll have to make do!

Anyone know anywhere doing good bundle deals?

1.)Loading times are still present, but vary from game to game. Be warned the DVD drive can be LOUD.

2.)Premier pack is definately worth it especially if you are considering live, you also get a wireless controller in the premier pack. You can connect your 360 to your router via cat5 cable in the meantime until you get the wireless adapter. You get a free month of Gold live access with the console.

3.)Will work fine via scart.

 

[Felix Da Housecat]

Hi,

I got my xbox 360 premium yesterday so I'll have a go at your questions.

I've had a PS2 for a year or so, before that a PS1 etc. One thing that always annoyed me with consoles is loading times, are they better with the Xbox?

I came from a PS2 and I think it is quicker even tho the time taken depends on the game a lot of the time.

Is the "premier" pack worth the extra cash? I wont' initially be going with Xbox live but will eventually be hooking it upto my wireless network once I have the cash for the wireless card.

Yes in the long term it is worth thats why I went for it, knowing I'd want to go online within a few days.

I have an old TV, no HD or anything fancy we're talking bog standard not even widescreen, playable or not? I realise I wont get the full quality of games on it but until I can afford to replace it it'll have to make do!

At the mo I'm playing on my old 21"CRT thats curved as anything, it's not great but it will do till I receive my TFT widescreen today sometime

Anyone know anywhere doing good bundle deals?

I googled for xbox 360 and went out round the highstreet to see what bundles I could get but decided to get the unit and games separate, as the bundles didn't have the games I wanted.

Hope that helps.

 

[DaveyD]

I've had a PS2 for a year or so, before that a PS1 etc. One thing that always annoyed me with consoles is loading times, are they better with the Xbox?

Is the "premier" pack worth the extra cash? I wont' initially be going with Xbox live but will eventually be hooking it upto my wireless network once I have the cash for the wireless card.

I have an old TV, no HD or anything fancy we're talking bog standard not even widescreen, playable or not? I realise I wont get the full quality of games on it but until I can afford to replace it it'll have to make do!

Anyone know anywhere doing good bundle deals?

Though most stuff has been answered, I'll just give my answers also from my experience, (based on my housemates 360 premium played on my standard 4:3 26in TV).

You have to remember with loading times, they'll generally stay at similar times nomatter what generation, as when consoles get faster, the games get more complex, so loading times stay long, though it always depends upon the game you are playing, as some have very good times, others worse.

The Premium pack, is very much worth it, as it enables you to do a lot more with the console, particularly stuff to do with Xbox Live. Live is very much worth it, and the basic package (Silver) is completely free, which allows you to download demos, videos, content, patches and all that free. There's also Xbox Live Arcade, which allows you to play more basic, arcade style games on the 360 downloaded via Live, which can be purchased with points you buy.

Xbox Live Gold, which you get one month free with your Xbox, allows you to play your games online against others, and is very easy to use, and is incredibly painless.

On the TV question, I've played on a decent 4:3 CRT, and it really does look good, and that's not even using RGB SCART, I've only seen it on composite, the poorest quality cable you can use (on the scale anyway), and all the games I plaed looked great, and can only look better on HDTVs. I suggest getting the Advanced SCART cable, which will give you a better increase in quality of picture, but will vary on TVs, but most TVs these days support RGB SCART.

 

[Raumarik]

Thanks guys it's settled me a bit more on my decision, I'll look around for a decent bundle, preferably get it by next friday as I have the lads around so a new toy to play with whilst drinking or beer and throwing abuse at each other would be good!

Anyone with views or suggestions feel free to add!

 

[DaveyD]

You'll want to get yourself a quick charge kit or the play and charge kit, or some rechargable battereis, as the wireless controllers don't last forever.

 

[DeFrEaTs]

You'll want to get yourself a quick charge kit or the play and charge kit, or some rechargable battereis, as the wireless controllers don't last forever.

I second the play+charge kit tip. I suggest using the reward credit you get (from HMV, Game etc) to buy your play+charge kit with... then it's free.. kinda? That's what I did at least

 

[Abooie]

Thanks guys it's settled me a bit more on my decision, I'll look around for a decent bundle, preferably get it by next friday as I have the lads around so a new toy to play with whilst drinking or beer and throwing abuse at each other would be good!

Anyone with views or suggestions feel free to add!

You'll also need a 2nd controller then and for late night beer drinking sessions I'd recommend Fight Night, or from what I've seen Table Tennis.

Also PGR3 split screen is a lot of fun.

 

[Kainz]

Anyone with views or suggestions feel free to add!

Pie! Lotsa Pie!

Grab yourself another controller or two like yours truly, and grab a Quick Charge Kit available from obvious places. It comes with an additional battery too.

Fight Night is tops for multiplayer sessions when the lads are round, my lot prefer it to boring old Fifa. Remember what I said about widescreen

 

[NokkonWud]

Thanks guys it's settled me a bit more on my decision, I'll look around for a decent bundle, preferably get it by next friday as I have the lads around so a new toy to play with whilst drinking or beer and throwing abuse at each other would be good!

Anyone with views or suggestions feel free to add!

Get Burnout! Best laugh in single and multiplayer.

 

[Raumarik]

well I got one and playing PGR3 for about 40mins I have to admit I'm very impressed even on my ancient telly, having the hard disk seems to help a lot no fiddling with memory cards thank god!

The loading times are actually pretty reasonable I've found, it was my main gripe with the PS2 but I'm glad I went for it.

Anyway PGR3 awaits, so stuff you lot I'm off to play

 

[NokkonWud]

well I got one and playing PGR3 for about 40mins I have to admit I'm very impressed even on my ancient telly, having the hard disk seems to help a lot no fiddling with memory cards thank god!

The loading times are actually pretty reasonable I've found, it was my main gripe with the PS2 but I'm glad I went for it.

Anyway PGR3 awaits, so stuff you lot I'm off to play

Get on Live! and it gets even better! You get 1 month free!

 

[Abooie]

One problem I do have with the 360 though is that the mrs has got to like it..

<<<<<<< The MRS!!!!

What happened to my Hitman session tonight! Lol!

 

[NokkonWud]

Your missus is called Zachary?
Am I missing something?

 

[Abooie]

Your missus is called Zachary?
Am I missing something?

Aye. It's a kids book character (a duck). But the point I was making (badly I'll admit) was she played Oblivion ALL night stopping me from a good Hitman session.

This links nicely with the conversion thread and I'm glad she's enjoying the 360 tbh.