Xbox 360

[Dhavaer]

I'm thinking of getting one, but I'm not totally sure which games to get. I'm currently considering Bioshock or Mass Effect, but I haven't read a gaming magazine in a while, so I don't really know all that much about them. Any advice or suggestions?

[Destro_Yersul]

*rifles through pile of games*

Bioshock and Mass Effect are both good. Assassin's Creed is good, Halo 3 is good, Dead Rising is an absolute MUST... Gears is alright, I suppose. I've played worse games. And I've heard Good things about CoD4, though I've only played the multiplayer. Oh, and the Orange Box of course, if you don't have it for PC.

[Dragor]

I've borrowed a 360 off a friend for three days while he's in London, so I can give you my thoughts.

Mass Effect is a definite must. Great storytelling and voice acting, and tonnes of depth. If you ever played the KOTOR games, you will love this even more.

Dead Rising is certainly a barrel of laughs, as well as having a quite solid storyline. Great when playing with friends.

Assassins Creed I think is decidedly.... meh. It's Prince of Persia in a different skin with just a dash of Thief without the thieving. Still a good game, but over hyped I reckon. Still worth a look, it's probably just not my cup of tea.

Halo 3 is good, but not the best. It still has some very touching moments in it, though, and is probably worth picking up for them alone.

Bioshock is one of the best games I've played in a while.

Sorry for the short opinions, but I'm running short on time, must dash! *runs away*

[Narix]

All of the games they mentioned are great picks. If you like rhythm based games I'd suggest Guitar Hero 3 or RockBand (mostly if you have at least 2 friends to hang out with and complete the band). Halo 3 is my personal favorite with its: campaign, online coop up to 4 players, online versus up to 16 players, Forge (Edit maps not create your own though), and theater mode that lets you save previous matches or take screen shots that you can upload onto your file share for people to see. Call of Duty 4 doesn't have all the same great features as Halo 3 but the single player is much more action packed and is seriously intense. The multiplayer is great too, especially when you are allowed to make your own classes.

[Dhavaer]

Could someone give me a list of these games by genre, please?

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Mass Effect: Action RPG

Dead Rising: Action Adventure

Assassin's Creed: Third Person Stealth

Halo 3: FPS

BioShock: FPS

Gears of War: Third Person Shooter

Guitar Hero III: Music

Rock Band: Music

Call of Duty 4: FPS

[Dhavaer]

Thankyou. I think I'll start with Bioshock.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

From what I've seen of it, you're in for a treat. I'm thinking of purchasing that myself when I get my own 360.

[Crispy Dave]

Thankyou. I think I'll start with Bioshock.

good choice

warning!:may cause nightmares and wet beds

[Metal Head]

If you will have xbox live then get these games

Halo 3
Gears of War
Call of Duty 4

Rent Assassin's Creed. The game can get repetitive, so playing it again just isn't fun. You might find Bioshock worth renting too, but I find it so fun that I can just play it over and over.

The following are awesome and should be bought under all circumstances

Oblivion (never ending fun)
Mass Effect
Guitar Hero III
Rock Band (if you've go the money)
Dead Rising
Devil May cry 4 (yes, it isn't "awesome," but it's still pretty good)

If you're really bored, then actually play the two games that come with the Xbox 360. Forza is only good if you like racing games. Otherwise it just sucks. Big time. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is average. It lacks a good story, and the combat gets sort of repetitive. And the bosses are incredibly lame. When I knew I was going to fight Galactus I was hoping for some awesome showdown. But what did I get? A boring fight where I just went around using some consoles while the Silver Surfer distracted him. Still, if you're into masochism, then go have fun with those games.

[Ranis]

I second the actual purchase of Bioshock. It's certainly challenging and epic enough for multiple playthroughs, especially with the new download that makes hard mode...y'know, actually hard. And stuff.

I'm going to suggest Blue Dragon. It's a true oldschool jRPG, and while the storyline is somewhat simplistic in nature, it's very consistent by comparison to plenty of other games that I've played that had to gloss over a lot because they were very complex. Also, the combat system in Blue Dragon is very innovative in design and will keep you edged as you have to think about how to overcome even the simplest of random encounters with strategy, execution, and expertise. I seriously was amazed at how simple yet insanely complex it was upon the second or third hour into the game, when you begin to have the characters' dragons branch out into other classes. Quite impressive.

