should I buy an Xbox?

So.. should I buy an xbox?
Tell me why or why not you think so.

thanks,

fen-

Nah.. one word... Microsoft

Well, I own one, I got bored with it. However, I also own a PS2 which I got bored with. The XBOX has some neat games, but, I honestly don't care for games much. However, my puppy just destroyed both my controllers for the XBOX, so, it doesn't much matter at this point.

What are you looking for in a console? Why would you want to buy an XBox?

Are you interested in latest technology?
Mulitplayer Games (online)?
Largest game library?
Best games?
Specific games?

The answers to those questions will determine which console you should buy. My answers lead to a PS2 (which I have still yet to buy).

Well, I had an XBox and a Gamecube, and wot I liked was:

- Vexx (XBox) a bit frustrating, really hard, but well done, good scenery, cool music

- Lost Kingdoms 2 (Gamecube) very well made RPG. Surprising amount of depth.

Azelda

Do you need to tone your muscles??? Then do I have the product for you!!!

hehe, sorry... I always get yelled at for saying stuff like that. It's what happens when a big, mean company messes with your turf. I love my Gamecube.

I'm a PS2 fan, I usualy end up buying more than one console at some point, but so far I'm happy with myself that I chose to stick to building up my PS2 game collection rather than spending extra cash on a console plus more games for that too (which would get pretty damn pricey now days).

All the consoles out now have their good and low points, one of the main good points I see in the XBox is the modification possiblities, being able to basicly turn it into a computer that does pretty much everything... but there are computers that can do that, but still would be fun to tinker with an XBox, not that I WOULD cuse I'm a law abiding citizen who doesn't do stuff he isn't supposed to *cough*... anyway...

Online play XBox seems to have alot of games, but you also have to pay for Xbox Live which, meh, with PS2 most games are free to play online and you can use your own ISP most of the time which I really like. Gamecube has like 0 online games don't they? Correct me if I'm wrong. All of them have some good games though, dunno how many each has or how they stack up.

Personaly if I was looking to buy another system, I would have to look at what games were all available for XBox but most likely I'd end up going with that (unless I found there were more games I'd rather play on Gamecube).

Bottom line: If you can find at least 5 Xbox titles that are worth playing, buy one. If not, wait, or don't buy one.

The Xbox is a nice little machine. I just got one, myself..

It's worth it just for Halo. Plus, Halo2 is on the way, and Fable (most ridiculous RPG ever made), awesome graphics for the sports franchises...

Oh, and the XBOX live stuff is top-notch. I'd highly recommend it.

LF

You can't use your own ISP for Xbox Live? I imagine that I'd simply plug it into my switch or router and it'd work the same as my cousin's PS2.

However, on another note, my Xbox has gotten a lot of use by people other than me. Eventually I may mod it so I can have some digital media hub or something. We'll see.

I'd try someone else's first, and play some games, and see if it's worth it to ya.

Here's a pretty cool reason you might want to consider an Xbox over other consoles...


"Microsoft used the Winter CES keynote to touch on a number of different products, but one of the coolest new gizmos is the Xbox Media Center Extender for the Xbox game system. Consisting of an Xbox DVD and a remote control, the product allows an Xbox game system to connect to a Windows Media Center PC via a network connection and then play back all shared media files on the Xbox. In addition to the Xbox product Microsoft also announced standalone player units will be available.

While this may not be of great interest to the hardcore gamer, anyone with a large MP3 collection or a digital photo collection will quickly be able to see the potential in this product. A big advantage is the ability to stream video in addition to audio. It will be possible to use a Media Center PC to automatically record your favorite TV shows and then play them back on any TV in the house via an Xbox and the Windows Media Center Extender kit...."

http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox/games/news/32608.shtml

For the record, I don't really like console games, so I may be bias... but here 'goes:

And XBOX is just a p3 system with a nVidia MX graphics card. No, really, it is.

The difference between the consoles is more style of the games than anything else.

Gamecube is more cutesy (Mario etc)
XBox is more realistic, a lot of FPS and sports titles
PC is more serious stuff that needs a keyboard: strategy games, MMOGs/MMOPs, though it's also the home of CounterStrike

Consoles are good fun, and it's easy to play against a friend without having to buy a second machine.

I dont know if theres any real advantage of having a top of the range console. I bought an N64 2 years ago secondhand for 50 dollars + Zelda, Ocarina of time, and it was really good fun. Low res graphics, but you get over that pretty quickly, and the game is just brilliant.

Azelda

Almost Darwin, almost.

Its actually a GeForce 3.5 I think. Anyways if you put it in your comp yeah it would perform worse than a 4mx. However it isn't in your comp, it is connected to a device specifically made for extremely low rez (how often do you even run in 640*480? or the 320 *200 or whatever a TV is?). The nvidia card in the xbox is a specially designed card that is designed for graphics and effects on an extremely low resolution.

However that is beside the point.

