The Xbox 360 Thread Pro Edition

[eugimon]

There's talk that the next Halo game is going to be a "dark and grity" squad based shooter with no master chief, so maybe Blue is that?

360 has been playing second fiddle to PS3 this year so I'm sure the brass at microsoft is thinking they could use another Halo bump.

[mikeszekely]

Apparently, we're getting a new dashboard with the fall update. Microsoft apparently thought that we'd like something more minimalist, with Mii-ripoffs, instead of our perfectly functional, easy to navigate blades. Thanks a f#%*ing lot, Microsoft!

[JsARCLIGHT]

I could do without the hot neon colors and the advertising saturation the current one has. The Xbox360 menu system reminds me of driving through the main strip back in Vegas... it's busy, loud, distracting and obnoxious but you have to get through it before you can have any fun.

[mikeszekely]

I could do without the hot neon colors and the advertising saturation the current one has. The Xbox360 menu system reminds me of driving through the main strip back in Vegas... it's busy, loud, distracting and obnoxious but you have to get through it before you can have any fun.

I'll give you the ads, but I never had a problem with the colors. Fact was, I could find what I wanted without much muss or fuss, and I like my G1 Decepticon theme. The new dash reminds me a bit of Apple's Cover Flow, except it's on white instead of black, and they replaced the old gamercard with a fugly Mii-wannabe. I'm guessing any themes and gamerpics we'd bought (like my Transformers) won't be usable any more.

[yellowlightman]

That was a boring, awful MS press event.

But uh, Final Fantasy 13 announced for the 360.

Really, really bad news for the PS3.

[JsARCLIGHT]

I've never done anything with my stuff. Outside of buying a Venture Brothers avatar, everything on my box is stock... and the stock settings are abysmal on my HDTV. The colors are just so blown out saturated... they hurt my eyes to look at them they are so "hot" and the only way to "detune" them enough is to detune my TV settings, which then all my games look like mud. I love the menu system on the PS3... it's warm, yet elegantly understated... not like a screaming goat on fire painted hot orange like the Xbox system default.

Are there any pictures of this new stuff around? If it's like what it sounds then I'll be all for it. Anything to help me not have to look at the road flare colors they have by default.

[Apollo Leader]

That was a boring, awful MS press event.

But uh, Final Fantasy 13 announced for the 360.

Really, really bad news for the PS3.

You beat me to it. But yeah, Final Fantasy XIII getting a 360 release and at the same time the PS3 version hits the US was definitely the big surprise announcement. Other then MGS4, this was the other "exclusive" game that PS3 was hanging its hat on.

I wonder how many PS3 fanboys right now are starting up petitions to Square Enix threatening to boycott the game since its now coming to the 360? (Of course I'm referencing what happened when Devil May Cry 4 was announced for the 360)

[mikeszekely]

I've never done anything with my stuff. Outside of buying a Venture Brothers avatar, everything on my box is stock... and the stock settings are abysmal on my HDTV. The colors are just so blown out saturated... they hurt my eyes to look at them they are so "hot" and the only way to "detune" them enough is to detune my TV settings, which then all my games look like mud. I love the menu system on the PS3... it's warm, yet elegantly understated... not like a screaming goat on fire painted hot orange like the Xbox system default.

Are there any pictures of this new stuff around? If it's like what it sounds then I'll be all for it. Anything to help me not have to look at the road flare colors they have by default.

I was going to link directly to the Engadget story, but the Netflix post looks relevant too. Just hit up Engadget, and it's all on the first page.

As for FFXIII, I don't know what to say. Basically, if you bought a PS3 because you thought it would automatically be tops because the PS2 was, you're not screwed, since 95% of the games coming out are available for it and 360. But that really leaves MGS4 as the PS3's only big-name exclusive (although less-popular games like Ratchet & Clank and Uncharted I found to be quite enjoyable).

[TheLoneWolf]

And here's Japan's reaction to FFXIII on the 360:

***YAWN***

[mikeszekely]

It looks like the old blades interface is going still going to be used via the Guide button, so that takes away some of the sting of the crappy new interface.

[Alpha OTS]

One thing I do hate about the 360 menu is the DLC. It *really* needs to have subcategories: themes, pictures, videos,game content, etc. 99 times out of 100, I could care less about anything except game content, but I have to scroll through pages of incomplete short descriptions of videos and pictures.

[Mechafan]

From Major Nelson blog.

Courtesy majornelson.com

Xbox LIVE GM Marc Whitten (Notwen) has sent me the following letter to share with the Xbox LIVE Community. I goes into a little more detail about some of the new features that are coming as part of the new Xbox Experience this Fall. I'll work on getting Marc on a future show to discuss further.

