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Editorial: My Xbox 360 Is Gathering Dust…Help!

As a gamer with a certain amount of free time at his disposal, I typically try to have a couple consoles for each generation. I had the SNES and Genesis, the PS1 and Dreamcast (although the PS1 quickly took precedence), the PS2 and Xbox, and now, the PS3 and Xbox 360. I got the 360 during the summer of 2006 – several months before the PS3 launched – and a year later, I believe I had six 360 games and four PS3 games. Now obviously, I don't buy things arbitrarily.

I think we all know that during the first year of the PS3's existence, there wasn't a huge amount of must-have titles. Secondly, it was a time when many PS3 versions of multiplatform titles were inferior to their 360 counterparts because developers hadn't gotten a firm grasp on Sony's new hardware. Therefore, it was hardly surprising to see that the majority of my next-gen titles were on the 360. However, as of right now, I have 24 PS3 games and 8 360 games…which means that in the past couple of years, I've bought 2 more 360 games and 18 more PS3 games. Granted, I only own a few of those PS3 games ( Folklore and SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation included) because I received them for review purposes, but the fact remains that my 360 continues to gather dust. It's not just the exclusives – MGS4, Killzone 2 , Uncharted: Drake's Fortune , Heavenly Sword , inFamous , Resistance and Resistance 2 , Warhawk , Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds , LittleBigPlanet , etc. – it's also the fact that I've always preferred the PS3 controller. The system is also more reliable and these days, multiplats are basically identical.

Yeah, I've had a blast playing Gears of War 2 , Lost Odyssey , and Beautiful Katamari , and I've always wanted to play Left 4 Dead and Fable II , but that's about where it ends for that system. I like the fact that the Network is free and by now, it has made great strides and isn't all that different from Live (which I just don't have the motivation to sign up for), and the PlayStation Store has just about everything I could ever want ( Wipeout HD , echochrome , Flower , flOw , etc.). The bottom line is that I own my consoles for games , and when I look at my contrasting game libraries, I have to realize something painfully obvious: once again, and as was the case with the PS2/Xbox generation, Sony's piece of hardware delivers more software that I want on a more routine basis. Looking down the road, with the likes of God of War III , Uncharted 2: Among Thieves , MAG , Gran Turismo 5 , Heavy Rain , Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time and White Knight Chronicles , I just see this trend continuing. Sure, I want Alan Wake and the next Gears and Halo , but the 360 library seems destined to lag behind the PS3's.

Now, believe it or not, I don't like it when it's this lopsided. Therefore, I am asking you for some 360 software ideas. Yes, I want to flesh out my collection a little more; it looks absolutely pathetic next to my PS3 collection, and I know I want to play L4D, although I may not have time for Fable II . Any other suggestions? What have you played and enjoyed? And bear in mind that I'm not a big online player – as you've already guessed – and I can't really waste a huge chunk of time on long RPGs. However, just for the record, if they made another Lost Odyssey , I'd buy it immediately. I'll also be getting Final Fantasy XIII on Day 1. But the point is, I just want a great game that I can only play on the 360, other than the two titles I've already mentioned. So, who has some ideas?

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crawdaddy
crawdaddy
14 years ago

Since you don't need your 360 anymore, you can give it to me.

BikerSaint
BikerSaint
14 years ago

@Crawdaddy,
L'edMFAO on that one!

crawdaddy
crawdaddy
14 years ago

I guess the thumbs down means they love their 360 too much to give it to me.

wasim
wasim
14 years ago

well he can throw the x360 in garbage bin

cuz x360 has no game besides RROD

Hexen
Hexen
14 years ago

@wasim

Dude C'mon,that's the type of comment that starts ridiculous fanboy wars.

Ogibillm
Ogibillm
14 years ago

there are the monkey island games and remake coming out. those should be good. at least i plan on dusting off my 360 for them

Gabriel013
Gabriel013
14 years ago

I hadn't realised we'd got Monkey Island on the way. My 360 mayu get to see a disc again soon.

Riku994
Riku994
14 years ago

*Has no suggestions* This is what I get for not paying attention to the 360… I'd laugh at you if you bought blue dragon though.

Scarecrow
Scarecrow
14 years ago

Well you can always hack it

I know some people who do it all the time…

Alienange
Alienange
14 years ago

You liked Lost Odyssey that much? I've been eyeing it for a while. I guess I've got to get it. It's turn based battle system right?

BigBoss4ever
BigBoss4ever
14 years ago

Lost Odyssey is probably the best JRPG in this generation imo. You must play it if you are a JRPG gamer like the JRPGs in the golden ps1/ps2 era.

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
14 years ago

Yes, I loved it. The beautifully written Dreams ALONE are worth the money.

Alienange
Alienange
14 years ago

I guess the real question is not "should I get it?" but "will I be able to read with all that noise coming from the dvd drive?"

www
www
14 years ago

Alienage you wouldn't have to worry,the NXE Update lets you install the game on the HDD so you wouldn't have hear any noise from the DVD drive. I must admit my 360 is now the quietest since the regular games i play are on the HDD and my ps3 is rather noisy when the fan starts whining and venting about heat.