[Metal Head]

*gasp* I forgot to mention Lost Planet! An underrated, but great game IMO.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I'm not so sure about Dead Rising. From what my favorite reviewer (Yahtzee) said, it's got a difficulty curve that's the equivalent of running headlong into a brick wall.

[Mr._Blinky]

My personal collection (appears to be all shooters, strangely enough:smallconfused: ):

Gears of War (TPS): Excellent gameplay, ridiculous graphics, decent campaign, good online, etc. Pretty much a must if you've got Live.

G.R.A.W. (TPS): Very fun, fairly realistic shooter from Tom Clancy. Lots of fun, but be warned: the learning curve can sometimes be rather ridiculous. Fun online, but be aware that it is entirely possibly to die before you're even aware you're being shot at...even by a pistol.

Bioshock (FPS): BUY THIS GAME NOW. Excellent story, great gameplay, great graphics, good replay...it's pretty much the perfect single-player game. On the one hand, it's slightly weakened by the lack of multiplayer, but on the other hand it isn't really the kind of game multiplayer could be done well on, despite its being an FPS. Too much relies on the atmosphere, which is BTW amazing.

Mass Effect (TPS/RPG): Think hard about this one. IMO, it was an excellent game, with a great plot, good graphics (despite some hardware hiccups), excellent RPG features such as actually fully acted-out dialogue, etc. Problem is that the actual combat gameplay is rather poorly executed. This means that if you're an RPG fan, in it for RPG elements, it is pretty much the perfect game. If you're not interested enough in the RPG aspect to ignore the crappy combat, then this game likely isn't for you. My advice is to rent it first to see how you like it, and then buy it if it seems to fit your style.

Halo 3 (FPS): Mixed bag, to be honest. Good though not groundbreaking graphics, excellent shooter elements, decent campaign, excellent online, etc. The campaign is what I'd call rather gilded: it looks cool on the surface, but once you get down to it it isn't that impressive. Online the Halo trilogy still remains my favorite multiplayer series (and also happens to be the one I'm best at). If you've got live, get it, or if you've got a lot of friends who like FPSs. The game is great with friends both on and off-line on co-op and multiplayer, but playing it by yourself gets old pretty quick.

Call of Duty 4 (FPS): My newest purchase, and I'm having a whole lot of fun with it. Excellent graphics, good gameplay, short but intense campaign. The multiplayer is IMO not quite as good as Halo 3's (though it does have a rather addictive leveling system), and the learning curve tends to be steeper due to the ease of death, but the campaign kicks the tale of Halo's. In fact, the campaign of CoD4 showed me exactly what I hate about the Halo campaigns: no matter what you're doing, the action never switches up, and the way to overcome any obstacle is to just shoot more bullets at it. In CoD4, the campaign is seriously intense, and the action switches up enough to stay fun. It's short, but impressive. I'd personally call it the most balanced shooter on here, and tied for best with Halo 3 (Bioshock's got by far the best campaign, for obvious reasons, but the lack of multiplayer loses it points).

[Nonah_Me]

How do you rate the 360 if you lack home intarwebs? All of my freinds have a 360, so I know how the games are (I spend most of Sunday playing CoD4 online, so I know what kind of gold that is...)

I'm hesitant to drop a bunch of money on a console where half of it's content is geared for online play.

For the record: I really, really hate where I live. Really, really.

[Destro_Yersul]

I do not have Xbox live. I still like the console. Even if you're a jaded friendless misanthrope like Yahtzee the single player aspect of the 360 games is probably the most solid right now.

Also, in respect to the difficulty curve of Dead Rising: You'll die a lot at the beginning. However, the game gets easier as you go on due to levels and abilities carrying over from game to game. So if you play the first part with the two survivors over and over you'll gain levels fairly quick, and once you've got around 7 or 8 health instead of just four it eases up immensely. As in, it's now actually possible to finish the game.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I also don't like the fact that the game has a five day (or however long it is) time limit. I hate time limits. I can stand them when they're for small portions, but the entire game? Then I get frustrated because I don't have enough time to go everywhere, get everything and complete all the sidequests, which I always strive to do on the first playthrough of any game I play. That's one reason why I didn't play through Majora's Mask to completion. While you could reset and even slow down time, the sheer number of times you had to do this made it unappealing to me.

