So I own a 360......

[Artlover]

Warning: Long rant follows, if you don't like long rants, go away.

 

 

So I've owned a 360 now for 4 months or so. Spent quite a bit of money too, since I've yet to mod the thing in constant fear that the damned thing will stop working any day with a RROD.

 

Anywho.....

 

Let me start with a summary; Highly overrated console with a large catalog of highly overrated games.

 

Now for the explanations.

 

#1: Who's brilant idea was needing to connect to a WM11 streaming server to access your LAN content. So much for learning from the hackers hacking the Xbox 1. This even more sucks for me being a Win2k user. So I've gotta install 3rd party codecs and apps to do the crap, or would if I really bothered to care enough to try. I've got enough crap installed and running on my machine, don't need anymore. If want to play my LAN based media, I just use me Xbox 1. Atleast I can copy shit to a USB drive and it works, well, would if the 360's media compatability wasn't crap. It makes no sence, not even from a piracy or content control issue.

 

#2: Next Gen? Xbox suffers from Wii's issue of not making a signifigant leap in gfx. Oh, sure, it looks better, tho largely, it's mostly contained to smaller details, and when all is said in done in the end, when you're actually "playing", it's not a whole hell of better then the Xbox 1. Shit, pop-in is still an occasional issue, along with the more common texture-pop-in (which as far as options go, is better then object pop-in). It still generaly looks cg/cartoony. Read: Sure, the grenades and shit in halo 3 look better, but it still looks fake. Then you got control. Jesus, slow sloppy.... Ok, ok, it depends on the game. Some games are better then others, but then, most games I've played fall into this catagory. Fight Night Round 3 is a good example of both these problems, expecailly the latter, with occasional lag times of over a second at times between punch control and my fighter throwing the damn punch.

 

#3: Xbox Live. Bah. Still don't give a rats ass about online multiplayer gaming. I am suprized to see that the movies and tv selection is actually good. Prices are mostly reasonable. Tho I don't like that movie rentals are one time view only. To that end, you're still in some cases better off with your cable's PPV or renting from Blockbuster where cost is not much more and allows you to view as much as you want during your purchased time frame. Some game add-on content is free, most isn't. Some content, including free content is restricted to gold users only. And the pricing seems to have no rhryme or reason. Big multiplayer map pack for Halo 3 or Rainbow 6 is free, but a freaking hat for the Prince in Beautiful Katamari goes 60 points. :/ XBLA has a pretty nice selection of classics that play pretty good per the free trial versions. The $5 (400 ms points) or more per game however seems a bit unreasonable in the bigger scheme of things. Lets see, asteroids, pac-man, centipede, battle zone, ms. pac-man, xevious, millipede, joust..... We're up to $40 bucks (3200 points), and you could have picked up one of those anathology discs with all thoses games plus more for like $9.99. Sorry, it's nify, but for the price, I'll just turn on the Xbox 1 and play mame. Make it a $1 a game or something like that, even I'd be willing to bite. It's bad enough I even spent the $20 for 1600 points just in case. It's all been crap I don't want or over priced for what it is. All I've bought is the Mass Effect mission add-on and the ATHF theme. And what is with the whole MS points BS. MS trying to become their own bank like freaking Ebay/PayPal. Atleast make the damn things a penny each, not this stupid ass 80msp=$1.00. Better yet, just eat the cost of microtranactions like Apple does and just let me spend as much or little as I want at that time. Instead of having my money sitting in their bank, making them interest, while I wait for them to provide me content I would be willing to buy.

 

Seriously. They gave us this BS about learning from the xbox, see what the hackers did and offered to give us those features to make the thing appealing (and to remove any legimate reason to try and hack the 360), but in every case they really seemed to miss the functionality point and gave us this convoluted, expencive, unflexable, controlling BS that took away many of the reasons we wanted the stuff to being with. I understand they are finally going to add the ability to copy/play games from the HDD. But with some ultimatly pointless limitations that makes me say why the hell even bother then.