Dear Xbox LIVE Member,

When we launched Xbox 360 in November 2005, Xbox LIVE was integrated directly into the console. Back then, Xbox 360 was the first system to deliver access to experiences beyond just the disc in the tray. With the Xbox guide and dashboard you had access to everything on your console as well as your community.

We also imagined that Xbox experience would continuously improve over time, through the power of software.

Since launch, you’ve always pushed us to continuously innovate. It is because you spoke with one loud voice that we added new features like background downloading, 1080p support, movies and TV shows, video chat, a Marketplace blade and instant messaging.

Over time, as we’ve delivered more and more content into the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, we’ve heard from many of you that it has become increasingly difficult to find the games and content you want.

And that brings us to today.

Because of your feedback, we started rethinking the entire Xbox experience. What we discovered was that we could not only provide a better experience for you, but also something that reaches out to new audiences.

What John Schappert unveiled for the world on stage at E3 was just a sneak preview, so I wanted to share some deeper details on some of the new features in the new Xbox experience.

Here is a look at some additional features you will find interesting:

Play from hard drive. Copy your games from the game disc and play directly from the hard drive. Not only will the drive not spin, but load times are quicker, as well. Of course, you will still need the disc in the tray to prove you own the game.

· Access Xbox LIVE Marketplace on the Web. Browse and purchase Marketplace content whenever you want from Xbox.com and it downloads automatically to your console. Purchase that new map, television episode, the latest Xbox LIVE Arcade game or set up a movie to watch when you get home from work.

· Dashboard built into the new Xbox Guide. For everyone who loves the blades interface, it’s not going away; they are now built directly in to the new Xbox guide. Every feature and option is available right from the guide. You can even access your full games library at all times. No matter where you are (in dash or in game), immediately call up your games played list and directly launch a game.

· LIVE Party system. Create a party of up to eight friends, and stay with them from one game to another, or watch a Netflix movie together, or share a slideshow of your personal photos. It works with all Xbox 360 titles, not just upcoming games. LIVE Party allows up to eight people to chat in the dashboard, so you can meet up before playing.

· Xbox LIVE Primetime. This whole new category of games is going to give you more reasons to get online with your friends. Games will support everything you’d expect, like Achievements and leader boards, but many of these games will include real prizes. You can invite your friends, and even set a reminder for an upcoming show. Each game is broadcast simultaneously, so everyone is answering the same questions. Many events will have a live host, calling the shots as they happen.

· Avatars. Your online identity started as a Gamertag - it then grew into a personalized Gamercard. Now, it has evolved even further into avatars. You can express your style, check out new outfits and share this with the community. Avatars will also be integrated into Xbox LIVE Arcade games, LIVE Party, as well as retail games.

· New display support. Because you asked for it, we are adding 16X10 over VGA or HDMI, and support for 1440x900 or 1680x1050.

[David Hingtgen]

Play from hard drive?!?!?!? Hmmmn. That's a bunch of console sales for MS. I suspect many people will be in my situation:

20GB HDD, "dying" disc drive (and/or noisy). Putting the games on HDD will save a lot of wear and tear on the drive, maybe adding years to its life. But will need a much bigger HDD to hold all our fave games, thus needing to buy either the new 60GB or Elite model---or just the new HDD.

Question--is it going to be newly-developed games only? I kinda doubt (but hope) it'll allow older games to be put on the HDD. coughMASSEFFECTcough

[eugimon]

Played through the too human demo while the baby took his nap. It's pretty fun. I didn't care for the range weapon aim/lockon mechanic.

so, on my first play through, I couldn't change armor or weapons (except for stuff I made) but I played through it again and now I could change weapons, armor add runes and make stuff. Definitely much more enjoyable with weapons that actually do damage.

Edited July 15, 2008 by eugimon

[mikeszekely]

Question--is it going to be newly-developed games only? I kinda doubt (but hope) it'll allow older games to be put on the HDD. coughMASSEFFECTcough

ALL games are supported, David. The only stipulation is that the disc must be in the drive. This is, no doubt, to prevent you from installing every game you can get from Gamefly and never buying another game.

More info, including pics, can be found via Kotaku.

[danth]

I hope they can make the blades faster. Because they're god damned slow.

[JB0]

Play from the hard drive is kind of annoying... not because it's bad, but because it should've been there from the start.

The 360 was actually a good bit of a step backwards from the original XBox in terms of the hard drive.

The original had a lot of games that copied data to the hard drive to speed things up.

With the 360, that wasn't an option, because they'd inexplicably made the hard drive optional.

Now we've come to the point where you can install an entire GAME to the hard drive... to work around slow DVD access times.

[eugimon]

I'd be more excited over play from hard drive if the 360 drives weren't so ridiculously over priced and 120 gigs is still way too small.

[yellowlightman]

And here's Japan's reaction to FFXIII on the 360:

***YAWN***

Japan won't be getting FF13 on the 360 because really, why bother?

