So...my little brother got himself an Xbox 360 last weekend. And since we're pretty much living together atm and he's working variable shifts (night, morning, evening) this means that yours truly also has wide access to this devil device.

He bought it together with CoD 4, and some budget pack with Gears of War and Gotham racing or some such. The latter two are ok, but shiiiit @ CoD 4. It's Awesome (capital A).

First general impressions:

- The Xbox 360 looks like a sort of pc, behaves like a pc and is built like a pc. I kinda knew that already, but still.

- Man, those controllers suck ASS for a shooter. Saying that the game would be unplayable without the aiming assistance is a bit much, but it sure as hell wouldn't be more fun. I'm not even going to try buying an RTS game for the Xbox 360.

- other than that, all neat and slick and easy. All bearing in mind that any cheap pc you buy today will be faster than the Xbox 360, of course.



So....I'm saving up for my new pc (should buy it next month or so) so I'm not going to splash major cash on games for this thing. But since my bro is so kind to allow me to play from time to time (even when he's there) I do want to pay for a game or 2 as a matter of thanks. Question is: which game?

All games that have been released for both Xbox 360 and PC and are PC "in spirit" are out. So no Bioshock, Mass Effect etc. Those will be played on my future PC. Same goes for other shooters, after playing CoD 4. Great as the game may be, those controls...ugh.

Which leaves us with "typical" console games. Prime candidate seems GTA IV...I might even be able to pick it up second-hand now. Pev, are these second-hand games qualitatively ok, usually? When buying them in a specialized gaming store, I mean.

Other than that...I like those typical survival horror console games, but only if it's real visceral and hardcore horror. Is Condemned 2 out? Pev mentioned Dead Rising.

Am I missing games? Any masterful Xbox 360 only RPG's? Is The Force Unleashed so uber it's worth it?

Appreciate any input.

EDIT: just took a look at the metacritic top rated Xbox 360 games:

1 Grand Theft Auto IV 98
2 BioShock 96
3 Orange Box, The 96
4 Gears of War 94
5 Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The 94
6 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 94
7 Halo 3 94
8 Rock Band 2 93
9 Braid 93
10 Guitar Hero II 92

Maybe Braid? I like the way it looks, and it's supposed to be quite an experience.

Remember that GTA IV is being ported to PC. So you may want to hold off on that... the PC version will almost certainly be far superior. And the Orange Box is of course PC as well.

If you like racing games (and consoles are great for that) get Forza 2. Very good racing game there. Don't get Force Unleashed... I think I'm done playing it without having completed the game. It's more annoying than fun.

I think I'll let Mole/Pev answer this question, though. They'll have better opinions.

Fable 2 is coming up for x360, that would be the best bet for now.

Yeah, Orange Box is out of the picture too. Gonna play that on my pc. True @ GTA IV, but then...I'm kinda curious to play it and the controls can hardly get much better on pc. In the past they released a superior pc version with the same crappy console controls.

Peltz, is Fable II xbox exclusive?

For a year or two probably.

Forza 2 is good choice there, im with Satis on that.

Racing games, Forza 2 and PGR 3/4, Burnout (Not paradise)

And I must be the only person in the world that wants to turn OFF auto aiming in CoD4 because it slows me down! You just suck with controllers! (Btw, to prove I don't suck check out my vids!)

Second hand games in GAME are identically guaranteed the same as a new version, so yeah they're fine.

Ok, so 360 decent games list...

If you like Tomb Raider - both Anniversary and Legends are good (though short) but you should be able to get them pretty cheap.
Dead Rising for some good, brainless, zombie killing fun (Awkward controls)
Skate.
Any of the Lego series, they're awesome
Rock Band (More tracks than guitar hero)
Fight Night
Kameo
Saints Row
Condemned 1, 2 is not as good but still worth it

If you decide to ignore your FPS/PC rules

Mass Effect, CoD2, Halo 3 (a bit meh)

If you're connected to Xbox Live, there's hundreds of awesome download games!

yeah go for Fable 2, will be at least 6 months if not longer before it's pc. ooh ooh get rock band! you can rock with me and moley! lol

Forza is meant to be fantastic. oh, the burnout series are amazing too. already told youa bout dead rising... hmmm perfect dark zero was fun (if a little dated now) Yes, condemned 2 is out. RPG-wise you have Two Worlds (better on pc though), Lost Odessy, Blue Dragon (weird looking game but kinda fun-ish... nothing amazing but should be cheap now), Enchanted Arms is supposed to be quite good, Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom is a fun ARPG (and on that note, 99 Nights is a really good hack n slash that you can jsut pick up and play). Gun should be cheap now (short game but fantastic).

Don't know wtf that Braid is, guessing it aint out over here yet. Oh, if you have/are gonna get Xbox Live, take a look at the arcade games too. I know Mole will jump all over this: Castle Crashers. By the guy who did Alien Hominid, and Dad 'n Me, it's a great little side-scrolly rpg along the lines of golden axe. WELL worth buying.

On the subject of preowned games, obviously it depends on the store. I can only speak for GAME for example but, with us, it's the same guarantee as brand new (3 months manufacturing warranty) and we don't take in any that look like someone tapdanced across it with a nail gun. So as long as there is a good warranty on it (and you can always ask to see the disc; if they refuse, tell 'em to fuck off ) you should be fine with preowned.

I'll probably think of more once I've posted this

edit: mole posted same time rofl. Kameo! How could I forget Kameo! and yes, Saints Row (Saints Row 2 is out in Oct), GTA rip off but Saints Row was far better than any GTA (pre-IV) I thought; seems to be one though where you either love it coz it's GTA + extra, or you hate it cos it's GTA + extra. hehe.

Thanks guys!

I'm not going to buy the guitar hero/rock band games simply because they cost more with the equipment, and because it requires too much dedication and an Xbox live account, both of which are sadly lacking.

I'll check out Kameo...I saw Forza 2 for 30€ in the store yesterday, so that's cool. GTA IV cost 65€ yeah...think i'm gonna shop for a better price on that, or pick up a second-hand copy.

Maybe I have to get wise on the whole Xbox live thing first (well, actually, my bro does...it's not my Xbox ) and check out all those smaller games too.

Oh and Pev, this is Braid..supposed to be something of a masterpiece:

http://braid-game.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braid_(game)
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platfor ... id?q=braid

ahhh cool... i suck at platformy games though hehe. Oh and rockband/gh don't *require* live... they're just better with it very few (if any...) games require live.

oK. My brother moved his Xbox inside (it was in an outhouse before) so we might test the live thingie soon. When i came hom yesterday,I found GTA IV there. Bro seems to be splashing cash on the Xbox!

I played for a little while on his profile (did a date and one or two little quests) but that was about it. So far, the game looks and feels very GTA 3 tbh. The graphics are pretty awesome though, and I'm sure there are tons and tons of cool things still coming up. Must be if this game got such a good rap!

you kept your xbox in an outhouse?

rofl Satis, why not? Most guys like to sit and read the newspaper while on the loo, why not game instead? hehe.

btw yeah at least use your free month trial for Live... you can buy Duke Nukem 3D on there now. Mole downloaded it last night

It's more like a shed with windows and a tv than a toilet, ty very much.

First month of Xbox live is free? I didn't even know that. Probably a good idea to use it then...and Duke Nukem 3D? Or did you mean DN forever? Did it materialize into existence from its gaseous vaporware form?


EDIT: lol. 10 page preview!!

lol, november 2007. That game is gonna suck so bad if it ever comes out.

lol at the magazine. And no Ox, I meant 3d