Last edited by www on 7/11/2009 6:27:52 AM

Alienange
Alienange
14 years ago

www – the only thing is I got the "arcade" version on sale at Future Shop for 149 the other week. That's about all I'm going to spend on a 360. They can keep their $100 60gb hds. I'm running off the 256mb stick and that'll be fine for what the machine offers. Maybe I'll just put a headset on.

BigBoss4ever
BigBoss4ever
14 years ago

i got the arcade version too with 199 a year back, and no need for a HD for me cuz it is only for the 3-4 games I have on hand. nothing more.

mastiffchild
mastiffchild
14 years ago

Really Ben? I honestly thought LO was a big mess personally and even found the combat dull and overly convoluted-a bit too stais in terms of action as well for my tastes. typically it fell short of either being trad enough for my purist side OR pushing things enough to excite me and further the genre. I even liked BD better-and IU for that matter and they weren't great.

SO4 is a disgrace to the series as well! The end of the year looks pretty good for the 360 mind(typically MS have managed to not get the games spread very well and now they're competing with each other, imo). You can't argue that there aren't games though.

I also question the wisdom of the article. I don't doubt your opinion or honesty Ben but it's going to look(esp to those from, erm, the other side or don't know your history)like a bit of a flamey one I fear. I just don't like to see you get hauled over the coals like you prolly will for this one!

Personally I've played much more PS3 too this year(as I've waited/am waiting for for the PS versions of Tales and ES as well)but it's more to do with controller choice and taste than there being nothing there. And Ms can't chnage things like that, not for everyone anyway;) They'll only say "well he would say that" won't they?

wasim
wasim
14 years ago

Valkyrie is the best RPG of this gen

Lost odyssey was a mega flop in sales as well as reviews. SO4 bombed even harder

x360 has just one game RROD

kreate
kreate
14 years ago

i also thought lost odyssey was bit.. slow and boring. if ben loved it that much, i think i should keep playing until i finish cuz i only played for several hours and stopped.

u cant really make a full judgement until u actually finish the game IMO!

shindelion
shindelion
14 years ago

So you stop playing StarOcean 4?

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
14 years ago

well its friday night, so in case Ben went out after posting his articles for today, yeah he got frustrated, stopped playing, and asked if the Total Recall guys had the ability to erase some of his memories.

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
14 years ago

Yeah, SO4 is gone. I had to trade it in; after about 22 hours, the game just pissed me off. The combat just got lamer and lamer and LAMER…

So sad, too. It was shaping up nicely and SO2 on the PS1 is still one of my all-time fav RPGs. 🙁

shindelion
shindelion
14 years ago

Same here. I was playing in universal difficulty. Was in the "cave" and I got owned man even with the blood armor. I gain 50 levels Ben, 50 Levels gone. That was two months ago I stop man, got too angry…. for now.

Hexen
Hexen
14 years ago

I have no suggestions since I don't really know any 360 exclusives other than the two usual suspects.I have always wanted to play Fuzion Frenzy2 and DOA4 thought.

Kangasfwa
Kangasfwa
14 years ago

Kameo: Elements of Power

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
14 years ago

Played some of it. It was okay.

BigBoss4ever
BigBoss4ever
14 years ago

I can't come up more titles for the 360 Ben, and my 360 is sharing the same fate as you, other than I am still reading the dreams of LO occasionally …

BikerSaint
BikerSaint
14 years ago

Whoa, the 360 has games????

(OK settle down now, I was just kidding)

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
14 years ago

oh snap.

Announcer man over intercom:
"Ben Dutka puts up the challenge, find him a 360 exclusive worth playing"

Xbots:
"Well there's ummm… I mean we uhhh… 360 has a better attach rate!"

Announcer man:
"Ohhh I'm sorry but you fail, your reasoning is faulty as only good software matters"

BigBoss4ever
BigBoss4ever
14 years ago

LOL

Frenchy17
Frenchy17
14 years ago

Muahahahhahahaahhaha!!!!

shadowscorpio
shadowscorpio
14 years ago

Lost Odyssey is an alright game. Wanted to trade my 360 for a ps3 but it seems my best bet is trying to sell it. Then i figured they're are some decent exclusives for 360 so i guess i'll keep it. But i have favored Sony's playstion franchise over anything else for years and still do. Don't have a ps3 yet but once i do it WILL be my primary console. Not gonna bash 360 or Microsoft simply just love Sony's playstations.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
14 years ago

there's really no need to bash 360 once you own a PS3, I have a rabid sense of humor so I make fun of it and everything else (including myself) but once you get one dude you'll be set for about 8 more years.

Wage SLAVES
Wage SLAVES
14 years ago

@WorldEnds

Exactly. Its nice to know your console has a lot more under the hood. Everything else is wasted breath.

