To X-Box or not to X-Box

[Chainsaws]

Hey guys, I could use some advice. I'm considering getting an X-Box this Chrimbly and as someone who's never owned one or played one much I'd like some advice from any vets.

Why X-Box then?
We have a Wii and I enjoy playing on it occasionally. I mostly play PC but there are things you can play on the Wii that you can't do on a PC (light gun games for ex.). I won't buy games at full price but I've got a good collection of things I've picked up on special offer, I probably play once or twice a week on average and I like the ease of just being able to play without having to tweak gfx settings or whatnot and not worrying about crashes or bugs. I also have a lot of friends who own an X-Box and it would be cool to be able to play games with them (many of them don't have/play PC and Wii online is almost nonexistent).

Which X-Box/Live?
I get that there are different consoles but different retailers advertise different options with them or just don't have a clue. I'd want a hard drive of decent size, I'd say; am I right in thinking you can copy your games discs to the console and play from the hard drive? I like the sound of Arcade games and being able to get demos etc. too. I'd need HDMI capability because all the other inputs are used on my TV except about 4 HDMI slots and I'm not swapping cables to play. Also, what exactly is the difference between Live Silver and Gold, I actually have to pay a monthly fee just to play my games online?

Modding/Hax/Media
A year or so ago I bought a plain X-Box and installed X-Box Media Center on it (for those not familiar it's a fancy Media Player that will read from a network share almost any format). It handles all my music and DVDs etc. that I have ripped to a big external drive sat on my network (so I can store all the discs out of sight in a big box in the attic - I hate having dvd cases on display everywhere). I'd seen the Media Center on a friend's system and bought the X-Box on e-bay for that sole purpose. I believe the 360 has a built in function that is similar, is it very restrictive in playback formats etc. or is it great? Can I also do things like h4x the 360 to put a regular HDD in instead of the overpriced MS ones or other cool things (without trashing the X-Box or breaking online features etc.)

I think that's all the questions I wanted to ask but if I've missed anything an X-Box n00b should have asked please throw that in too. Thanks in advance to anyone patient enough to read all this and give me some answers.

[BiG_D]

ok, rapid fire!

The Pro has a 60gb drive, the Elite has a 120gb drive. Don't even consider the other models.

The Elite comes with an HDMI cable, which is an added bonus if you're planning on using it.

Copying game discs to the drive is meant to speed up loading, and reduce the sound of the console itself. You still need the disc in the drive, so don't think you're going to be saving yourself of getting up every time you want to play a different game

You're exactly right about Live; the Gold membership allows you to play online. You'll want one. Besides, it's not exactly expensive.

The media capabilities are quite nice. You can also use something like TVersity to stream media from your PC.

No point in using a 3rd party HD, you'd need to buy an official one and take it apart to do that.

Bottom line: if you want one, now's the time. Retailers (around here anyway) are throwing together huge bundles. You can likely get a Pro + 4 games + MS Points for $300.

[Nachimir]

No point in using a 3rd party HD, you'd need to buy an official one and take it apart to do that.

I learned the other day that you can save around £60 with the right third party HDD and a bit of tinkering.

I've ordered the drive and am going to do it since the 20GB one I've got isn't cutting it anymore and £100 to upgrade the drive to 120GB is a joke.

[Schleicher]

I got a 360 but i bought like only 6 games (Dead Rising, Ninja Gaiden Black, GTA4, Condemned 2, Halo 2 and Viva Pinata) so far.

Xbox/360 games catalogue aint that great imho. Halo Coop is a riot tho (Omzort where are you driving! NOOO THE OTHER WAY! *warthog flips and everybody gets squashed*). Get some folks over and then blow each other up with plasma grenades.

If only the new Perfect Dark wasnt such shit. N64 one was pretty much multiplayer heaven, Coop, Counter-op, DM... :<

[BiG_D]

I learned the other day that you can save around £60 with the right third party HDD and a bit of tinkering.

I've ordered the drive and am going to do it since the 20GB one I've got isn't cutting it anymore and £100 to upgrade the drive to 120GB is a joke.