It'll be released in the US on the PS3 and the 360 at the same time, however.

[Apollo Leader]

I suspect this is staged, but,

I was checking out the 1up forums last night and there are a bunch of riled up PS3 fanboys out there. So what if FFXIII is coming out on the 360? It means more people will get to play it and if it does well (and it will) it means more big budegt Final Fantasy games in the future. Sheeesh.

[TheLoneWolf]

I was checking out the 1up forums last night and there are a bunch of riled up PS3 fanboys out there.

That's just immature. The PS3 version will probably have better audio than the 360 version, and it's possible that the 360 version could span multiple discs whereas the PS3 version will fit on a single BD disc. I suppose graphic wh0res are worried that the graphics will be knee-capped by the 360, but if Konami was able to run the MGS4 demo on 360 hardware, I wouldn't be too concerned.

[bandit29]

Anyone see the Fallout 3 coverage/demo on G4 last night? Looked really cool. The 360 and PC version will get exclusive dlc.

[Apollo Leader]

I hadn't been much interested in Fallout 3 previously, but after checking out the current trailers my interest had definitely been piqued.

[transfan52]

I hadn't been much interested in Fallout 3 previously, but after checking out the current trailers my interest had definitely been piqued.

Sam here ive always liked post apocalyptic stories... I played the original fallout and it was great. I cant wait to see how this game turns out.

[Southpaw Samurai]

This might be better off in the Halo 3 thread, but that's gotten some dust and while Halo 3 is 'so last year', it might be interesting to folks here.

Awhile back, happy with my Halo 3 Master Chief, I preordered the wave 2 Spartans and Arbiter. As time wore on and my excitement about Halo waned, I almost canceled. I'm glad I didn't as they're actually pretty cool, whether you like Halo or just like armored future soldiers.

The Spartans. Thankfully they're starting to come with different weapons (Rifle, Carbine, Spartan Laser, Shotgun, etc), but I do wish each would come with a second firearm and not just a grenade. Since they utilize a peg system which allows each to carry weapons/grenades on their back, thigh, and rear waist, it'd be cool to see each decked out without having to buy duplicates and then strip them of their weapons.

I'm somewhat surprised and very satisfied that the ODST grunts are actually scaled to the Spartans instead of just using the same base body (they're maybe a scaled foot or so shorter than the genetically enhanced, armored Spartans). If I told you these were done by McFarlane Toys, you might not believe me. These guys have a lot of articulation and a good range for armored-up figures. They can't really kneel well, unfortunately, but they have a number of ball joints that allow for good positioning of the hips and ankles. They're also surprisingly study. When did McFarlane Toys start making figures that aren't statues and don't fall apart if you breath on them?

"...and this one is juuuuust right." The Halo 3 Chief versus his larger, but less limber and detailed earlier incarnations.

The wave 1 Cortana glowing in the dark. It's not perfect (I think there's a statue coming out that might be doing a better job using some fiber to actual have her illuminated instead of just running some LEDs on the figure, but I'm not really willing to pay 10x+ the money for such).

You can swap around the helmets, shoulder and chest plates, but since right now there's only one of each color, you can't really mix'n'match like you would in the game without it coming out looking like some kind of harlequin mash of colors. I wish there was a greater range of gun holding positions, but the bulky arms and chest get in the way of any cross-body stances (as one would expect with armor).

What does everyone think of the upcoming dashboard interface? It sort of moves away from the uniqueness of the Xbox blades and goes for what some might consider better parts of the Wii (the avatars) and Playstation interface. I'm actually sort of ambivalent about it. While I liked the blades, I can live with the reverse Playstation-style navigation (vertical for categories, horizontal for options). The Wii-like avatars are a mixed bag. They don't insult me like some feel and they might coax the same crowd that fell in love with the Wii (as long as the 360 still keeps its share of good games and doesn't become inundated with crappy casual fare like the Wii). The potential interaction with other avatars (a la the upcoming PS Home) might be nice to see... but I wonder how unique avatars will look and (on the flip side) how much it'll run us to buy clothes/accessories to get the unique look we want....

I'm a big time, long term fan of Fallout (going back to the old Interplay Wasteland, which is the inspirational ancestor of the series) and am looking forward to see what Bethesda does. I am nervous, though. Oblivion was fun, but there was a bit of 'soullessness' to it and I hope they don't also suck the life, choices, and feeling of freedom out of Fallout. We really need some more 'true' RPGs this generation... even on the PC. And by 'true' I mean ones that give some even half-hearted attempts to allow you to roleplay as opposed to just taking you down set paths and utilizing roleplaying statistical game elements. Fallout was a series that gave you enough options, freedom, and long term consequences to come as close as technologically possible to playing a paper and pencil RPG.