 

----------------

Game reviews: Which consists of games I've bought & borrowed.

 

Halo 3: Short. Lacking content. This should have been called "Halo 2: The lost ending", or better yet, just been part of Halo 2 to begin with. From start to finish this game reeks of being a fanboy game created to shut up everyone crying for another installment. Looks a little better, couple different enemies/weapons, different vihiculars, still the same old game that only gets you 5-6 hours even if you do stop to smell the roses along the way. It can't make up it's mind in difficulty. Early in the game, it's hard as shit, then the final boss battle amounts to yelling "boo", then a lightbulb pops and game over. Seriously, for real, I don't get it. I don't know what sadder, that this was released as is stood, or so many people believe it's the best game ever. Of all the things you can say about Halo 3, "best game ever" is not one of them. One can do better with pretty much ANY other FPS avaialble. The best thing I can say about Halo3 is that it made me look back at Halo2 and appericate it as being a better game then I gave it credit for at the time. I'm done with the series and will never buy another Halo game ever again.

 

BioShock. Eh. Nothing special. Entertaining. Short. 10 hours. And what was the big deal about this game anyways? Evil things to little girls. Bah. Considering their circumstances, either choice was better then nothing.

 

GTA IV: Eh. Nothing special. Irritating. Ok, it looks nicer, physcics are good, it's more realistic in many ways. Hell, hooker scenes are animated now. Woo woo. But it's still not a true open sand box. It's also saddled with this stupid bs of maintaining friends and relationships with people. Atleast this game is lasting a long time. It does control like shit sometimes, gets a bit slugish, and why the hell can the tinest of trees still bring a damn garbage truck to a dead stop.

 

BK: I want my money back. No seriously. First of all, sorry, but the KD series only really works well with a PS designed joypad having both thumb sticks in the same locations. Xbox layout is un forgiving. Second of all, Short? What's would be considered shorter then a playable demo? Got like 3 hours, and attribute about 30 minutes of that to the crazy inferface. I loved Katamari, but this.....*cough*fanboy game *cough*

 

COD4: Looks good, tho still clearly CGish at times. Good attention to detail. I have no bad thing to say about it except that it's freak short as shit too. 6 hours. Seriously, does the 360 target ADD sufferers or something?

 

Top Spin 2: Nothing special on the whole, Tho it is a hell of a lot of fun, and I've spent more time playing it then anything else.

 

Forza 2: Looks ok more or less. I personaly wasn't overly impressed by the car models. Everything still seems too CGish, and I know it's capable of better. Controlls nice. Fun.

 

Grid: Difficulty ramps up pretty quick, but damn if it doesn't have some of the best car & background models I've seen. One can actually find them self slipping into a mindset of beliving they are actually driving in real car in a real race.

 

Orange Box: Half Life 2-obviously, nothing new here. Episode 1 & Episode 2. More of the same. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It's always been top notch in gfx and control. The fundamental flaw is, they are short. Less then 6 hours each. I could have swarn that there were some annoucements from them that Ep 2 was going to be bigger & longer. They must have been talking about some alternate reality. Team fortress: again, don't give a flying shit about multiplayer. Portals: Weeeeeeeeee. Portals is just good simple fun and thats all there is to it. Nothing bad can be said about it except it's short too, like 2 hours. But this is a rare case where thats fine being that the game is a simple puzzle game with no replay variableness.

 

Mass Effect: Wow. Graphicaly nothing special. Even the plot is somewhat generic, but the amount of detail surounding everything was mind blowing. Dialog, character backstories, encyclopedic journal. Game enviroment is pretty massive. Everything is connected together well, including the sides quests and even the downloadable add on. It's got it's flaws, especialy with getting you character stuck. But all in all, it's one of the better games out there with alot of replay value. Which is good, because the game, as massive as it is, still plays short. I played through in like 10 hours the first time w/no side quests. Now, sex: Why did the so called sex scenes get so much attention? Oh right, 99.99 percent of every yahoo bitching about them never played/saw the game. I do appericate that it made a bunch of these nut cases look like the illformed lunitics that they are however, in as much as many ended up having to publicly retract their comments once the game was actually shown to them and saw that an average tv commercial is worse. To that end, it was an interesting aspect to the game, but it seems and feels tacked on and doesn't quite flow with the game. I wish they had either left it out or developed it better.