If you want lots and lots and lots of games get a PS2.
If you want the highest quality online multiplayer get XBOX
If you want the box that is the highest technology of them get XBOX
If you are looking for best/specific games, start making lists of which games you want to play and which consols they are on. This is actually the best method.
If you want to play DVDs on it don't get a game cube.

The only console I own?? GBA and GBA SP.

> For the record, I don't really like console games, so I may be bias...

Consoles have their place.

Compared to MMORPGs, storyline and plot are much stronger, and you don't have to wait in line to kill the next monster

Azelda

Don't have to wait in line... but sometimes have to wait for "Loading..." hehe.

I was kind of dissapointed about the whole "Loading..." thingy, I thought long loads were supposed to go away? But I suppose if the game uses intense graphics and such it has to take SOME time to load. Loading has been cut down somewhat though, there are a few that the load times are just insane (I found Spyro: Enter The Dragonfly to have painfull loading it seemed).

Anyway, with Xbox live I believe you use a router/modem/whateversinthere that is built into the xbox which then connects directly to xbox live. Where as with PS2 you pop in the router in the consol, then have that connect to your modem and then you connect to your ISP (if they support PS2 connections) which then just basicly goes to the server somehow like a normal internet game would. The good about the xbox system is that all xbox connections are equal then, and your likely to get less lag. Whereas with the PS2 system you have different types of modems etc.

I think thats how it works, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

You connect a cat5 from your XBox to your switch/hub/router whatever that is connected to the broadband flavor of your choice (ie your ISP).

Where the difference is, is with Live all the game servers are hosted by microsoft and are less laggy, and "integrated". By integrated I mean, you have a sort of global buddy list where, if enabled I assume, you can see which of your friends are online and what games they are playing. You can also send them invites to get a game going. Stuff like that, accross games made by different vendors.

Live is I think like $35 a year or something? If you are looking for quality multiplayer online game play though, thats where to get it.

The Xbox has an ethernet connector onboard. That's it. Plugs right in.

We networked 4 Xboxes together to play a 16 player Halo tourney. On the campus network. Amusing, to say the least.

Obviously you already have a computer...just stick to PC games, it's not like there isn't 100000000000 of them.

btw consoles sux

Except for the Godzilla games, that's cool.

Halo sucks too. I had more fun playing the original Tribes than Halo, although I guess I never really got into Halo enough to really get to know it. If that makes any sense. hehe

You wanna buy an Xbox fen?
Well, would you buy a Pentium III running at 700 MHz, with a Geforce 3 graphics card? That's what the ugly ass Xbox has inside it, you know? A crappy outdated PC.
I wouldn't. I have a REAL PC, thank you very much. It's older than any Xbox, but runs twice as fast, has gobs more RAM/HD space etc.

PCs can be great for gaming, but sometimes it's nice just to be able to whap a TV on and start playing with no fuss over closing apps down, rebooting, fixing driver issues etc. My PC is in a room designed for it anyway, whilst consoles join you on the settee or by the bed

Apart from that there are a few great console exclusive games.

I own both a PS2 and an XBox. I can safely say I prefer the XBox. There's the obvious point of some of the graphics looking nicer, but probably the biggest advantage is the built-in hard drive. Unmodded it's a huge advantage over a memory card (plus you can store and use your own music in place of the games' defaults) but with a modded box it really comes out into its own.

Once modded and with an 80GB drive installed, it makes for one sweet machine It's nice to be able to install games to hard drive to avoid popping discs in and out, speed up loading and preserve the DVD laser (which are always bad in consoles for some reason)

Games are only half of it though.. with XBox Media Center installed on a modded machine and hooked up to a LAN, it becomes a remote video, music and photo viewer. Masses of videos, music and such are stored on the main PC and streamed over the network to the TV in another room. Very nice indeed. And cheap! I've seen a standalone device that does this (hooks up to a LAN and to the TV), doesn't support DivX or Realmedia, doesn't have any other functions such as gaming, and costs about twice as much...

Linux also works well on it for web browsing et al, but with a TV's resolution I'd rather go and use the PC.

Definitely prefer the PS2 controller though.

Just get a graphics card with a TV OUT, and plug a long enough coax into it, and into the TV
No need for fancy LANs and stuff. My 5.1 speakers have a remote too
I got a PC precisely because I was fed up with consoles. After wasting money on 3 different ones and having very little games to play with, I decided to just get a PC and have all the games I ever wanted for the price of a pack of floppies and the bus fare to my friends houses
Those were the days.

i prefer gamecube over Xbox, but if you have a big enough room to fit an Xbox in, go for it

Thanks for all the posts guys! I think I will take Teeny's advice.

So... Can anyone recommend some xbox games?
I need 5. LOL!

fen

The real question I think now, after reading all this is, how often do you gather your friends around your computer to play games?

That is the advantage of the console. You can grab a friend or 3 and invite them over for some game time. Or a few more and have a tournament.

Sure you can do lan parties (hehe I actually do lan parties more than I play consoles), but that involves everyone having a computer they are willing to tote to someones house and all the network gear etc.

<shrug> They both have their place.

And the xbox is a customized PC designed for making low resolution images look good. It does that much better than your computer does.