And I just realized that I never posted in any of the 360 threads before and therefore aren't on Apollo Leader's list. I haven't been playing much competitive online games of late, but I am known to occasionally hop on and play some FPSs from time to time and certainly wouldn't mind hooking up with Macrossworlders... appropriately enough, my Live ID is SouthpawSamurai (only difference between here and there is the lack of a space in the Live name).

[Apollo Leader]

Alrighty, Southpaw, you're on the list!

Before I forget, here's the current list (as of about 4 months ago anyway) of Macross World members on XBL. As before, the name on the left is Macross World ID's while names on the right are their Live alias:

Apollo Leader - Apollo Leader

Chowser - Sarge051

Mechafan - TechGhostR6

BoBe-Patt - bobe patt

Sephiroth - Sephiroth017

MilkManX - MilkManX

Dante74 - Lorenzo74

David Hingtgen - Xenogears Id

Valkyrie - Valkyrie2036

Axelay - Silent Scope EX

JsARCLIGHT - JsARCLIGHT

Oihan (Oyan) - Ashmedai

Alpha OTS - Qaztab

Fort Max - Angst O Tron

mikeszekely - Pharaohman

eugimon - eugimon

Mechafan - TechGhostR6

VT 1010 - ROU21

Beltane70 - Beltane0070

Ishimaru - Ryvann

danth - Coocoocola

yellowlightman - Crocodilopolis

Godzilla - Tsoumiester

Spatula - Delicious Bunny

Ginrai - sayjeremy

shogun029 - shogun029

Southpaw Samurai - SouthpawSamurai

[danth]

Hey guys, I wanna play more often than I have been. Anyone up for some regularly scheduled Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4? Or at least a one night stand so to speak? I'd love to play with more people from the west coast so the lag isn't so bad.

[Apollo Leader]

Hey guys, I wanna play more often than I have been. Anyone up for some regularly scheduled Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4? Or at least a one night stand so to speak? I'd love to play with more people from the west coast so the lag isn't so bad.

My time on my 360 really varies these days, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for you. Trying to really get back into playing COD4 at the moment.

[Apollo Leader]

Whatever Bungie's big announcement was on their website was taken down yesterday evening. But all indicators are that the game they were going to announce was probably the next Bungie developed Halo game.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/16/surprise...-new-halo-game/

BTW yesterday evening I picked up my cheapest, unopened original Xbox game yet; Final Fight Streetwise for just $1.99. My previous record was when I picked up Xbox Ninja Gaiden brand new for just $3.25.

Also getting closer to beating Call of Duty 4 on Veteran. For those having problems beating the Mile High Club on Veteran, there's currently a video posted on the Xbox dashboard newslink showing a step-by-step walk through on how to do it.

[Apollo Leader]

I suspect this is staged, but,

I was checking out the 1up forums last night and there are a bunch of riled up PS3 fanboys out there. So what if FFXIII is coming out on the 360? It means more people will get to play it and if it does well (and it will) it means more big budegt Final Fantasy games in the future. Sheeesh.

Mr. "Public Sudeku's" video has now passed a quarter-million viewings on Youtube. Funny that so many people don't get it.

Last night I not only beat Call of Duty 4 on Veteran, but I also beat the Mile High Club stage/achievement. Took several hours, though. Now I just have to get the last 9 or 10 pieces of intel so I'll play through on Normal to do that so it should be a cake walk.

[danth]

My time on my 360 really varies these days, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for you. Trying to really get back into playing COD4 at the moment.

In COD4 multiplayer, I get the worst freaking lag in every game. Like, when I shoot the crap out of someone and then they kill me with one shot, in the replay it turns out they shot me multiple times and I only shot them once. It's like my ping is 500 or something. I'm on Comcast if that means anything.

[mikeszekely]

Okay, I went to Toys R Us looking for Transformers, but since they were picked over I stopped in their "R Zone." I wound up snagging Beautiful Katamari and Enchanted Arms for about $8 each.

[Alpha OTS]

Okay, I went to Toys R Us looking for Transformers, but since they were picked over I stopped in their "R Zone." I wound up snagging Beautiful Katamari and Enchanted Arms for about $8 each.

Ok, now I'm going to have to check that section on my next hunt for TF Universe. How is Katamari?

[mikeszekely]

Ok, now I'm going to have to check that section on my next hunt for TF Universe. How is Katamari?

It seems harder than the original or We Love Katamari. And all the levels I've been in look the same. I'd be disappointed if I'd paid full retail for it, but I'm not complaining for $8.

They had some other games in the pile too, but I wasn't interested. You guys might be, though.

[Alpha OTS]

It seems harder than the original or We Love Katamari. And all the levels I've been in look the same. I'd be disappointed if I'd paid full retail for it, but I'm not complaining for $8.

They had some other games in the pile too, but I wasn't interested. You guys might be, though.

Dang it. Went there today. They had one title left at that price, and it was something awful.