[Ranis]

I'm pretty sure that you can actually choose to stay in the mall and kill zombies to your heart's content if you want to. The storyline parts only occur during that five day timeframe.

Also: Lost Planet is terrible. I promise.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I'm pretty sure that you can actually choose to stay in the mall and kill zombies to your heart's content if you want to. The storyline parts only occur during that five day timeframe.

I thought that was a seperate mode of the game, and it only lasted as long as you had food and water. When that ran out, you starved to death. Unless I misread Wikipedia?

[Destro_Yersul]

What he's saying is that the game doesn't actually punish you for ignoring the scoops. When I play I usually do the first couple story ones, in order to open up the entrance plaza, and the roller coaster one for the shortcut and chainsaws.

After that? Zombie mayhem time.

[Dumbledore lives]

These threads tend to pop up about every week or so and they're all pretty much the same. I can't really say anything that hasn't been said already. Oblivion is pretty fun for awhile though eventually it gets kind of boring. Tony Hawk's Project 8 is one of the best sports games I've ever played. Pretty much a generic story but best game play in the series yet.

[tape_measure]

I have one, and I'm still on the fence. For me though, I haven't found a good RPG since FFVII, nor have a found a decent shooter game since Gold Eye.

Yeah, old school, I know, but it seems most of these games are the same wash/rinse/repeat of old classics with a new "clever" spin.

I do enjoy Oblivion. Maybe because of my love for Heretic and Wolfenstein, maybe because it's the closest thign to DnD I can find on teh Xbox. Most of the other RPGs are ina setting that I'm not really interested in diving into.

The other game I enjoy (maybe too much), and I know this is the wrong forums to go on adn on about, is Madden '08. I like the seamlessness it brings that was lacking on all other consoles I've played. I also like the fact that you can create a palyer in Superstar mode that is unlike the ones before. In previous versions, you can make a player a beast of a man that rusn through/over everyone in its path. Now, there are drills you have to perform that, depending on how well you do, give your superstar atrributes. And no, they aren't THAT easy either. That and Ican whoop up on those cheating Patriots all. day. long.

Maybe I need to get a petition to have some WoTc product developed. That might save soem time, huh?

[Dhavaer]

What buttons on the 360 controller are the 'Back' and 'Forward' buttons? Bioshock keeps asking me to press them, but I can't find them anywhere in the controller.

[NerfTW]

No, if you ignore the critical mission objectives, the game ends.

One of the worst parts of the game is that it is possible to get yourself stuck with not enough time to finish a series of objectives, forcing you to restart again.

Dhavaer, have you tried reading an instruction manual or actually looking up things for yourself? The back and forward buttons are the ones to either side of the face button.(The big glowing X)

They're even labeled on the controller itself.

[Ranis]

Um...up and down on the analog stick? What are you trying to do when it tells you that?

[Metal Head]

Also: Lost Planet is terrible. I promise.

What didn't you like about it?

[Destro_Yersul]

No, if you ignore the critical mission objectives, the game ends.

Only in some cases. Generally what happens is that a 'Truth has vanished' message comes up and you are given the choice to continue, load save or start over. Alternatively you can stick around in the entrance plaza till around 5PM on the first day. Then you never even GET the main quest.

I've failed the main quests a number of times without losing and needing to restart. It all depends on which case file you're on when you fail. Failing 7.2 makes you lose, I believe, but failing ooh, say 5.1 has no effect.

[Logic]

For the X-Box 360, I recommend:

Orange Box, if you do not already have it for the PC.

Rainbow 6: Vegas is a rather good and realistic 1st person shooter, but I haven't played Call of Duty 4 yet, so CoD4 may have surpassed R6:V.

Rent or borrow Halo 3. The single player story is about 10 hours, and the multiplayer isn't that important.

Gears of War is enjoyable, but there are better shooters out there.

Mass Effect and Bioshock are both games I put in the "must own" category. Both are masterpieces of their genre. I doubt there are many that find either of these games unenjoyable.

Dead Rising is one of those games I enjoy, despite its steep learning curve.