Qwarktast1c
Qwarktast1c
14 years ago

its all about that PS controller

its the most natural feeling controller, and i don't ever see that changing

Hexen
Hexen
14 years ago

PS controller is king to me; the weird thing is that is one of the first things that gets bashed by fanboys.I hear a lot of "It's the same sh!t from 16 years ago" to "the PS controller is too small and the analogs are position awkwardly".They don't understand that when something isn't broken there's no need to fix it.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
14 years ago

indeed Hexen my friend, Sony achieved perfection the first time around and one does not improve upon perfection (save for a tweak here and there). One improves upon flawed.

BikerSaint
BikerSaint
14 years ago

@Qwarktast1c
Word up on the PS controllers, hated the xbox controller & don't own a 360, but I figure it's probably just about the same as their original.

But out of all the systems since my old intellivision/Colecovision days, I found that my Atari Jaguar contollers take the prize as "the worst of the worst".

It's the bulkiest controller I've ever tried to grip, and the size of a newborn hippo.
It has 17 button functions and a directional pad.
And for each different game, I have to insert an individual plastic overlay game card that came with each game, overtop those 17 buttons, just to figure out what each button does for it's own game. What a PITA that is!

And, my Dreamcast controllers are my second place winners for "worst of the worst" too.

mexgeo86
mexgeo86
14 years ago

For me the SNES controller is my all time favorite, followed by the Playstation Dualshock(s), and then the old NES. All other controllers (N64, X(boxes), Dreamcast) didn't feel 'right' they placed joysticks and buttons in an arrangement that just seemed odd. I guess I like the PS controllers cause of their symmetry and balance. 😛

BikerSaint
BikerSaint
14 years ago

In it's dedication to be my playmate of choice, my 360 Elite is been ever faithful to me, while growing a 2 inch layer of dust.

But that's only because it's sitting on a shelf at my local Gamestop with the price tag still attached, and awaiting me to buy it.

And after 3 years, it's still awaits….
(and quite a bit lonelier too)

tes37
tes37
14 years ago

Lol BikerSaint, that was like reading poetry.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

Sorry Ben, no can do. It's a well known fact that the Xbox 360 has no games. I thought everyone knew that….Perhaps you can use it to prop up your stack of BluRay discs?

😉

Maybe you could play some Classic Xbox titles downloaded from XBL…oh, wait, you can't do that…You could dig out your hand held gaming unit connect it and download a few games off XBL for it…oops, sorry, that's a PSP and PSN. I know, what about watching a few BluRay movie…ah, sorry forgot. Oh, Oh, I know you could browse the web…if you had a browser. Oh, hang on, that's not right. I know, you can redo your NXE avatar, that should burn a couple of hours.

😀

Hmm…Fable II? I believe that there are also a few exclusive XL titles….

Arkanoid live
Zombie wranglers
Yosumin Live
Sam & Max Save the world
Rocket Riot

Sorry, pretty slim pickin's since most everything else I could find is multi-platform or Sony exclusive.

In all seriousness, I really couldn't find much of anything even scouring Metacritic for recent titles. It's true, the 360 has no games!


Last edited by TheHighlander on 7/10/2009 11:37:26 PM

Anonymous
Anonymous
14 years ago

Where's LimitedVertigo when you need him? AHAHAHA!!!

You've never signed up for XBL Gold? You're smart. You would think that with the endless man parties on XBL, the 360 fanboys would spend more time gaming and less time harassing you and Arnold. Apparently, not even the carrot that is XBL Gold can keep them occupied enough.

Honestly, there's nothing that has been released in the last 2 years that has made me regret selling off the 360. Well, other than Braid.

somethingrandom
somethingrandom
14 years ago

Limited Vertigo is not an XBOX 360 fanboy. He just enjoys his PC games and is a fan of Valve. L4D was kind of gimped on the 360 anyway.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
14 years ago

Umm I dunno if it's BC to the 360, but if you want a wicked investigative horror adventure, pick up: (Yes, damn you people I'm trying to sell this game to folks yet again) Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth for xbox1. The most overlooked game in history.

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
14 years ago

THAT, I heard about. But didn't it have some sort of massive technical glitch…or glitchES?

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
14 years ago

mayhaps the glitches on 360, it runs smooth as a hot girl's thigh on the xbbx .1

BigT_1980
BigT_1980
14 years ago

Ben, I can suggest a few XBox Live titles. You can try Castle Crashers, Ikaruga, Braid, and REZ HD. As far as retail releases I could suggest Crackdown, Mass Effect, the first F.E.A.R. because the PS3 version was crap. If you liked the first Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie you could get Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. You could also consider some Xbox originals. You got the KOTOR, KOTOR II, Jade Empire, and Fable The Lost Chapters. That is just a few suggestions I could come up with that others have not suggested.

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
14 years ago

Oh, I played and still own Jade Empire and Fable. I also played Crackdown but I didn't like it too much.

I've been thinking about Braid…

Qubex
Qubex
14 years ago

XBox 360!!! What's that then???

🙂

Q!

"i am home"

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