 

Battlefield: Bad Company: Wow. One of a very few games that impressed me. Looks good, plays good, ai is ok, challenging, but do able. Again, it's biggest flaw is: SHORT. I finished in like 7 hours.

 

FNR3: Doesn't look that much better, plays like ass. Lag time between control and punch being throw is pathetic, damn near a full second in some cases. Played it once, gave it back to my friend. Honestly, I'd rather (and do) play FNR2 on the Xbox1 instead.

 

Others: I've played a lot more games on it, but in the end my opinion ends up being the same: Short, don't look much better then previous generation, little replay value, sluggish control, leaving me wondering what the point was.

 

 

 

All in all, I think I'm done with Microsoft consoles. If they do come out with Xbox 3, it had better do something impressive (like have a naked woman jump out of the box when you open it), or I'm not buying it. As it stands, looking at all the money I've spent for this thing, I'd honstly say it's been a waste and a large disapointment. I'm still playing and having more sincear "fun" with my xbox1. My 4 months with the thing ultimatly has me wanting to buy a Wii now (yes, hell froze over or something I guess).

[moycon]

There ya go. Spend $250 so you can play the latest Gamecube games with a remote. That'll make you happy for sure.

[nonner242]

Yeah, go get a wii, if you have all this hatred for the 360 because your really going to love it..NOT...um the wii lookis like dog poo for gfx....so you wont like that cuz ya have a prob with the 360's already. Ummm for game replay....umm not to much really, in fact most ppl I know that bought wii, were all so crazy about them for a week or so, now playing there pc and 360 like its gold again, poor ol wii colecting dust. And If you did not like Bioshock,COD4 or The Orange Box you must really have some odd taste in games cuz they are really good. The other games you played mostly suck butt. Wait till Fallout 3 is released, you'll prob hate that too. And for the games being short, try finding all the tapes or secret areas in Bioshock that will add some time. Portal was worth the price alone for the orange box, I have not laughed that hard from a puzzle game(or any game) or wanted to beat so bad in my life and the end song was funny as hell too. COD4 is a multiplayer game, one player is fun in all but short, unless on the hardest level of play. Most ppl that hate multiplayer either suck against human players, have no social skills, or ppl hate their bitch'n and crying so much they wont play with you unless there going against you just to hear you whine more about them being a camper,sniper whore,noobtuber,claymore lay'n pussy,martyr wuss,Juggernaut bitch,UAV Jamming fag,Shotgunning dick and all the others I dont feel like typing. And one last thing I guess you missed all the totally crap games that sucked beyond words from past years, yeah there were aton, way more than today not that ever game is for everybody. Do so research before you buy,try the demos on live. Dont expect games to be be next to real life in the gfx department. I hope you just had a really bad day, or your parents wouldn't let you goto your D&D/Pokemon sleepover. Get a girlfriend they have the best GfX & SFX of any game, and tons of replay value. Or go lock yourself in a bathroom and go play a oneplayer game with yourself.

 

And before you get your panty in a bunch....

I mostly just kidding about my "comments"

But come on, is it really that bad! You seem to have a neg on the 360 for no real reason! Go back to playing you nes or playstaion I guess.

You sound like you knocked 20 years off your age with that rant to me. If my games looked CGish Id be more than happy with them! Maybe Im blind! Or only buy good games, or easy to entertain. I have no real problems with my elite other than a few arcade issues after a HDD swap. Im more pissed about the cost of gas & food.

Edited August 3, 2008 by nonner242

[+Random Terrain]

I agree that the Xbox 360 isn't as advanced as I hoped, but if you want to play the latest games, the 360 is what you need.