Correct. If you have a drive that was included with a console, that will suffice. Point is not to go buying the Arcade model thinking you'll stick a drive in yourself.

[Firetiger]

I wouldn't even consider one without a hard disk, but I'm not sure what the big deal is with the sizes. I have a 20GB one and so far haven't had any issues with space.

The sparkly new dashboard redesign that went out last Wednesday does allow you to "install" games to the hard disk, but as BigD says, you still need the disc, and I haven't really heard about any major improvements in loading times. In fact, Bungie has officially stated that installing Halo 3 to the hard disk actually increases loading times and is not recommended.

I should be on this week. Feel free to grill me if I pop in.

[Nachimir]

Between live games and demos I want to keep around for mow, I only have enough space for one install, but tend to play more than one game at a time.

Some games have loading time improvements, but I'm keen on HDD install just as noise reduction. The drive in older ones like mine sounds like a hoover when it's running anything.

[Chainsaws]

So basically, if you have a 120Gb drive you can clone it so you can have two?

It sounds like I'd be ok with the smaller pro version and a separate HDMI cable as that's the only real difference, there seem to be some pretty sweet offers about too.

Now I just need to decide if I would actually play it

[Nachimir]

So basically, if you have a 120Gb drive you can clone it so you can have two?

Yeah, there are apps that allow you to copy files, such as your game saves... I'm not sure how that might add up with piracy. Technically you could have the same profile running in multiple places with all the games bought on it, though reconnecting more than one to Live would most likely result in a nuking/ban.

Exactly the same is possible already with the 360's gamertag retrieval though (You can log in from a friend's 360 and it will download your profile, etc. Useful if you're playing something multiplayer and want the achievements). Even so, it kind of makes me wary about this hack. If MS wanted to shut all of the hacked drives down with an update they could, since they use the same hddss.bin, and though it's in no way game piracy it's a step toward it.

[Chainsaws]

What's the deal with buying arcade games and such, is it tied to my gamertag or my system and what happens if my x-box dies, can I re-download that stuff? In fact, if I delete it for space can I later re-download it?

[BiG_D]

DLC is tied to both the console and gamertag you use to buy it, one of those has to be present to use it. So, you can:

Play content on a new console using the right gamertag
Play content on the original console using someone else's gamertag

Microsoft also offers a DRM migration tool, so if your console dies and they send you a new one, you can migrate the licenses to it.

[Chainsaws]

I'm impressed! I've almost decided on one, the only question I have to answer now is 'would I actually play any of the games for it?' I know the big names but I'm going to have a look today at what else is out there.

[Ran-bot]

The only reason I could see getting an Xbox is if you have a bunch of friends you want to play with through Xbox Live, which you do have. So there's a mark in the "yes" catagory.

However...
-Most Xbox games are ported to the PC, even if they are a little later. So, you're not really getting much exclusive content. And corrolary to that point is PC versions are often just plain better...graphics, controls, modding, etc.

-Many suggest that the one-time Xbox purchase saves money over keeping a gaming PC running, but it doesn't sound like you would phase out your PC for gaming, so the argument probably doesn't apply to you.

-Xbox's biggest titles are FPS games, and in that genre PCs will always have the edge in graphics and controls. (I don't understand how anyone can try to aim with an analog controler after using a mouse+keyboard)

I guess all my arguments focus around Xbox vs. PC because I've never seen the Xbox as being much more than a watered down PC. If there are specific games for Xbox exclusively that you're interested in, then maybe, but you have to judge just how important those games are to you. I have a Wii, but my main reason for getting that was that many of the Wii games are exclusive and often very unique. I don't get the same impression from the Xbox.

[BiG_D]

This just in: my xbox sees use 4 or 5 times a week. The Wii has been unhooked since June.

[Firetiger]

And corrolary to that point is PC versions are often just plain better...graphics, controls, modding, etc.

Fixed. It isn't often that the controls are done properly on a console to pc port, even in shooters. Also, dual-analog really isn't that bad. Really. Just takes some getting used to. It's also vastly superior to a mouse/keyboard setup for many other genres.

Try playing Resident Evil 4 on a PC. Fantastic game, but the port is a pile of garbage.