Lost Planet was not a bad game, but there were 2 things that annoyed me to no end. The crappy dialogue in the cutscenes, and any enemy with a "knockdown" attack. Since the stand-up animation takes literally 3 or so seconds, the enemy usually with a knock-down attack often keeps you in a perpetual state of on your back, or trying to get off it. Overall, I would not recommend you buy this game, instead borrow or rent it from a friend. I don't think many will get more than a single playthrough out of it.

Chromehounds, which was advertised as a giant fighting robot game, instead plays like a giant customizable tank simulator. I enjoyed it immensely, but not everyone did. Borrow this one first, but don't buy it right away. FYI, the roles of defender and heavy (read: artillery) can usually be filled just as easily by the frontline soldier.

Now, I am probably about to get alot of flak for this recommendation, but I am prepared to defend myself. Viva Pinata can be best compared to Harvest Moon. You are given a plot of land to care for, and you are trying to attract as many little pinata animals as possible. When they become residents of your garden, you attempt to breed them. The game itself looks like it is for children or girls (it probably is intended for the former) but that doesn't stop it from being fun: for me at least. FYI, building a moat is a bad thing. The pinatas do not cross them, and the point is to attract them, not keep them out.

[pup3k]

Call of Duty 4 (FPS): Excellent graphics, good gameplay, short but intense campaign.

The campaign might be short, but it is made of pure WIN, especially "All Ghillied Up". Most awesome level in the entire game. The multiplayer is amazing when it isn't completely screwing you over. The most annoying part of multiplayer is when it spawns you on top of grenades. It's 'Box destroyingly frustrating. Just saying.

[Ranis]

What didn't you like about it?

At the time, I had been playing Gears of War a lot. The controls didn't compare seeing as they were both third-person shooters. I hated the absolutely atrocious voice acting topped with the fact that there was so much put into actually trying to make the game good when in fact it was basically a failed attempt. I could have definitely gone with less "waist-deep awesome snow effects" and more diverse gameplay instead of the same old-same old, plus every level is essentially on a timer due to your internal temperature dropping, drop too far and you die.

And a creature's heat signature in little orbs? I've seen things that weren't realistic in games before but please. A little more creativity much.

[Mr._Blinky]

Rent or borrow Halo 3. The single player story is about 10 hours, and the multiplayer isn't that important.

You're joking, right? The multi-player is basically all that is important about Halo 3. The single-player campaign is decent, but the multi-player is excellent. Hell, there's basically no reason to buy any of them except for the multi-player.

[Logic]

You're joking, right? The multi-player is basically all that is important about Halo 3. The single-player campaign is decent, but the multi-player is excellent. Hell, there's basically no reason to buy any of them except for the multi-player.

This is where you and I are of vastly different opinions. While I love a good bout of multiplayer madness, I would rather be entertained by some semblance of a story than 4 hours of trash talking. And while X-Box live is a good service, I can't stand the majority of the Halo online community. Single player is how I play most games, since I hate having to rely on a friend in order to play a game. While online gaming almost solves this problem with a ready and willing on demand matchmaking service for most games, the communities of most of them involve far too much trash-talking for my tastes. If I wanted to get lewd remarks about inabilities, I would go back to highschool.

[Ranis]

Logic, have you ever been in a Ventrilo server with a bunch of random Counter-Strike players? It is a truly incredible experience that makes the bowels of the XBL community look like innocent bunnies in a field of sunshine and happiness.

Also, H3 has this wonderful mute button that I use virtually every time I fire up H3 for some XBL pwnage. It makes the flaming idiots and people screaming into their mics go completely silence, and silence is golden for most people on XBL. There's even an option in the settings menu that mutes all other players.

Anyway, I can very much see the merit of much rather enjoying a story in single-player rather than going on multiplayer; both experiences can be enjoyable depending upon what mood you're in.

[Lord_Butters_I]

Buy these games:
Gears of War
Oblivion: GotY
Halo 3
Call of Duty 4
Mass Effect
Rock Band if you have friends, Guitar Hero 3 if you don't
The Orange Box
Marathon: Durandal (from Live Arcade)

Also, rent Bioshock and Assassins Creed. Both are rediculously good games but you can't replay them and there's no multiplayer.