 

Here are some games I can't wait to play:

 

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

 

Civilization Revolution

 

Fable II

 

Dead Rising

 

 

There are probably more, but that's all I can remember right now.

[Lord Helmet]

I agree with ya on the media stuff, but it also makes sense...MS wants you to use Windows XP or Vista, with their media center and their proprietary formats. Its not as locked down as it could be though. My Apple TV only plays video in MP4 or M4V format....talk about locked down...

[PressureCooker2600]

Is it just me or did everyone else think Artlover was dead till now?

[Hyper_Eye]

As soon as the OP started questioning the advance in graphics I stopped reading this nonsense of a post. The GPU technology on the 360 was very advanced at the time of release. It is leaps and bounds beyond the XBox technology. The GPU technology in the 360 is actually superior in many ways to the GPU technology in the PS3 (while the PS3 arguably has other areas of superiority.) The thought that the XBox could pull off games like Unreal Tournament 3, COD4, or Gears of War is ludicrous especially when you consider pulling it off rendered at 720p with AA and scalable to any other resolution (you have to love that hardware scaler.) There is also the fact that the XBox runs basically the equivalent of 733MHz Celeron while the 360 has a triple-core ppc processor with each core clocked at 3.2GHz which is capable of 6 simultaneous hardware threads.

 

Just load up Unreal Championship and the Unreal Tournament 3 next to each other or GTA3 and GTA4. The assertion that the XBox 360 barely makes an advancement over the XBox is simply ridiculous.

[+remowilliams]

As soon as the OP started questioning the advance in graphics I stopped reading this nonsense of a post.

That's all I need to see to stop reading as well. The 360 is a huge leap over the Xbox. I've got them both hooked up right here to the same TV, just in case I was imagining things.

[+Zeptari]

Warning: Long rant follows, if you don't like long rants, go away.

 

Anywho.....

 

Let me start with a summary; Highly overrated console with a large catalog of highly overrated games.

 

 

Large catalog of overrated games?

 

You're joking, right?

[rxd]

Sorry but your rant is moronic. The 360 is the best of the new consoles, no doubt about it. Go back to playing the original xbox if you want to (which I liked also). But get real dude.

[PressureCooker2600]

Since everyone else is doing it.....i'm going to jump on the bandwagon

[dalton4life]

To compare 360 leap in graphics over last gen to Wii just just asinine. Even biggest PS3 fanboy with 20/20 vision wouldn't say that if he was being honest with himself. The only way I could see someone realistically saying that is if the Xbox 360 was being played on a small non HD TV.

 

Honestly OP sounds like someone who just hates modern gaming or who just likes getting attention for himself by making posts that make no sense to anyone with common sense. This isn't jumping on any bandwagon, but rather reacting to what the OP wrote in an honest manor.

Edited August 3, 2008 by dalton4life

[+Random Terrain]

. . . honest manor.

I once lived in an honest manor until the caustic world melted the walls around me.

[dalton4life]

ha,

 

yeah I meant manner.

[moycon]

I like Ghost Manor

[pmpddytim]

.......large catalog of overrated games......

 

Battlefield: Bad Company = Also available on PS3

 

GTA IV = Also available on PS3

 

COD4 = Also available on PS3

 

Top Spin 2 = Also available on PS3

 

Orange Box = Also available on PS3

 

FNR3 (Fight Night Round 3) = Also available on PS3

 

Bioshock = Coming to Ps3 (Confirmed)

 

My point is that of the 12 games you mentioned only Halo 3, Forza, Mass Effect, and BK are 360 exclusives. Seems like you are displeased with modern publishers and not Microsoft on the game front. Not really fair to blame Microsoft for multi-platform titles.

 

-T

[Mendon]

The OP is only expressing *his* opinion of his 360 experience. His opinion is neither right or wrong... its *his* opinion.

 

The Xbox360 isn't the greatest system in the world for him, so what? Many don't like the Wii, many do. Many don't like the PS3, many do. To each their own.

 

 

Mendon

[Gregory DG]

Note about game length... They intentionally make the games short! Jeez, they want you to hurry up and finish the game so you'll go out and buy another one! The days of 20+ hour games (that aren't RPGs) are long gone.

[Atari5200]

it's a matter of opinion yes, but there are some things I don't understand

 

#1. COD4 you say looks CG'ish, isn't that pretty damn good if gameplay graphics can look as good as CG???

 

Every complaint you have you can't even complain about on the Wii because it's not offered or cannot be produced on the Wii due to technical short comings. I guess that's where I'm confused. The games ok, fine, those aren't your cup of tea, but hardware wise, I don't understand your rant, especially when the games are on par or sometimes better than PS3 counterparts.

 

As I've said before, this generation of gaming has been the most exciting for me since the days of the SNES, and that's thanks to my 360. Not my Wii, and not a PS3. It's all in your tastes, and my favorite system currently is my 360. And I do own both 360 and Wii, and the wii collects dust...at my in laws house....what does that tell you.

[JamesD]

He complains about graphics but I see no mention of him using an HDTV.

[Atari5200]

I complained about the graphics too on some games. Not all the games use the full potential of the system, but hell, even before I got my HD tv I could see the difference in games like Oblivion and Gears of War. Now that I have my HD, it's no contest between last generation and the current generation.

 

Plus you have to look at everything else, the environment, the details, some games the graphics aren't mind blowing, but it's the little details that make the game better than previous generation.

[wstankew]

While you're entitled to your opinion, I do think some of your arguments are a bit lacking... "looks too CG-ish?" of course it does. It's a video game. It, by definition is graphics generated by a computer. You want realism? punch a hole through the wall where your TV is and look outside, or go drive a car, or join the army. In this case how did games like Super Mario brothers get popular? Did nintendo really provide a realistic looking game of an italian plumber adventuring through the mushroom kingdom? Oh well, not everyone has the same tastes. just my .02

[Artlover]

There ya go. Spend $250 so you can play the latest Gamecube games with a remote. That'll make you happy for sure.

I know, I feel dirty for saying I wanted a Wii. I've spent some time playing a friend's, and honestly, all of my previous hatred for it still stands. Last gen gfx, stupid controller. BUT, some games actually make use of the controller very well, and I was actually having, *gasp*, fun. Besides, Mario will never be ported to a non Nintendo console.

 

Is it just me or did everyone else think Artlover was dead till now?

Just busy.

 

The 360 is a huge leap over the Xbox. I've got them both hooked up right here to the same TV, just in case I was imagining things.

I've got both hooked up too (amung others). I guess my question is what games are you playing. I've played about a total of 30, and I was disipointed by most.

 

While you're entitled to your opinion, I do think some of your arguments are a bit lacking... "looks too CG-ish?" of course it does. It's a video game. It, by definition is graphics generated by a computer.

Then explain why some games don't look CG-ish then. Compare COD4 to B:BC and you'll see COD4 looks like crap by comparison. Crawling around some of the fields of very bright florescent cartoony grass that looks like it came out of a Dreamcast game. Halo3 is even worse as it's all at that level of cartoonyness. Unlike B:BC that actually applied the hardware and looks freaking sweet.

 

Near photo realistic quality IS possible in the current generation. I know that for a fact because I've seen it with my own two eyes on a couple of games, but few seem to take it there, and I resent that. For all the hype, a lot just doesn't really live up to it.

[Elw00d]

Art,

 

Your last post makes me think that you are more upset with the publishers and not the Xbox360 (as Pmpddytim said). You admitted that the hardware can do what you want. So is it the 360, or the software publishers you are disappointed with?

 

El

[moycon]

I wouldn't want every game to look photo realistic.

 

If videogames are considered an artform, and the look of the game is imagined and made possible by talented people/artists creating something out of nothing in an attempt to impress the masses, then it would get awfully redundant and boring if every game looked like the world around you.

 

My suggestion to you Artlover, give up videogaming altogether and take up photography.